Editor’s Note: Please Join us in Anchorage on Friday, November 15, 2019 at 7 PM at The Writer’s Block Bookstore & Café in Anchorage. 49 Writers, Alaska Quarterly Review, and the Center for the Narrative & Lyric Arts present two engaging and provocative stories from the new AQR edition: Lee Conell’s “Ex Party” and Debbi Urbanksi’s […]
Mary Odden | Old Guns, New Guns in AQR Read More »
Last month, 49 Writers hosted a Crosscurrents conversation in Anchorage at the Writers Block featuring three Boreal Books authors—Rob McCue, Mary Odden, and Susanna Mishler—with Jeremy Pataky moderating. We’re pleased to cross-post this review of McCue’s book by Mary Odden, whose own book is forthcoming from Boreal Books. This review—plus several photographs not included here—was
Mary Odden | A Review of One Water by Rob McCue Read More »
I’ve loved reading ever since I was a child, and I loved doing book reports for school because I got to write and talk about books I loved. When I was in an MFA program I loved the required book responses (or annotations, as we called them) because I got to take those books apart
Guest Blogger Nancy Lord | Why I Review Books—and Why You Should Consider It Read More »
Last week, I gave some pointers on ethics and etiquette for book reviews. Some great discussion followed, especially on the point of whether it’s a good idea for writers who know one another to provide honest reviews of each other’s books. Traditional reviewers tend to follow the journalistic rule of not writing on topics in which you
Deb: Get Your Book Reviewed, Part Two: Where and How to Get Reviews Read More »
Whatever your opinion about the online giant Amazon, it’s hard to dispute this recent statement by founder Jeff Bezos: “Amazon is not happening to book selling. The future is happening to book selling.” As the future happens, discoverability and social proof are two words you hear a lot. These concepts have always been part of
Deb: Get Your Book Reviewed – Ethics and Etiquette Read More »
A few years ago, my book Cold surprised everyone (most of all me) by delivering a glancing blow to the bestseller list. Since then, I’ve been working on another book (with a rather obvious topic and title: Heat), but I’ve also been writing quirky travel pieces for the Wall Street Journal (of all places) and book reviews for the
Bill Streever: Four Reasons to Write Book Reviews, and Four Pointers on How to Do It Read More »
It’s been a good long time since we had a highly interactive post with lots of comments (that’s summer for you), and perhaps a rainy, autumnal day will give us this chance. But first, a reason for this discussion: Pulitzer prize-winning Washington Post literary critic Michael Dirda will be at Loussac Library this Sunday at
I’d spent the week ranting, as I often do, about the lack of book review coverage and general promotion opportunities for writers, when out comes the Anchorage Press Summer Books issue with three thoughtfully written reviews. About Kantner’s Shopping for Porcupine, an essay collection accompanied by photos, reviewer Krestia DeGeorge writes: “The writing here rings
Doogan, Kantner and Sherwonit reviewed in the Press Read More »
