Yesterday, I had some time between an afternoon day job-related meeting at the CUNY Graduate Center and an evening panel at the same location (not for the day job!), so I decided to mosey on over to the New York Public Library to visit a new exhibition, "Between Collaboration and Resistance: French Literary Life Under Nazi Occupation."
The subject of French literary life under (and immediately following) Nazi occupation is something I studied as an undergraduate and have remained fascinated by for years. It's not a simple matter (for one thing, the divisions between "collaboration" and "resistance" aren't always clear). The exhibition does an excellent job presenting a complicated topic. Lots of books, journals, letters, etc. incorporated in the process. Video/newsreel footage, too.
If you'll be around 5th Avenue/42nd Street before the end of July (the exhibition runs through July 25), do stop in and take a look. It's free!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Wednesday Web Browser: Colson Whitehead Edition
One regret I have about my college years is that I didn't get to know as many of the writers and future writers in my class as I might have. One of these college classmates is Colson Whitehead (who probably has no idea who I am).
But I was thrilled to hear him speak at a literary event last year, and I'm following the press on his new book with great interest. That novel, Sag Harbor, has gone to the top of my tbr list.
For more on Colson Whitehead and Sag Harbor, please check the following:
--Radhika Jones's "Dag!"
--Janet Maslin's "Black Teenage Memories, Under the Hamptons Sun"
--Charles McGrath's "Coming of Age in Sag Harbor Amid Privilege and Paradox"
--And for those who love YouTube, you can see/hear Colson Whitehead himself talk about Sag Harbor, the place and the book, right here.
But I was thrilled to hear him speak at a literary event last year, and I'm following the press on his new book with great interest. That novel, Sag Harbor, has gone to the top of my tbr list.
For more on Colson Whitehead and Sag Harbor, please check the following:
--Radhika Jones's "Dag!"
--Janet Maslin's "Black Teenage Memories, Under the Hamptons Sun"
--Charles McGrath's "Coming of Age in Sag Harbor Amid Privilege and Paradox"
--And for those who love YouTube, you can see/hear Colson Whitehead himself talk about Sag Harbor, the place and the book, right here.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Jewish Book World
Over the weekend, I completed my first review for Jewish Book World. I can't yet share the review with you, but I'll tell you this much: I reviewed a (very good) forthcoming novel, and the review is scheduled for publication in the fall issue.
If you're not familiar with Jewish Book World, and you're interested in books on Jewish themes and subjects, you really owe it to yourself to get to know this quarterly magazine. It's a publication of the always-impressive Jewish Book Council, and you can find learn much more about it (and read sample reviews) here (click "Jewish Book World").
And if you subscribe, you'll get to read my review in due course! (Note to potential reviewers: The magazine welcomes new reviewers, but unfortunately does not pay cash for reviews. I'm considering my [relatively short] review dual community service, for the Jewish and literary communities.)
If you're not familiar with Jewish Book World, and you're interested in books on Jewish themes and subjects, you really owe it to yourself to get to know this quarterly magazine. It's a publication of the always-impressive Jewish Book Council, and you can find learn much more about it (and read sample reviews) here (click "Jewish Book World").
And if you subscribe, you'll get to read my review in due course! (Note to potential reviewers: The magazine welcomes new reviewers, but unfortunately does not pay cash for reviews. I'm considering my [relatively short] review dual community service, for the Jewish and literary communities.)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities
This is the week: Our May Practicing Writer newsletter will be going out to subscribers midweek. And I am very excited about the feature article/interview! It's never too late to subscribe. Our newsletter is FREE and we keep your e-mail address confidential. Join us!
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Attention, writers in Washington State! "The Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship awards $7,500 to practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability. The Fellowship is a merit-based, not a project-based award. Fellowship recipients must present a Meet the Artist Event to a community that has little or no access to the artist and their work." Applications are currently open to literary artists. Deadline: June 12, 2009. No application fee indicated. More information here.
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"The CQ Global Researcher, a monthly issues-backgrounder published by CQ Press (a division of SAGE Publications) is seeking freelancers to write in-depth reports on global issues. At least five years experience covering international affairs preferred. Recent 10,000-word reports have focused on Darfur, Separatist Movements, Crisis in Pakistan and Child Soldiers. Reporters can be U.S.-based or overseas." Pay is "not specified." For more information, click here.
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Chuck Sambuchino provides a "new agency alert" and introduces The McVeigh Agency. To learn more about the agency's areas of interest, click here.
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And, as always, I'm glad to point out a few jobs for writers!
Assistant Director, Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University (Virginia)
Assistant Curator, Poetry Collection, University at Buffalo (New York)
Communications and College Relations Manager, Baruch College/City University of New York
Admission Writer/Editor, Ithaca College (New York)
Director of Communications, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Development Communications Writer, Haverford College (Pennsylvania)
Writer/Editor, Loyola Marymount University (California) and Writer/Editor, Loyola Marymount University (California)
==========
Attention, writers in Washington State! "The Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship awards $7,500 to practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability. The Fellowship is a merit-based, not a project-based award. Fellowship recipients must present a Meet the Artist Event to a community that has little or no access to the artist and their work." Applications are currently open to literary artists. Deadline: June 12, 2009. No application fee indicated. More information here.
==========
"The CQ Global Researcher, a monthly issues-backgrounder published by CQ Press (a division of SAGE Publications) is seeking freelancers to write in-depth reports on global issues. At least five years experience covering international affairs preferred. Recent 10,000-word reports have focused on Darfur, Separatist Movements, Crisis in Pakistan and Child Soldiers. Reporters can be U.S.-based or overseas." Pay is "not specified." For more information, click here.
==========
Chuck Sambuchino provides a "new agency alert" and introduces The McVeigh Agency. To learn more about the agency's areas of interest, click here.
==========
And, as always, I'm glad to point out a few jobs for writers!
Assistant Director, Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University (Virginia)
Assistant Curator, Poetry Collection, University at Buffalo (New York)
Communications and College Relations Manager, Baruch College/City University of New York
Admission Writer/Editor, Ithaca College (New York)
Director of Communications, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Development Communications Writer, Haverford College (Pennsylvania)
Writer/Editor, Loyola Marymount University (California) and Writer/Editor, Loyola Marymount University (California)
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday Find: Best Tweets for Writers
I'll come clean for you, my dear readers: I haven't jumped on the Twitter bandwagon yet. I have no Twitter account. I don't always use the word "tweet" correctly.
Given my lack of Twitter savvy, I'm grateful to Jane Friedman for posting "Best Tweets for Writers" summaries on her blog, There Are No Rules. She's turning these summary posts into a weekly feature. Check out what she has discovered so far, and share my gratitude that she "watch[es] Twitter, so you don't have to."
(By the way, if anyone wants to share views about Twitter for writers, pro or con, please feel free to do so in comments.)
Have a happy weekend, everyone!
Given my lack of Twitter savvy, I'm grateful to Jane Friedman for posting "Best Tweets for Writers" summaries on her blog, There Are No Rules. She's turning these summary posts into a weekly feature. Check out what she has discovered so far, and share my gratitude that she "watch[es] Twitter, so you don't have to."
(By the way, if anyone wants to share views about Twitter for writers, pro or con, please feel free to do so in comments.)
Have a happy weekend, everyone!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Letter from the London Book Fair
I am proud to present a guest post written by Brett Jocelyn (BJ) Epstein, who very recently attended the London Book Fair. Among BJ's latest literary accomplishments is Northern Lights: Translation in the Nordic Countries, a volume she edited containing essays from a conference she organized. To learn more about this wonderful writer-editor-translator, please visit BJ's blog and Web site.
The London Book Fair 2009
by BJ Epstein
Ah, books, books, books. Rows of books, books for sale, authors signing books. Books and more books. That's what the typical bibliophile would excitedly imagine when thinking of a book fair. In fact, although events such as The London Book Fair (LBF) and the Frankfurt Book Fair seem to be about books, they are really about the bottom line.
The LBF is a place where publishers come to show their wares to other publishers, hoping to make foreign sales. People rush around holding notebooks, looking for books they might want to purchase the rights to and then have translated to their own tongue. The major publishers have big stands with lots of small tables where their agents can meet with other agents. An observer can stand at a distance and watch as figures are discussed and hands are shaken. It's all very serious and pragmatic and it doesn't seem to be predicated on a love of books. Writers and translators may feel unwelcome amidst all this deal-making.
Nevertheless, for a visitor willing both to accept that and to do a lot of walking, there is plenty to see and enjoy at the LBF. The fair takes place at Earl's Court, a large convention center in London, and it is very well organized. The huge main room is where publishers from all over the world have their stands. One area has children's books, another travel books and maps, the religious (primarily Christian) books are in one (fairly small) spot, textbooks are in their own section, and so on. If you go past this room, after, of course, having browsed it to see what is being published these days (gift books seem to be a growing trend), and on into the next, smaller one, the atmosphere is different. This room is where the printers and binders have their stands, where people sell little book lights and other items for the book-lover, and where the various cultural agencies are located.
As a translator from the Scandinavian languages, I spent most of my time flitting between the Swedish Arts Council, the Danish Arts Agency's Literature Centre, Norwegian Literature Abroad, Finnish Literature Exchange, the Iceland booth (this was the first year the Icelandic publishers and agencies had their own stand). On Monday, April 20, there was a joint Nordic reception, and events like that are excellent for networking, especially for writers, translators, and people from smaller publishing companies.
I also made sure to visit the stands from other countries. Several of them publish an annual or biannual magazine with biographical information and short translated excerpts from their nation's top writers. This magazine, such as Sweden's Swedish Book Review or Portugal's Voices from the South, is meant to tempt publishers, but it is also a wonderful way for curious readers to learn about the kind of literature being published in other places. Because so few works are translated to English, unless you happen to read a particular tongue, you will never know what writers are doing in other parts of the world. I picked up as many of these magazines as I could carry. India was this year's special focus at the Book Fair, and I had no idea there were so many publishers in that country. It was very interesting to see the way these publishers manage to differentiate themselves; I was slightly surprised by how many seemed to have a distinct niche in spiritual books.
PEN is also at the fair every year, offering readings. And one of my very favourite parts is the Gourmand area, which showcases top cookbooks from every culture imaginable. Even if you can't read the books, you can salivate over the pictures. A number of chefs give demonstrations of their craft and they always make enough of the dish for the audience to try a bite as well.
In short, then, the LBF can be an enjoyable event, but only if you are prepared for what it can and can not give you. It is not a place to buy books or to connect with other writers. But it is a place to get a deeper understanding of the publishing world and to feel inspired (or overwhelmed) by the sheer number of books published each year.
The London Book Fair 2009
by BJ Epstein
Ah, books, books, books. Rows of books, books for sale, authors signing books. Books and more books. That's what the typical bibliophile would excitedly imagine when thinking of a book fair. In fact, although events such as The London Book Fair (LBF) and the Frankfurt Book Fair seem to be about books, they are really about the bottom line.
The LBF is a place where publishers come to show their wares to other publishers, hoping to make foreign sales. People rush around holding notebooks, looking for books they might want to purchase the rights to and then have translated to their own tongue. The major publishers have big stands with lots of small tables where their agents can meet with other agents. An observer can stand at a distance and watch as figures are discussed and hands are shaken. It's all very serious and pragmatic and it doesn't seem to be predicated on a love of books. Writers and translators may feel unwelcome amidst all this deal-making.
Nevertheless, for a visitor willing both to accept that and to do a lot of walking, there is plenty to see and enjoy at the LBF. The fair takes place at Earl's Court, a large convention center in London, and it is very well organized. The huge main room is where publishers from all over the world have their stands. One area has children's books, another travel books and maps, the religious (primarily Christian) books are in one (fairly small) spot, textbooks are in their own section, and so on. If you go past this room, after, of course, having browsed it to see what is being published these days (gift books seem to be a growing trend), and on into the next, smaller one, the atmosphere is different. This room is where the printers and binders have their stands, where people sell little book lights and other items for the book-lover, and where the various cultural agencies are located.
As a translator from the Scandinavian languages, I spent most of my time flitting between the Swedish Arts Council, the Danish Arts Agency's Literature Centre, Norwegian Literature Abroad, Finnish Literature Exchange, the Iceland booth (this was the first year the Icelandic publishers and agencies had their own stand). On Monday, April 20, there was a joint Nordic reception, and events like that are excellent for networking, especially for writers, translators, and people from smaller publishing companies.
I also made sure to visit the stands from other countries. Several of them publish an annual or biannual magazine with biographical information and short translated excerpts from their nation's top writers. This magazine, such as Sweden's Swedish Book Review or Portugal's Voices from the South, is meant to tempt publishers, but it is also a wonderful way for curious readers to learn about the kind of literature being published in other places. Because so few works are translated to English, unless you happen to read a particular tongue, you will never know what writers are doing in other parts of the world. I picked up as many of these magazines as I could carry. India was this year's special focus at the Book Fair, and I had no idea there were so many publishers in that country. It was very interesting to see the way these publishers manage to differentiate themselves; I was slightly surprised by how many seemed to have a distinct niche in spiritual books.
PEN is also at the fair every year, offering readings. And one of my very favourite parts is the Gourmand area, which showcases top cookbooks from every culture imaginable. Even if you can't read the books, you can salivate over the pictures. A number of chefs give demonstrations of their craft and they always make enough of the dish for the audience to try a bite as well.
In short, then, the LBF can be an enjoyable event, but only if you are prepared for what it can and can not give you. It is not a place to buy books or to connect with other writers. But it is a place to get a deeper understanding of the publishing world and to feel inspired (or overwhelmed) by the sheer number of books published each year.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Wednesday Web Browser: Poets & Writers Edition
A couple of days ago I pointed you to the classifieds in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers magazine. Today, I'm going to spotlight some articles the magazine has made available online.
--In a special section on literary journals, Sandra Beasley writes about the evolution of online journals.
--The super "Agents and Editors" series continues, this time with Jofie Ferrari-Adler speaking with agents Maria Massie, Jim Rutman, Anna Stein, and Peter Steinberg.
--Kevin Larimer updates us on small presses and lit mags.
There's plenty of great content in the print issue, too, including Mary Gannon's profile of Jay McInerney. Since I encountered resistance from some fiction workshop-mates when I wrote stories (in 2002) with connections to the attacks of September 11, 2001, I particularly appreciated this snippet: "And, as he did by using the second person in his debut, in The Good Life McInerney took a risk by writing about New York City in the immediate aftermath of September 11, despite advice from the late Norman Mailer to hold off ten years. 'I was writing about the emotional texture of those three months afterwards,' he says. 'If I had waited, that would have faded for me.'"
--In a special section on literary journals, Sandra Beasley writes about the evolution of online journals.
--The super "Agents and Editors" series continues, this time with Jofie Ferrari-Adler speaking with agents Maria Massie, Jim Rutman, Anna Stein, and Peter Steinberg.
--Kevin Larimer updates us on small presses and lit mags.
There's plenty of great content in the print issue, too, including Mary Gannon's profile of Jay McInerney. Since I encountered resistance from some fiction workshop-mates when I wrote stories (in 2002) with connections to the attacks of September 11, 2001, I particularly appreciated this snippet: "And, as he did by using the second person in his debut, in The Good Life McInerney took a risk by writing about New York City in the immediate aftermath of September 11, despite advice from the late Norman Mailer to hold off ten years. 'I was writing about the emotional texture of those three months afterwards,' he says. 'If I had waited, that would have faded for me.'"
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
This Practicing Writer's YouTube Debut
As you may have heard, last week marked the 50th birthday of Strunk & White's famous Elements of Style. To celebrate the occasion, my friend Anne and I (and Anne's husband) attended a panel discussion focusing on the book at the Museum of the City of New York.
Ron Hogan, of Galleycat (and Beatrice) fame, was also present, and he was gracious enough to invite Anne and me to share a few thoughts about the book. On camera.
To my knowledge, this marks my YouTube debut. Fortunately, I didn't have to speak first--that's Anne in the opening shot.
P.S.--Ron has posted a few more tidbits about the panel here.
Ron Hogan, of Galleycat (and Beatrice) fame, was also present, and he was gracious enough to invite Anne and me to share a few thoughts about the book. On camera.
To my knowledge, this marks my YouTube debut. Fortunately, I didn't have to speak first--that's Anne in the opening shot.
P.S.--Ron has posted a few more tidbits about the panel here.
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