To make room for the 2009 finalists, I juggled with the schedule at our literary journal. Look for the second part of Ryan’s The Gustav Evacuation on Thursday the 8th, and the final two parts will go live next week.
After that, we’ll be featuring the following Awards Program finalists:
John Jensvold (10/19-10/23)
Mary Larkin (10/27, and again on 11/24)
Robert Gately (11/3)
Thomas Sullivan (11/9 and again on 12/7)
Mark Shannon (11/30)
Also watch for a review of the latest Iain Banks book and a few other planned events in November and December.
2009 Finalists – if you haven’t gotten in touch with me, now’s the time to do so. Let’s get your work featured at Sfwp.org!
A quick note regarding my last post – Alan has added an event on October 17th. He’ll be a guest on West Coast Live. Update your calendars.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October Updates
It’s a big month for book tours! Ray Robertson is touring Canada in support of his latest novel, David, and Alan Cheuse is touring with his wonderful A Trance After Breakfast.
Ray’s Events
If you’re not in Canada, then it’s tough to get a hold of David. But you really should go the extra mile and hit Amazon.ca. Ray’s outdone himself and, once again, surprises his audience as he takes a turn towards historical fiction. Click on the book title above to head on through to the website and learn more about it.
In October, Ray will be at the Chatham Public Library on the 3rd, then at McNally-Robinson bookstore on the 14th, and finally at the Ottawa Writers Festival on the 24th. Full details can be found on Ray’s Events page.
Alan’s Events
Alan will spend most of the month in California before we see him back on the east coast. His first stop will be on October 13th at UC Davis, then he’ll be at Book Passage in Mill Valley on the 14th, and then the Get Lost Travel bookstore in San Francisco on the 15th.
On October 21st, Alan will be reading at Averett College in Danville, VA.
Full details can be found on his Events page.
Sfwp.org
Over at Sfwp.org, we have new work from Michael Richardson, an entry from Maggie Parr, one of the 2009 finalists, and the complete Ryan Sparks review of Blood’s A Rover, which appeared last month on the Writer’s Center blog.
If you’re a Ryan Sparks fan, then we’ll be featuring his wonderful short memoir about the Gustav Evacuation. It’ll be four parts, posting every Monday.
I’m also looking for lists of literary or book-related podcasts. If you have one that you follow, then please contact me. And the same goes for any small presses out there – we’re going to start reviewing titles from small presses in November, so get in touch if you’re interested.
Ray’s Events
If you’re not in Canada, then it’s tough to get a hold of David. But you really should go the extra mile and hit Amazon.ca. Ray’s outdone himself and, once again, surprises his audience as he takes a turn towards historical fiction. Click on the book title above to head on through to the website and learn more about it.
In October, Ray will be at the Chatham Public Library on the 3rd, then at McNally-Robinson bookstore on the 14th, and finally at the Ottawa Writers Festival on the 24th. Full details can be found on Ray’s Events page.
Alan’s Events
Alan will spend most of the month in California before we see him back on the east coast. His first stop will be on October 13th at UC Davis, then he’ll be at Book Passage in Mill Valley on the 14th, and then the Get Lost Travel bookstore in San Francisco on the 15th.
On October 21st, Alan will be reading at Averett College in Danville, VA.
Full details can be found on his Events page.
Sfwp.org
Over at Sfwp.org, we have new work from Michael Richardson, an entry from Maggie Parr, one of the 2009 finalists, and the complete Ryan Sparks review of Blood’s A Rover, which appeared last month on the Writer’s Center blog.
If you’re a Ryan Sparks fan, then we’ll be featuring his wonderful short memoir about the Gustav Evacuation. It’ll be four parts, posting every Monday.
I’m also looking for lists of literary or book-related podcasts. If you have one that you follow, then please contact me. And the same goes for any small presses out there – we’re going to start reviewing titles from small presses in November, so get in touch if you’re interested.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Writer's Center Interview
As I mentioned in my last post, I was interviewed by Kyle Semmel at the Writer's Center. You can catch part one right here.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
September Updates
Don’t miss the action over at our literary journal. The top three winners from the 2009 Literary Awards Program are currently being featured.
I’ll then start working with the finalists, so we’ll have plenty of features in the coming months.
Meanwhile, all 2009 participants should keep an eye on the mail. This week, I’ll be mailing out letters to everyone who provided an SASE.
September is full of events. First off is a little something from me – I was interviewed by Kyle Semmel at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD. That interview will be showing up on their blog this coming Friday.
Ray Robertson has four events in Canada. On the 20th of September, he’ll be at the Eden Mills Writers Festival. On the 23rd, the book launch party for his latest novel, David, will be held at the Gladstone Hotel. He’ll then be reading at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge on the 24th and, finally, he’ll be at the Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival on the 27th. For a full list of upcoming events, head on over to his webpage.
Alan Cheuse is touring in support of his latest, A Trance After Breakfast. In September, look for him at the Fall for the Book Festival in Virginia on the 24th and at Washington & Lee University on the 29th. For details on Alan’s fall schedule, head on over to his page.
I’ll then start working with the finalists, so we’ll have plenty of features in the coming months.
Meanwhile, all 2009 participants should keep an eye on the mail. This week, I’ll be mailing out letters to everyone who provided an SASE.
September is full of events. First off is a little something from me – I was interviewed by Kyle Semmel at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD. That interview will be showing up on their blog this coming Friday.
Ray Robertson has four events in Canada. On the 20th of September, he’ll be at the Eden Mills Writers Festival. On the 23rd, the book launch party for his latest novel, David, will be held at the Gladstone Hotel. He’ll then be reading at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge on the 24th and, finally, he’ll be at the Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival on the 27th. For a full list of upcoming events, head on over to his webpage.
Alan Cheuse is touring in support of his latest, A Trance After Breakfast. In September, look for him at the Fall for the Book Festival in Virginia on the 24th and at Washington & Lee University on the 29th. For details on Alan’s fall schedule, head on over to his page.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Irene Pepperberg, Alex the Parrot, and Ray Robertson
One of the articles collected in Pagan Kennedy’s Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex & Other True Stories is “Bird Brain,” profiling psychologist Irene Pepperberg and her African Grey Parrot, Alex.
In 2008, Pepperberg’s memoir Alex & Me
rocketed up the bestseller list and, finally, it’ll be coming out in Paperback on September 1st.
The articles collected in Dangerous Joy represent some of my favorite journalistic pieces from Pagan Kennedy. Having been a Pagan fan since the early 90’s, it was a thrill to put the book together, and it’s even more of a thrill to see the entrepreneurs, scientists, and world-changing voices in the profiles break into the mainstream. The story of Pepperberg and Alex is well worth checking out, so pre-order a copy of Alex & Me, and get your hands on a copy of Dangerous Joy.
For those of you who are more technical-minded, Dangerous Joy is also available as an ebook and on the Kindle.
In other news, Canada’s inimitable bad boy author Ray Robertson brings us his latest and greatest, David – a historical novel about an ex-slave in 1800’s Ontario. It hit the shelves yesterday and – trust me – it’s a must read. You can order it from Amazon.ca. (And maybe I’ll try to figure out how to get some copies south of the border.)
More details can be found right here, and Ray will be touring in support of the book. His tour schedule can be found here. For you Facebook folks, become a fan of Ray Robertson right here.
In 2008, Pepperberg’s memoir Alex & Me
rocketed up the bestseller list and, finally, it’ll be coming out in Paperback on September 1st.The articles collected in Dangerous Joy represent some of my favorite journalistic pieces from Pagan Kennedy. Having been a Pagan fan since the early 90’s, it was a thrill to put the book together, and it’s even more of a thrill to see the entrepreneurs, scientists, and world-changing voices in the profiles break into the mainstream. The story of Pepperberg and Alex is well worth checking out, so pre-order a copy of Alex & Me
, and get your hands on a copy of Dangerous Joy.For those of you who are more technical-minded, Dangerous Joy is also available as an ebook and on the Kindle.
In other news, Canada’s inimitable bad boy author Ray Robertson brings us his latest and greatest, David – a historical novel about an ex-slave in 1800’s Ontario. It hit the shelves yesterday and – trust me – it’s a must read. You can order it from Amazon.ca. (And maybe I’ll try to figure out how to get some copies south of the border.)
More details can be found right here, and Ray will be touring in support of the book. His tour schedule can be found here. For you Facebook folks, become a fan of Ray Robertson right here.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The 2009 Awards Program Winners
What a great year it’s been! Since SFWP got into the book business, it’s been tough to run the Awards Program and keep on top of the publishing duties. As 2008 moved by without a Program, I realized that I missed the joy and excitement that comes with managing the Awards.
I’ve taken pride that the SFWP Awards stand out from many other writing contests. We bring in a named judge – someone, preferably, who has teaching experience, and takes the time to understand the craft of writing. Each year, the tone of the Program shifts. But we stand by our original mission – to recognize excellence in writing. This is subjective, and each judge will have a different idea about excellence. Even when we ask the judges to return – as we did with Richard Currey in 2000 and 2004, and will do with Robert Olen Butler in 2010 – the intervening years have changed their ideas and approach.
I never know what to expect, and it’s that aspect of the Awards Program that I love. Each year, I see hundreds of extraordinarily gifted authors, and from that pool emerges a list of finalists that I’m thrilled to feature at our online journal. And, finally, the top three winners. I often find that, like all of the applicants, I spend the final days of the Program on pins and needles waiting to see which authors are selected. It’s that thrill I love, and for that reason I’ll keep the Awards Program strong and vibrant in the coming years.
But you’re here to read about 2009. The award winners. So here they are:
The grand prize goes to Matthew Pitt for his story Listening for Life.
The second prize goes to Nicole Louise Reid for This One Last Thing.
The third place prize goes to Adam Sturtevant for Ease Chest Tuck Hid Debt Art.
They, and many of the finalists, will be appearing on our online journal. And I’ll be sending out results to everyone who provided an SASE.
Congratulations winners!
I’ve taken pride that the SFWP Awards stand out from many other writing contests. We bring in a named judge – someone, preferably, who has teaching experience, and takes the time to understand the craft of writing. Each year, the tone of the Program shifts. But we stand by our original mission – to recognize excellence in writing. This is subjective, and each judge will have a different idea about excellence. Even when we ask the judges to return – as we did with Richard Currey in 2000 and 2004, and will do with Robert Olen Butler in 2010 – the intervening years have changed their ideas and approach.
I never know what to expect, and it’s that aspect of the Awards Program that I love. Each year, I see hundreds of extraordinarily gifted authors, and from that pool emerges a list of finalists that I’m thrilled to feature at our online journal. And, finally, the top three winners. I often find that, like all of the applicants, I spend the final days of the Program on pins and needles waiting to see which authors are selected. It’s that thrill I love, and for that reason I’ll keep the Awards Program strong and vibrant in the coming years.
But you’re here to read about 2009. The award winners. So here they are:
The grand prize goes to Matthew Pitt for his story Listening for Life.
The second prize goes to Nicole Louise Reid for This One Last Thing.
The third place prize goes to Adam Sturtevant for Ease Chest Tuck Hid Debt Art.
They, and many of the finalists, will be appearing on our online journal. And I’ll be sending out results to everyone who provided an SASE.
Congratulations winners!
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