Other than the publication of my own books and the Oregon Literary Fellowship I won a couple of years ago — in other words, other than events involving my own work — I’ve had a handful of truly exhilarating, giddy, can’t-stop-grinning literary moments in my life: I once heard Kurt Vonnegut lecture (he did his amazing “shapes ofContinue reading “Nick Hornby and Cheryl Strayed and one of the coolest nights in my literary life”
Tag Archives: writers
Book shopping for the holidays: the 2014 edition!
Earlier today, I spotted the NY Times list of “100 Notable Books of 2014,” which a friend referred to as her shopping list this holiday season. And I thought that was a great idea, so I went to check out the list. And there are a lot of fascinating-looking books on the list, many of which I’mContinue reading “Book shopping for the holidays: the 2014 edition!”
The book that made me a writer
The other day on Facebook, as a fun twist on Throwback Thursday, author and publisher Michael Seidlinger asked a “throwback” question: “The first book you read that blew your mind?” The question elicited a few hundred responses, many of which felt nostalgic for me: Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” which remains one of my favorite long stories ever; Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451,Continue reading “The book that made me a writer”
Letters of Note: Make your soul grow
This story about Kurt Vonnegut writing to a student is an old story, but it came across my Facebook feed again today and it got me thinking. I remember when I was in 5th grade, my language arts class went down to the school library and we got into the Contemporary Authors books in theContinue reading “Letters of Note: Make your soul grow”
Reading from Hagridden at Lit Demon
A while back, I announced that I’ll be doing an online reading from Hagridden. That’s online, as in streaming video, live on your computer while you trim your fingernails and pick your nose (don’t worry — you can see me, but I can’t see you). This all goes down on Thursday, June 5, from 6-7 pmContinue reading “Reading from Hagridden at Lit Demon”
My favorite writers (who happen to be women)
A few days ago, author Mary Miller published a piece in Vol. 1 Brooklyn called “My Problem with VIDA: A Report from the Field.” In it, Miller expresses how “uncomfortable” she is with the gender statistics that the VIDA Report gathers and distributes — or rather, with the way in which such statistics gender our considerationContinue reading “My favorite writers (who happen to be women)”
The jobs we work
The jobs we do become the stories we write. That old axiom, “Write what you know,” might as well be “Write what you’ve done.” I’ve been thinking about that as I work on an essay about setting in fiction, because part of that essay talks about how the places I’ve worked become places in myContinue reading “The jobs we work”
Dream journal: writers, journeys, and complicated futons
I sometimes have dreams so vivid I have to write them down when I wake up. Sometimes those things wind up in notebooks, other times they wind up on Facebook (and sometimes they wind up as fiction), and, recently, I’ve decided to let them start showing up here. I don’t anticipate this becoming a regularContinue reading “Dream journal: writers, journeys, and complicated futons”
Attend a literary reading in your underwear
You know you’ve always wanted to. Now, thanks to the Lit Demon, you can attend a whole reading series from the comfort of your bathrobe. The website that’s bringing you online creative writing workshops and editing services and a range of other awesomeness is now scheduling a series of readings, online, streaming live right into yourContinue reading “Attend a literary reading in your underwear”
A signed copy Box Cutters if you help Molly Gaudry fly
Do you know Molly Gaudry? Because you should. I don’t want to bury the lead, so if you want to get to know her, start by helping her out at Fly with Molly. But more on that in the minute. I mention this because I’m a huge fan of Molly. She’s a hell of a writer —Continue reading “A signed copy Box Cutters if you help Molly Gaudry fly”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 