BookExpo America is an exciting event that brings together industry professionals, book bloggers and reading fanatics to discuss what the next big thing will be in publishing. While it’s a wonderful weekend, it’s not as welcoming to casual readers as some other conventions. Which is why Bookcon was introduced. For a greatly reduced price, book… Read more »
Most writers are readers. We grew up absorbed in books. I was one of those kids who grew up without a television, so I was reading a book a day on average. I still read a lot now, but unfortunately, I don’t absorb good writing technique automatically. I have to be deliberate about it. I… Read more »
Tomorrow publishers, booksellers, writers and industry professionals gather in New York City for one of the most most magical–not to mention, massive–events of the book industry year. Book-lovers rush in droves toward that glorious concrete behemoth overlooking the Hudson River (AKA the Javits Center), united by a passion for the written word and the hope… Read more »
Whether you love children’s books or you haven’t read a kid’s book since you we’re a kid yourself, , we writers have one thing in common: we were all kids once. At some point in our lives, we all had that experience of finding a book that captured us in a profound way and chances… Read more »
Of all the books I read in a given year, I’d estimate 90% of it is young adult literature (YA). This hasn’t always been the case. In fact, I only started reading it a few years ago, when I was well past my teen years. The truth is, YA wasn’t very popular when I was… Read more »
The first thing you learn when writing for children and teens is that you have to get rid of the parents. With parents or other adults around, the kids don’t have as many opportunities to go on adventures or get into trouble. The easiest way to solve this problem is to kill off (or otherwise… Read more »
I struggled to come up with a perfect suggested reading list for this month’s Master Class on Short Fiction, but I kept finding myself hitting the wall. Some of you may have heard me lament the absence in the world of a perfect short story anthology . I’ve found ones that are OK but never… Read more »
I have long been on a quest for the perfect short story anthology, some book I can point my students to and say: “this is the only short story book you’ll ever need.” I’ve even tossed around the idea of someday putting an anthology together myself (a project which comes with its own host of… Read more »
This is a DIY MFA Manifesto for Why Writers Must Be Readers First One year ago, I heard Richard Nash (Publisher of Red Lemonade) give a fascinating talk about how writers have to be readers. His argument was that reading and writing are the opposite sides of the same interaction. I remember thinking: OMG did… Read more »
First of all, let me start by clarifying what I consider short form literature. For me, short form literature is basically anything that can be read in one gulp, one sitting. In other words short form literature is: poems, essays, short stories, and picture books. I include picture books on the list because in my… Read more »
