Clifford Garstang's Blog, page 164

Emerging Writers Network: Small Press Month - Press 53

Dan Wickett at Emerging Writers Network has been taking a look at a number of small presses during "Small Press Month." A couple of days ago it was Press 53's turn:

Emerging Writers Network: Small Press Month - Press 53

A Conversation with Tim O'Brien

Writers at the Beach 2010

I came home a few hours ago from Writers at the Beach, the only writers' conference I know that supports a charity, in this case Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children to help defray medical costs of those being treated there for Mitochondrial disease. It's a worthwhile cause and it's one thing that makes the conference special.

But it's also special because of the people who attend. Although I worked hard at the conference--I taught a workshop, sat on two panels, gave three manuscript...

American Shakespeare Center Benefit Concert

No way was I going to miss the the American Shakespeare Center Actors' Renaissance Season Benefit Concert. I've been out of town and got back mid-afternoon after a long drive, but I made it to tonight's benefit concert. And it was even better than I expected, which is hard for me to imagine, because I had pretty high expectations.

This isn't a review. It's more like a love letter. I would be a big fan of the ASC even if there were no music. But the actors sing before each show and during the i...

Tim O'Brien: A Classic Looks at Twenty - The Ploughshares Blog

Ploughshares takes a look at one of the greatest books of our time, The Things They Carried, on its 20th anniversary: Tim O'Brien: A Classic Looks at Twenty - The Ploughshares Blog

The New Yorker: "I.D." by Joyce Carol Oates

I'm not a JCO fan, ordinarily, but in my estimation this is the best story of the year so far.Lisette Mulvey is in Middle School and her mother may or may not be a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City. Lisette isn't sure because her mother isn't terribly reliable. In fact, she's been gone since sometime the previous week, and Lisette, who is recovering from eye surgery, isn't doing a great job of taking care of herself—not bathing, she lost the prescription for medication she needs for her...

The New Yorker: "The Pura Principle" by Junot Diaz

Yunior, who is still in high school, lives with his older brother Rafa and their mother. But Rafa has leukemia, and has been spending a lot of time in the hospital. Meanwhile, Yunior gets high a lot, and the mother spends time with her religious pals, the "Four Horsefaces of the Apocalypse." When Rafa comes home, he doesn't take care of himself. He goes out partying, gets drunk and high, and brings women home, all over the mother's objections. He even spends some time with his old...

The Secret to Success

If you're a book person, you've probably heard about a book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The book, which is non-fiction, is doing very well. And I believe I know the secret to its success and I propose to offer this simple recipe so that anyone can achieve the same.

First, all you have to do is have a great idea. Skloot had her idea while she was in grad school. Easy.

Then it's just a matter of doing your homework. Skloot spent years researching, contacting Hen...

Virginia Festival of the Book: Saturday

Another long day at the Book Festival. This time I did make it for a 10am program: "Book Promotion for the 21st Century" moderated by Bella Stander, featuring Rebecca Skloot, Carleen Brice (whose blog White Readers Meet Black Authors I've mentioned here before), publicist Kelly Powers, and Jag Bhalla, who has written a clever book about idioms. This was a very good panel, and helpful. Anytime people are talking about book promotion it pays to listen, and Rebecca Skloot's experience was partic...

Virginia Festival of the Book: Friday

Friday at the Virginia Festival of the Book was almost as long as Thursday. I didn't manage to get to a 10am program (I worked instead), which is too bad because I later met a couple of the panelists and realize the panel would have been quite interesting), but I did arrive in time for Bella Stander's lunch (Bella is Book Promotion 101) where I sat with Katharine Weber and my friend Jessica Handler. After a lively discussion, I hurried over to Barnes & Noble to hear "Virginia Stories" (a pane...