Chris Abouzeid's Blog, page 4

Favorite Kids Books of 2014

By Chris Abouzeid I read mostly kids books—not because I feel any social obligation, or because I want to know what my children are reading, but because I like them. This often leaves me on the sidelines of book discussions. (“The latest Murakami? Um, no. Unless he’s collaborating with John ...

Writing About What We Write

By Peter Turchi My father was a salesman, and it suited his personality: he was gregarious, eager to meet people, intent on realizing what he understood to be the American Dream. As a boy, with the first money he made from selling newspapers, he brought home steak for dinner. Later, ...

Above and Beyond Award 2014 – Nominations Open

Colleagues are a wonderful thing – but mentors, that’s where the real work gets done. – Junot Diaz By Kathy Crowley None of us work in a vacuum—whether we’re inspired by books that awe or part of an active literary group, we belong to a community of artists, readers, teachers. ...

Black Friday Shopping: The Low Cost of Books

By Randy Susan Meyers Books are my life. Without reading, I’d be lost. Perhaps that’s why I’m baffled about the rampant indignation about their prices. Are readers being forced at gunpoint to buy these books? Is there a cabal I haven’t heard about? Are publishers from Little Brown to Graywolf ...

Running the Novel Marathon

  by Kim Triedman My gym misses me. I haven’t exactly been pulling my weight lately. Or blasting my abs or busting my butt, either. In fact I can honestly say that from the moment I started writing my second novel this past September, I have gone through the gym ...

Friday Faves – Steve Almond, Book Awards, Gone with the Wind, and Shoegazers Reunite

By Dell Smith Happy Friday writers. Looking for something to whet your writerly appetite before heading into Thanksgiving 2014? Look no further. I can’t promise these lit links will guide you to cooking the best turkey ever or mixing a drink like a Pilgrim. But here are some recent (mostly) ...

Connecting With Myself Through Writing

By Chuck Leddy Back in 2000, after a mental collapse that put me in a psychiatric hospital for three weeks, my life had shattered into shards. I found myself walking the streets of Boston all night and into the early morning, hearing voices in my head. After twelve hours of ...

Over the River and Through the Woods: The Second Draft

by Bethanne Patrick It’s almost exactly two years since I joined Beyond The Margins, and about a month ago I started working on the second draft of the manuscript that brought me humbly to this writers’ collective’s doorstep in the fall of 2012. Yes, it’s taken me two years to ...

My Agent’s Advice on Querying

  By Randy Susan Meyers Everyone hates querying. When I last led a workshop on The Great American Query Letter and the participants shuffled in with the reluctance (not to say dread) of women readying to try on bathing suits in an open-corral fitting room. A co-ed one. But like a job ...

A Manuscript Critique Sale to Benefit Caregivers – And A Little Personal History, Too

      By Robin Black   Any interest in having your prose or poetry manuscript reviewed by the likes of Philip Levine, Elizabeth McCracken, Ron Carlson, Tony Hoagland, or perhaps some other equally amazing author?? There’s an app for that. . .or anyway, there’s a website. And you’ll be ...