AWP 2008 Begins

I sidled up to the AWP registration desk in the Hilton at 11:35 am and was told folks couldn’t give out any passes till noon. People milled in the ever-filling lobby, hearing the same line from AWP’s workers.
After nabbing my badge, I headed into the book fair to find Fringe’s table. The bookfair [...]

Karibu Books Shuts Its Doors

This Friday marks the beginning of Black History Month, but by mid-February 15-year-old Karibu Books—one of the leading African American bookstores in the country and one of the few remaining bookstores aimed at black readers—will shut its doors.
It’s unfortunately not an uncommon event in recent years; many specialty book retailers, including women’s and LGBT bookstores, [...]

Countdown to AWP

We’ve got our fliers printed, our mystery freebie in hand, and of course, our Fringe T-shirts pressed and ironed. We’re ready for AWP 2008.
This year the writing conference is at the New York City Hilton, with 7,000 passes sold, according to the conference website.
Can’t make it? Bummed that it was sold out? [...]

Building my children’s book library

As you all must know by now, I’m pregnant. My little boy is due at the end of April, and I find myself feeling both excited and scared about the prospect of being a mom. I spend the wee hours of the night tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position, and obsessing about [...]

Once: Best Musical Ever?

Matt’s Movie Minutes for the Month of January
These minutes be a one-time thing, but it’s award season, so here’s my go at making ridiculous comments on films I’ve seen lately.

Once: for fans of Irish indie band The Frames, this is your music music music answer to the talk talk talk of Before Sunrise. Glen [...]

Free Documentaries: While the writers strike

In my unending quest to avoid TV, I’ve discovered a new diversion beyond clips and shows from ComedyCentral.com and AdultSwim.com — a friend hipped me to FreeDocumentaries.org.
The site believes that documentaries can effect real world change, and hosts a bajillion excellent movies from the more famous (Born into Brothels, Supersize Me) to the obscure (We [...]

A cheer for Small Beer

Small Beer is a teeny tiny press out of Easthampton, MA, founded by Gavin Grant and author of the highly acclaimed story collection Magic for Beginners Kelly Link. They publish like 2 books a year. We love small indie presses, especially when they do wonderful, unconventional books.
Small Beer is the publisher of Elizabeth Hand’s novel [...]

A Tale of Two New Yorks

It is a truly Dickensian tale.
This fall, I spent the semester negotiating both cities. Most mornings, I’d wake up on the well-to-do Upper West Side, grab a coffee on the corner, walk past the Gap and Banana Republic to the train.
A half hour later I’d emerge in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, where [...]

The People Spoke…and We Listened

Last night, I was lucky enough to be part of the audience for a taping of a segment for “The People Speak,” a new production based on historian and social activist Howard Zinn’s classic A People’s History of the United States. An impressive cast of actors, writers, and musicians are involved with the project, which [...]

Here I am, cartoon style

This isn’t one of those posts that will change your life, but I just found this little site online and I couldn’t resist making an animated me. Have some time to kill? Go to http://www.meez.com and make your own!