We enjoyed a big, beautiful snowfall this weekend, the kind that settles in a hush over the landscape and propels you on walk after walk. Even my little boxer puppy plowed bravely through the (for her) chest-deep snow. It’s no surprise that in Anthony Doerr’s masterful novel About Grace, snow is the unifying theme, for […]
I just finished reading David Lebedoff’s THE SAME MAN: GEORGE ORWELL & EVELYN WAUGH IN LOVE AND WAR (Random House 2008), a double biography that argues that Orwell, aka Eric Blair (liberal/radical, anti-status, atheist) and Evelyn Waugh (social climber and party boy, strict and self-tormenting Catholic) actually had much in common, including a dread that
George Orwell’s 1949 Reading List Read More »
That’s why I’ve been extra glum the last few days, even before the news was official. HMH is my publisher. Ripples are expected to reach across the larger publishing world. Find the details reported locally here thanks to Deb’s keen eye, or the Publishers Weekly coverage by Sara Nelson here. Enough said, I guess. Each
Acquisitions Freeze at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Read More »
As we’re hammered by news of plummeting sales and other publishing woes, it’s nice to know that two Alaskan authors are among twelve recipients of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Individual Artist Awards. Gretchen Deimer of Wasilla received funds to promote her new book of poetry, Between Fire and Water; Ice and Sky. Maia Nolan of Anchorage
AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS Read More »
I had my first glass of egg nog last night, and there is a whole lotta November and December left. My original plan was to wait until Chanukah/Christmas week and have as much egg nog as I wanted, guilt-free. Oops. And what does this have to do with writing? Oh– everything. I posted a while
The Egg Nog Begins (Goals & Distractions Redux) Read More »
In a move said to be unprecedented in publishing, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has announced an indefinite moratorium on manuscript acquisitions. Not just unsolicited manuscripts – all submissions, though Vice President of Communications Josef Blumenfeld said “the right project” might still go before a review board. Blumenfeld tagged the company’s decision to shut off the spigot
NO MORE ACQUISITIONS Read More »
Remember the contest we had earlier this fall, asking people to write about Alaska books that made an impression on them? This winning youth entry was sent by 14-year-old Arissa of Prescott Middle School in California. I was thrilled to get a personal response from a younger reader (from another state, no less) to our
A Young(er) Reader’s response to an Alaska Book Read More »
I just received the latest copy of Bookforum, with my review of Willie Hensley’s Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People. As I wrote in the review “…Hensley’s memoir is a compelling tale of doing what had to be done and recognizing the spiritual depth and profound love it takes
Oh, irony of ironies. After talking about the endurance needed in order to write and be published, I spent today reading an article that makes everything look even darker than I thought. (Note, if you’re not interested in publishing economics, stop reading; I promise a return to the subject of Alaska books next week.) Somehow,
Attention, young Alaskan authors. The Oakland Public Library is once again sponsoring a short story contest exclusively for teens. Your 1500-word submission must include “May I call you a cab?” You folks in Bethel, the cab capital of Alaska, could do a lot with that line. Speaking of young writers, few Alaskans have done more
ALASKAN AUTHORS WEEKLY ROUND-UP Read More »
