A couple of days ago, I wrote about the up-and-coming Michelle Modesto, whose forthcoming YA novel is going to be awesome. Then yesterday, I was at the Terroir Creative Writing Festival in McMinnville, OR, where I met another YA author, Jennifer M. Hartsock. And gang, I’m telling you now, if you’re a YA fan, putContinue reading “Another YA author you should get to know!”
Category Archives: writers
This is the YA author you need to keep an eye on
A handful of years ago, I met Michelle Modesto right here on this blog: she left some comments, I left some replies, and pretty soon we were swapping ideas about writing. She was just starting out as a writer, and we talked craft quite a bit, both here and via email. Michelle has a ton of talent andContinue reading “This is the YA author you need to keep an eye on”
Gabriel García Márquez has died . . .
. . . Long live Gabriel García Márquez. I was a late-comer to García Márquez, having never been assigned his seminal One Hundred Years of Solitude in high school, as so many others had been. I first picked him up a handful of years ago when I was browsing a bookstore in a fit of indecision, unsureContinue reading “Gabriel García Márquez has died . . .”
Joy Harjo at Pacific Northwest College of Art
Last night, Joy Harjo was at Pacific Northwest College of Art, where I teach literature and composition. She was giving the 2014 Edelman Lecture, though she said she dislikes the idea of a “lecture” and, in fact, drifted in and out of “lecture” mode, mixing in storytelling, poetry, advice on making art, and an original songContinue reading “Joy Harjo at Pacific Northwest College of Art”
Writers at AWP reading Box Cutters
This is my last AWP post for a long while, I promise. But one of my favorite things at the conference was meeting people who bought my book, Box Cutters. I like to think that whenever someone reads my book, they’re inviting me into their lives as much as I’m inviting them into mine. It’sContinue reading “Writers at AWP reading Box Cutters“
AWP Day 2: We shouldn’t be here because we should be writing
I’m writing this before the big event today — Annie Proulx’s keynote address — because I have no idea what kind of time I’ll have to write it after. And there’s plenty to write about already. So far today I’ve hit three panels. The first was at 9 am and, miraculously, I made it thereContinue reading “AWP Day 2: We shouldn’t be here because we should be writing”
Where I’ll (probably) be at AWP in Seattle
Whenever I’m lucky enough to go to an academic conference, I always have my students assign me homework. I go because I love the intellectual and social exchanges — hearing so many brilliant panels and literary readings, meeting so many fellow writers and finding so many new publications, and drinking with old friends and colleagues:Continue reading “Where I’ll (probably) be at AWP in Seattle”
The Jersey Devil has a special present for Mom and Dad
Folks, here’s the situation: the founding father and Grand Poobah of Jersey Devil Press, Eirik Gumeny, needs new lungs. Here’s the good news: Eirik’s on the shortlist for a transplant, and he’s within spitting distance of the hospital where they’ll do it once the lungs arrive. And his wife/JDP’s associate editor, Monica Rodriguez, is withContinue reading “The Jersey Devil has a special present for Mom and Dad”
Writerly friendships
From time to time — not often enough — I’ve written about the importance of the writing community, of connecting with fellow writers and sharing work, ideas, even just support. It’s another thing altogether when, within that broader writing community, you find some genuine writer friends. Such is the subject of a wonderful three-way interviewContinue reading “Writerly friendships”
Robert Burns Night and a (cheap, fast) vegetarian haggis
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m part Scottish. Descended from Frasers from Fraserburgh; we still have family in Aberdeenshire. Yet somehow, I’ve never celebrated Robert Burns Night. Not officially, anyway. I don’t know how I keep missing out on this, but I do. This year, though, I decided to wade in and giveContinue reading “Robert Burns Night and a (cheap, fast) vegetarian haggis”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 