Ivan Doig recently visited Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA. He read from his book and answered questions to an audience of 350 people. “It was great to have the Doigs here. They are lovely. Ivan gave a strong talk about craft, and was generous with questions after. … The discussion about process was also very interesting and powerful, and many people have commented to me since that they enjoyed this presentation.” – Katrina Roberts, Whitman College Visiting Writers Series
On Saturday, Karen Joy Fowler accepted the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Prize for, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. The award recognizes the best fiction published by an American author in the previous year.
Indian rickshaws are used to help safely transport children and goods from one place to another. Because of their dependability and flexibility, rickshaws are still popular in modern India. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of, One Amazing Thing and Oleander Girl, explains the significant part the rickshaw plays in Indian cities in her recent essay.
Emma Donoghue’s latest novel, Frog Music, has been garnering a lot of news and rave reviews of late. In recent interviews Emma Donoghue explains how she develops her stories both creatively and with research.
Karen Joy Fowler recently discussed, We are all Completely Beside Ourselves, with The National. Her novel, which just won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, is an idea she has been working on since the millennium. She explained how her writing, although fiction, has basis in situations she has experienced. In, We are all Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler draws on her childhood in the rat labs where her dad, an animal behaviorist, studied rat learning processes.
Neighbor To Neighbor recently started the Still Alice Project using a grant to purchase multiple copies of Lisa Genova’s novel, Still Alice. They plan to use the book to open discussions on Alzheimer’s and help refer people to additional resources available.
The television show, America with Jorge Ramos, recently interviewed Sona Nazario about, Enrique’s Journey, and the dramatically increasing numbers of children coming into the US without a parent or guardian. The influx of drug cartels as well as gangs that force these young children to smuggle drugs into the US makes them refugees rather than illegal immigrants, according to Sonia Nazario. She also gives an update on Enrique, the protagonist in Enrique’s Journey, and his current situation in the US.
A talented writer does not a speaker make. Go to enough literary events, and you’re bound to experience this first hand. You love the work, have read the author’s novels or memoir and recommended the titles to everyone you know. But when you see them in person? Just. Not. The Same. It’s unfortunate, but occasionally it happens. Authors, after all, frequently live an existence of isolation, in communion with the page alone. But as all literary event coordinators know, the best way to ensure success of any community or campus reads programs is to include the author for a community event. But what if the author is a terrible speaker?
Karen Joy Fowler, the author of We are All Completely Beside Ourselves, recently answered questions from Books in Common about her book and speaking experiences at Community Reads and All Campus Reads programs.
Books in Common had the opportunity to ask Sarah Wisdom, of One Book Yuma, some questions on setting up their Community Reads programs and the response in her community.
