Doncha Think
Justine should learn to lindyhop? Actually, I don't care if you do, but I do want you to go say you do in her comments. C'mon, people! We need a hundred votes!
Ooh
From the Publishers Lunch Weekly deal report list:
Founder of indie rock band Throwing Muses Kristin Hersh's RAT GIRL, about a particularly pivotal year when, as a teenager, the author's band signed their first record deal, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she found out she was pregnant, to Alexis Washam at Penguin, for publication in 2010, by Jason Anthony at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NA).
I know Doselle and Elizabeth will be interested in this one too.
Tuesday Hangovers
- Kathleen Duey talks about her twitter novel experiment over at Cyn's spooky place. I highly recommend following her for the installments.
- A profile of Ayelet Waldman in the WashPost; I still miss her blog. She was a natural.
- Library raves!
- Nikola Tesla and a deserted site on Long Island at Science Times. (Via Jenny D.)
- I can't remember if I've blogged this, but YA and children's writers might want to check out the new Katherine Paterson Prize at the reinvented Hunger Mountain journal from my MFAlma mater.
- Summer reading recs from Gavin and Kelly.
- Lisa Gold on the dangers of Wikipedia hoaxes and lazy fact checking.
- Maud on NPR talking about Mark Twain. Christopher and I were just talking about his Joan of Arc novel a few days ago.
- Mary at the must-read Kid Lit site reviews the most excellent Carol Lynch Williams' The Chosen One.
- Erin talks about pens and recommends her faves.
- Greg van Eekhout on revising out those bugbear repeated words, which seem to infect every manuscript.
Strawberry Death Match!
My new favorite thing ever–or at least of today–via Sarah Cross: Frazetta-style* '80s cartoon art.
You'll understand if I tell you that my friends and I STILL listened to the ultimately trippy Strawberry Shortcake Exercise and Fun Album in high school (it ended brilliantly with a track called "The Bottom of the Sea"). But, seriously, I learned to DIVE because of Strawberry Shortcake–and then my brother blew her up. I couldn't love this piece more.
*Or possibly some other style that Jeremy references in the comments and which, I've no doubt, will inspire hearty debate on a topic of which I know zippo. I just heart killer Strawberry Shortcake. I fully support the analysis of her genius.
Strawberry Death Match! Read More »
Tardy Dollhouse Discuss. & Misc.
Sorry I forgot to post the Dollhouse thread. The level of busy for the past week has topped historical levels, but I finally got a chance to watch the ep last night. Now that's more like it. Spoilers in comments. Some regular posting to resume this week.
Reading Paul Tremblay's The Little Sleep and finding it a pleasing cocktail reminiscent of Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn and Jen Banbury's Like a Hole in the Head, with a hint of Bukowski bitters.
Tardy Dollhouse Discuss. & Misc. Read More »
Tiptree Riot
The results of the 2008 Tiptree Award are out. Another big representation for YA this year, including one of the co-winners. Big round of applause for the hard-working jurors, and I'll stash the full press release behind the cut. And the winners are:
The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, Walker (UK) 2008 and Candlewick Press (US) 2008. This book has also won the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize (U.K.), which celebrates contemporary fiction for teenagers, and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.
Filter House, by Nisi Shawl, Aqueduct Press, 2008, also chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s best books of 2008.
…
Neb Madness
Winners of the Nebulas and the Andre Norton Award gacked from Locus:
- Novel: Powers, Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt)
- Novella: "The Spacetime Pool," Catherine Asaro (Analog Mar '08)
- Novelette: "Pride and Prometheus," John Kessel (F&SF Jan '08)
- Short Story: "Trophy Wives," Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Fellowship Fantastic)
- Andre Norton Award: Flora's Dare, Ysabeau Wilce (Harcourt)
A good night for YA (and Harcourt), I'd say–is this the first time a YA novel has won the Nebula novel award? Also, as Nini Mo would say: YAY for Flora! (And congratulations to Ysabeau and Doc Kessel and everyone else.)
Dollhouse Discussion
For all us poor stiffs not having fun at NESCBWI or the Nebs this weekend:
Haunted. Echo is programmed with the memories of a dead woman in the hopes that she can help solve the woman's murder. Topher secretly prepares Sierra for an engagement, and Ballard looks into Mellie's past.
I'm a little worried since the standalones are my least favorites so far, but the show has been on a roll lately and perhaps this'll be the first truly good one.
Dollhouse Discussion Read More »
Hangovers
- Quickquick ones today, as I am busy bee. (Yes, I know I'm failing miserably at BEDA, but I have blogged MORE, so that's something, right?) And owe people stuff, especially e-mails.
- Margo Rabb interviews Sherman Alexie, and we find out his YA novel Radioactive Love Song is delayed for now. (Here's hoping it gets finished sometime, because it sounds most excellent.) I think Flight could be packaged as YA as is–would be great to pair with Slaughterhouse-Five in the classroom, too.
- I've never even heard of John Christopher's The Death of Grass, apparently now back in print, but must check it out based on this recommendation.
- Chris Lehmann on his time at NY Magazine. (Via Maud.)
- Arthur Slade on his experience using Facebook ads to promote his new novel. I hope we see more of these kinds of posts. Very useful.
- The tweets from the Romantic Times conference are great fun to observe so far. Jason Pinter posts his entries from attending the 2007 one.
- Writing about teen sex at the Sydney Morning Herald blog.
- Editorial Anonymous with a typically good post on reviews–good ones can help, bad ones don't hurt.
- Mary at the already-dynamite KidLit.com with a post about the importance of remembering that characters have pasts and futures in addition to presents.
- Andrew Wheeler's response to Jonathan Karp's PW piece.
- Want to live in this treehouse, someday. But the dogs would hate it.
Monday Hangovers
- The lovely and hilarious Toni McGee Causey has a post that every writer should read: "How do you know when to quit?"
- Jonathan Karp offers twelve interesting suggestions for fixing publishing in this week's PW.
- Author Lynn Viehl on the realities of her making the NYT best-seller list.
- After Chavez gives Obama a copy of Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America its Amazon sales go through the roof. This is a happy-making thing. Any time Galeano's books are selling, I'm happy. Kind of a ballsy gift too.
- Ted Gioia asks: "Did sci-fi writers from the 1940s and 1950s anticipate the future of serious literature better than the so-called 'serious writers,' or, for that matter, the highbrow critics?"
- RIP J.G. Ballard at Jacket Copy and Omnivoracious.
- Thoughts on book promotion from Ypulse's Anastasia Goodstein.
- Compared to Geek Love? Will read, scary clown cover or not.
- Steven Johnson in the WSJ on "how the e-book will change the way we read and write."
- Yesterday's Magic District "quickie" was on favorite reference books, and some great ones were recommended.
- Glen Hirshberg shares an excerpt from The Book of Bunk. Check it out.