Past Updates
Hello and happy spring (nearly)!
And it's the first book of mine that’s been chosen for mention by Book Sense, a national marketing campaign by and for the independent bookstores of America. "Sundays in America" will be a Book Sense Notable Title for May and will appear in the 450,000 May Book Sense flyers which distributed through independent bookstores around the country.
I’ve got lots of readings and signings arranged, and big thanks goes to those who will be hosting me at their bookstores, libraries, schools and clubs in the next few months. I also thank everyone who’s been reading my books – if nobody were, I wouldn’t get to do this for a living, as I have now for thirteen years. See the Events page for "Sundays in America" reading dates, which start at 7 p.m. on March 12 at the Broadside in Northampton, Mass. It’s been my tradition and good fortune to hold my first readings there since 1994, as I have since its founder, the late Bruce MacMillan, asked me to read there with my first book – even before it was out or he knew what it was about. He simply loved to help authors. I will be signing at Edwards Books the next day, March 13, from noon to 1:30. Edwards, which inspired my second memoir, "Shelf Life," has at the ready the abovementioned stacks of copies of Sundays in America. If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of the new book, or any of my books, write info@edwardsbooks.com or phone 413-736-6844.
Anyone who’d like to book a "Sundays in America" reading or signing at a bookstore, library, social club or book group is invited to contact me or my publicist, Pam MacColl. Don’t hesitate to propose an event just because you’re not in New England, I’m planning to tour far and wide. Check the Events page for the latest list of readings.
Somewhere in all of this, I’ve been continuing to write for the online magazine Obit, www.obit-mag.com, and contributing to Beacon Press’ new blog, www.beaconbroadside.com.
And if you’d like to write, take note that my wonderful friends, poets and authors Ted and Annie Deppe and I are checking for preliminary interest in an Irish writing retreat in autumn 2008. We'll be offering a conference from 15-22 October 2008 in Howth, a beautiful seaside village just north of Dublin. We plan to have a week of workshops, seminars, readings, and field trips to literary sites in Dublin. Click on the Workshop page for more information. Applications are due by March 28!
Speaking of Ireland, if you’re headed to the Dingle Peninsula, may I recommend firsthand Saoirse Tours (saoirsetours@eircom.net, 011-353-86-3772195) for guided tours of Counties Galway, Clare and Kerry, with other areas explored on request. Packages include transportation to and from the airport, accommodations, meals, and a whole lot of fun.
And speaking of workshops, as I was a few paragraphs ago… The Blue Hills Writing Institute has invited me to lead a workshop this August, so I’ll be at Curry College in Milton, Mass., Aug. 11 and 12 to present two days on "Writing Around the Corner—Setting Stories in Your Hometown." Full details are available on the Blue Hills Writing Institute web pages.
It was at the Blue Hills Writing Institute that I met Allan Hunter, a Curry professor, counselor and author who has a 99-year-old motorcycle in his garage and a zillion years of wisdom in his head. Lucky for us, he’s generous enough to share. His latest book is the amazing "Stories We Need to Know: Reading Your Life Path in Literature" (Findhorn Press), in which Allan has scooped six archetypes from 3,000 years of literature and myth. Find out which you are at this moment in your life, and how age-old and currently bestselling stories ("Homer to Harry Potter" is how Findhorn perfectly puts it) can light the way from one challenge to the next. When my first book came out, a woman nearly as old as Allan’s motorcycle wrote me and said "Keep writing fiction. Fiction saves lives." I kept that note. Now I have just the book in which to press it.
I’d also like to get everyone I know reading "A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants" by Jaed Coffin. This DaCapo Press memoir is the first book for Jaed, a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program in which I teach. At age 21, this Thai-American Middlebury College student spent a season as a Buddhist monk in his mother’s native village in Thailand. "A Chant" details that, along with compelling contemplation of culture and identity.
For the second time in a row, I’m closing an update of this site with a remembrance, this time of Jackie Walker, who died January 8. Jackie and her equally dynamic counterpart, Deb Orgera, eight years ago founded the Cancer Connection of Florence, Mass., which helps patients, survivors and loved ones alike. So many in this area were blessed and fortunate to have received from Jackie love, guidance, presence and the occasional pink-themed doo-dad. I send armloads of thanks and love to the spirit of Jackie, and much love and strength to her family, and to her Cancer Connection family, starting with Deb and Sibyl.
Suzanne