The Writing Life @NYSOCLIB

Congratulations Chris Raschka!

2012-01-25T16:28:00.010-05:00

Congratulations to Library member Chris Raschka, who won the 2012 Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children for his A Ball for Daisy .

The Caldecott Medal is named for English illustrator Randolph Caldecott and is awarded annually by the American Library Association each year at its mid-Winter meeting.

Congrats to Edgar Finalist David Duffy

2012-01-25T16:17:00.011-05:00

Congratulations to member David Duffy, whose first mystery Last to Fold was just nominated for an Edgar Award in the category of Best First Novel by an American Author. The Edgars, named for Edgar Allan Poe, are awarded by the Mystery Writers of America to honor the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television.

Notes from The A-B-C's of E-Book Publishing

2012-01-20T13:32:00.081-05:00

Here, at long last, are my notes from the January 10 Writing Life talk
The A-B-C's of E-Book Publishing held here at The New York Society Library. Please be aware that what follows are most definitely my notes, and not a word for word transcription of the talk. All errors and grammatical missteps are my own. I hope that some of you who attended will add your comments. Feel free to email me if you have additions or see any errors that need correcting. Our panelists:

John Snyder (JS), author of the new book Hill of Beans: Coming of Age in the Last Days of the Old South

Joshua Tallent (JT), founder and CEO of eBook Architects

Parnell Hall (PH), author of the Stanley Hastings and Puzzle Lady mysteries

Brief Statements from the Panelists:
John Snyder (JS) published his first book with Smith/Kerr Associates, who asked for the e-book rights. A lawyer friend insisted that he should retain the digital rights himself. John's research led him to Josh Tallent and eBook Architects. John wanted both Mobipocket (Amazon Kindle) and epub files (Barnes & Noble, Google, Kobo) in order to get his book listed on Amazon, Sony, Barnes & Noble, and Google Books. Due to the over 60 pictures, endnotes and footnotes, Hill of Beans is a more complicated formatting job. John used Bookbaby ($99; $19 for maintenance) to get it listed on Amazon and other sites. To promote his e-book, John hired web designer Chris Eastland to develop his website, and place a 4-minute video on the book on the website and on facebook. He sent out a number of review copies, was able to garner 10 good blurbs from luminaries like Jonathan Galassi and Roy Blount Jr, prevailed on friends to write reviews on Amazon, and paid for Kirkus to review the book {according to John, Kirkus will review your book for a fee, though payment does not guarantee a good review. You can suppress the review if you don't like it}.

Josh Tallent (JT) got started in the business by working with a proprietary format and wrote the book Kindle Formatting. He started eBook Architects, which now has a staff of 10. He notes that ebook sales are up 200% year over year; 17% of total sales are ebooks, which is up from 10% last year and 4% the year before. The two basic formats are ePub, the industry standard for B&N, Google, and Kobo; and Mobipocket for Amazon Kindle. There are 2 other new formats: kf8 for the Kindle Fire and ePub3. There's lots of new functionality available for ebooks which works really well for books like John's that have lots of pictures and other features as well as for Children's books.

Parnell Hall (PH) has 35 books that are out of print, which form his backlist. He got the digital rights back from the print publishers and published initially himself for the Kindle. Essentially, his DIY method was to scan the book, clean it up, and format it for Kindle (using information gleaned from Josh's expertise). Note that he did need new covers - he could not use the publisher's copyrighted material. He also converted 6 of his books that were written under the pseudonym J. P. Hailey . He priced these at $.99 just to get them out there and the remaining titles at $2.99 (which is the lowest price that gets you 70% royalty rate from Amazon). His newest books are being e-published by his traditional print publisher - these days it's often a deal breaker to try and retain the digital rights.

Q&A:
Q: Would a traditional publisher ever pick up a first time author's book if it is first self published as an e-book?
JT: It has happened.If it's well researched, well designed and on a topic that might get some notice.

Q: What are the pros/cons between print and e-books?
JT: If you use a real designer, e-books can compare quite favorably with print. The key is not to do it cheaply so it looks like you self published. The economics of self publishing ebooks are terrific: from Amazon, there's 70% royalty on the price and no returns to deal with.

Q: What is your projection for older folks adopting e-readers?
JT: E-readers are actually perfect for older people, since they are fairly intuitive, it's easy to keep your place in the text, and maybe more importantly, the font size can be enlarged.

Q: I have an out of print book and some (but not all) of the chapters are still useful today. What can I do without having to update the whole book?
JT: You could break up the book, and publish individual pieces as self contained chapters. They could be priced at the $.99 price point.

Q: Kindle returns?
JT: My book was priced at $9.99 and had very few returns
PH: At $2.99 and $.99, I had 2 out of 500 returned

Q: Library sales?
JT: Overdrive is the major player in the library e-book market. Self published e-book authors can go to Overdrive.

Q: What does it cost to publish an eBook?
JT: $150 for fiction for both formats, ePub and Mobipocket. For nonfiction, it depends on the complexity of the content, such as pictures, footnotes, endnotes, iPad, interactivity, but generally it's in the range of $1.75 to $2 per page.
Lynn Mandel Hall: It's worth it to spend some money on a cover that pops. For Parnell's books, we spent $200 on the cover (Elizabeth diPalma, designer).

Q: What's the ideal price point for an e-book?
JT: For nonfiction, it depends on the content. Look at similar books and price accordingly.

Q: Should I use a single website for all my content?
JT: Best to have a separate page for each book under one website. Also definitely place Amazon associate links to your books on the website.

Q: Should I keep the rights myself or use Open Road?
JT: Do you want to become a publisher? You need to ask yourself if you have the desire to do your own publishing or not.

Q: Is there a difference in your creative process when you're writing to publish e-books versus print books?
PH: I'm a bad example. I dictate all my books and then type them up. So it makes no difference to me.
JT: Best to take extra care with self publishing e-books. Make sure it's professionally edited. The quality needs to be high. Often, he gets many edits from authors after they first see their book in e-format.
JS: After Hill of Beans was first formatted as an e-book, he found it took 39 clicks to get to the very first paragraph. So, editing was necessary, moving the preface and other stuff to the back of the e-book.

Q: Any recommendations for marketing e-books?
JT: Recommends Shelton Interactive from Austin, TX. They do social media, and can create and maintain author websites.

Q: How can I find a good editor?
Carolyn: Feel free to call or email me - I have a number of names of member editors who'd love to work with NYSL member writers.

Q: I'm not sure the economics make sense for me if I have to pay out of pocket for a freelance editor, e-book formatting, and publicity
JT: For nonfiction, it's often a matter of selling a service, which is not necessarily a profit motive. By all means, if you have an opportunity and can sell your book to a traditional publisher, do it!

Q: What do you think about DRM (digital rights management)?
JT: Not an advocate of DRM. It makes things harder for readers, for example when you buy content for your Amazon Kindle, then you buy a Nook, you're out of luck and can't read content you already purchased. The argument for DRM is due to piracy, but JT found that his book has been pirated, but to a far less extent than it has sold.
PH: Check out Ereads.

Q: What are your consulting fees?
JT: $150/hour for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Q: I have a publisher and I have been unsuccessful retaining the digital rights to my work. I have found it's a dealbreaker.
PH: It depends upon the publisher, but it can be a dealbreaker. The publisher of all of Parnell's new mysteries retain both the print and digital rights.
JT: Still, the question is whether you want to publish or to write? And if you can get a traditional publishing contract, good for you.

Notes coming soon!

2012-01-10T18:06:00.007-05:00

Thanks to all the Library members who attended today's Writing Life talk on The A-B-C's of E-Book Publishing. I promised to post my notes on the blog and will do so just as soon as I can transcribe them. If you've got notes - I know you do! - I'd love to have them so I can fill in anything I might have missed while I was listening and furiously scribbling.

While you're waiting, please visit the websites of our fabulous speakers:
John Snyder, author of Hill of Beans.

Joshua Tallent, founder and CEO of eBook Architects

Parnell Hall, author of the Stanley Hastings and Puzzle Lady mysteries

...and don't forget to check out Parnell's videos on You Tube: King of Kindle, Signing in the Waldenbooks, and EBook v. Book

Literary Magazine on Jan 18 is FULLY REGISTERED

2012-01-09T14:44:00.005-05:00

Sorry, folks. The Library's January 18 Literary Magazine Salon with Triple Canopy, The Paris Review and host Adam Kirsch is fully registered.

An Afternoon with Salvador Dali

2012-01-03T09:37:00.005-05:00

Those of you who attended The New York Society Library's very first Open Mic Night on Oct 27, 2009 will definitely remember Victoria Reiter's fascinating memory piece "An Afternoon with Salvador Dali".

The piece has just been published in the latest issue of the online literary magazine Eclectica. Read it and realize just how dull your own life is.

Happy New Year!

The Writing Life Winter 2012

2011-12-28T14:37:00.044-05:00

I'm really excited about the Winter 2012 programming for The Writing Life at The New York Society Library. The January events have already been announced to the membership in the e-newsletter that came out this week, but I thought I'd give the faithful blog readers a heads up on the rest...Don't forget to register, because spaces are limited.

The A-B-C's of E-Book Publishing
with: John Snyder, author of Hill of Beans; Joshua Tallent (Founder and CEO of eBook Architects); and bestselling author Parnell Hall.
January 10 at 10am, Members' Room
Free of charge. For Library members only.

Literary Magazine Salon
hosted by Adam Kirsch
January 18 at 6:30pm, Members' Room
$10. Open to the Public. Nonmembers can register by calling or emailing Events office at 212-288-6900 x230 or events@nysoclib.org
Celebrate the literary magazine at our third annual Salon, featuring food and wine, conversation, visual presentations, and readings. Editors of The Paris Review and Triple Canopy will discuss thoughts on literature old and new, on the page and on the Web.

Blurb is a Verb! Adventures (and Misadventures) in Book Publicity
February 14 at 10am, Whitridge Room
Free of charge. For Library members only.
Sarah Pinneo is the author of the popular blog Blurb is a Verb!, in which she shares true (and sometimes terrible) stories of book publicity gone right (and wrong). In this talk, the self-described publishing nerd will reveal what she's learned about online book publicity, book bloggers, social media, bookstore events, working with your in-house publicist, and how to find your audience.

Close Reading: The Craft of Reading Fiction Like a Writer
with: Dylan Landis
March 13 at 10am, Whitridge Room
Free of charge. For Library members only.
In this session we'll take the first chapter of Daniel Woodrell's novel Winter's Bone, read it aloud one sentence or paragraph at a time, and hold each part up to the light. Close reading is a slow, surprisingly exciting process. It reveals how a writer does the critical jobs of storytelling: creates conflict, ramps up tension, reveals and deepens character, establishes place and time, anchors a world in sensory detail, and moves the story forward. Through close reading we refine our ability to learn, as writers, the craft of fiction from the authors we admire.

Notes on: Organizing Your Notes

2011-12-16T10:48:00.064-05:00

Thanks to all the member writers who attended the Library's Writing Life discussion Organizing Your Notes on Tuesday, Dec 13. The event was structured as an audience forum, moderated by biographer Gayle Feldman, whose current project (a biography of Bennet Cerf, a man of many lives) would sorely test the limits of patience of even the most organized among us.

The discussion revealed one observable fact: the majority of the member writers in the audience (Gayle included) do not use organizing software and actually do not use many electronic tools in organizing research notes. Those of you that do use organizing software, please weigh in in the comments section below!

Gayle Describes Her Own Project to Set up the Discussion
As she sees it, there are 2 separate organizing challenges:
1) the "stuff" itself - papers, archival materials, photos, etc.
2) how to have the material available to use it for writing

Gayle's own research "stuff" includes:
1) Physical Files - these are papers that she has organized in three ways: People, Thematic, and Chronological. Cross-referencing of paper files is ESSENTIAL.
2) 7 dedicated Bookcase Shelves - organized thematically and chronologically
3) Computer Files - these mirror the paper files in some respects
4) Archive Files - Archival collections in libraries often have finding aids online; some archival libraries are organized better than others. Gayle keeps physical file folders for each archive and since many will let you photograph materials, she does, prints them at home, and adds slips of paper with notations on the archive (eg. "Faulkner Box 20, UVA")
5) Interviews - Gayle's project involves over 200 interviews. She started the project 9 years ago using mini discs, which are now unfortunately obsolete. She does not transcribe interviews as it takes too long. Instead, she's developed her own form of shorthand, and she records the interviews in steno notebooks. An interview index (name, date, a few sentences of the important info or quotes) helps her to find the stuff later.

What Gayle does with the "stuff":
She has a big, general outline
- Each decade of her subject's life is a section
- Within each section are individual chapters
- She creates an outline for each section, sub-divides the section, culls all the "stuff" from filing cabinets and the computer files and puts it into files. Also uses post it notes on papers in files to flag things according to the outline. Once it's written, she pulls off the post it notes.
- Each chapter has a title
- Each chapter also has a footer indicating its place in the grand outline (eg. "Part 4, Chapter 6, Draft 12_2011)

The Discussion
Q (to Gayle): When do you get rid of drafts? A: She keeps them all.

Q (to Gayle): How do you manage transitions in the work and know when you've used material or mentioned various people, events, etc? A: Use search/find in the document

Q: How to manage bibliographies? One audience member suggested Worldcat.org, which allows you to register, create lists, and export bibliographies and citations in various formats. Other suggestions were citation software like the fee-based EndNote and the free Zotero. Check out Zotero in the notes from the tech class on Citations Made Simple that one of our librarians taught last year.

Q (to Gayle): Do you ever convert the paper research you've acquired to electronic? A: No, there's basically too much photocopied correspondence. Audience members weighed in to suggest easy ways to digitize various files and formats so it can be used electronically. Adobe Acrobat can be expensive, but you can then run optical character recognition (OCR) on the output to make the content searchable. Paper Port software from Nuance was reported to be cheaper than Acrobat. Scanning can be quick and easy too. One audience member recommended her Fujitsu Scan Snap S1300 which is relatively inexpensive and can scan 8-10 pages at a time. It's also possible to purchase attachments for feeding slides for scanning.

Q: Perhaps off the topic for writers, specifically, but how would the audience suggest organizing personal papers? A: Again, much like when you're writing, you should think about the "stuff" and how you'll be using the "stuff". Audience suggested putting some order to it possibly by topic, and then by chronology.

Q: Any suggestions for software to cross-reference material? Writer has been using FileMaker Pro, which she finds difficult to use. Audience did not have alternate suggestions.

Q: Dictation software? A: Many audience members reported having great experiences using the latest edition of Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is very accurate. Another member suggested the add on software Utter Command, a speech command system that works with Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Other audience members recommended OneNote, which according to the Microsoft website is a "note-taking and information-management program where you can capture ideas and information in electronic form".

Please continue to inform the discussion by adding your own comments and suggestions!

These notes were taken with plain old pen and paper and were therefore difficult to decipher and interpret 5 days later. {sigh}

Books at the Bar, Thursday, Dec 1

2011-11-30T13:55:00.005-05:00

Once again directing your attention to this terrific author series at The New York City Bar Association. Books at the Bar chair (and NY State judge AND NYSL member) Diane Kiesel says:

"Washington, DC author John A. Farrell, who will speak about his new biography, Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned. If you think there is nothing new to say about old Clarence, you will learn you are quite wrong. The Farrell book is full of interesting, entertaining surprises about this legal icon."

The program begins at 6 PM with a wine and cheese reception (!) for the author, followed by a book talk, question and answer period, book sale and signing.

Thursday, Dec 1, 6pm
The City Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street (betw 5th and 6th avenues)

Crime Scene!

2011-11-10T12:46:00.010-05:00

Something to plan for next week:
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
It's the 8th Annual Festival of New Literature from Europe and this year's literary series theme is Crime Scene. There are readings, panels, and films scheduled from Nov 15 - Nov 20, but there's one in particular that you should check out.

NYSL member B.J. Rahn (Profesor of English at Hunter College and a scholar of crime fiction) will be moderating the panel The Shifting Scene at The Center for Fiction on Nov 16 at 6:30pm.

8th Annual Festival
New Literature From Europe
New York, Nov 15-20,2011
Click here for details

Invitation from the Colonial Dames

2011-10-20T15:00:00.009-04:00

A.R. Gurney's The Dining Room
A Reading Benefiting the Colonial Dames Museum House
Wednesday, November 2

Cocktails and Hors D'oeuvres 6:00 p.m.; Reading 7:00 p.m.
215 East 71st Street (2nd/3rd Aves.)
Informal tours of museum available
$75 or two for $125; Call 212-744-3572 to reserve

Join New York Society Library member and past presenter Bill Connington at a benefit reading of The Dining Room by beloved American playwright A.R. Gurney. The play is a comedy of manners about white European culture in 20th-century America. The reading also stars TV/Broadway performers Barbara Walsh (Company, Falsettos), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q), Edoardo Ballerini (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos), David M. Lutken (Inherit the Wind), and Annmarie Benedict (Robeson).

The evening benefits the restoration of the dining room at Van Cortlandt House in the Bronx, historically important as the headquarters of General George Washington in the Battle of White Plains.

For more information on the Colonial Dames, click here

The Center for Fiction's New Crime Writing Academy

2011-10-18T09:04:00.006-04:00

Calling all aspiring crime writers! The Center for Fiction (one of the 3 membership libraries along with us here in NYC) has just announced a new program dedicated to the art of crime writing. Full press release below:

New York, October 14, 2011 -- The Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, has announced the February 2012 debut of The Crime Fiction Academy, the first ongoing, rigorous program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms. Students accepted into the program will be taught by successful practitioners of the genre, including workshop leaders and master teachers Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Lee Child, Thomas H. Cook, Linda Fairstein, Susan Isaacs, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, Joyce Carol Oates, SJ Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, Karin Slaughter and more. Crime fiction writer and CFA workshop leader Megan Abbott says, "Crime fiction doesn't just engage and entertain. It tells us volumes about the world we live in, and has helped form the foundation of American literature and storytelling. I am honored to be a part of a program that celebrates crime fiction and, more importantly, will serve as a launching pad for the next generation of crime writers and a vital incubator for hundreds of rich and exciting novels to come." Classes will take place in The Center’s 8-story building at 17 E. 47th Street in Manhattan.

CFA’s challenging and thoroughly engaging curriculum will include:
• a 14-week writing workshop
• a monthly Master Class
• a crime fiction reading seminar
• special lectures and discussions with editors, agents and distinguished persons from the world of crime fiction and publishing
• 24-hour access to the Center for Fiction’s Writers Studio
• Use of the extensive circulating collection (the Center for Fiction recently won a Raven Award for their amazing in-depth crime fiction collection)
• Free admission to all Center for Fiction events.

CFA Program Director and crime fiction writer Jonathan Santlofer says, “It was time for someone, someplace to take crime fiction seriously enough to create an in-depth, ongoing program devoted exclusively to the genre. And what better place then New York’s own Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, an institution that has been dedicated to writers and readers for almost 200 years. A chance to hone one’s writing skills with successfully published crime fiction authors, to shape that novel or story you’ve been thinking about, working on, but just couldn’t finish, in one of New York City’s most intimate and nurturing environments — what more could any writer ask for?”

All classes, workshops, and lectures will take place in the evening. Students may enroll for one term, but a year-long commitment is suggested to take full advantage of the program. Admission is limited and competitive and is based on work samples. CFA will be accepting applications, beginning in November 2011 for the term beginning in February 2012. Click here for details.

Paul Werner Brooklyn Book Festival

2011-09-16T12:46:00.000-04:00

Member Paul Werner will present and discuss his recent book, The Red Museum: Art, Economics and the Ends of Capital.

Brooklyn Book Festival
Sunday, September 18, 2011, 10am - 6pm
Brooklyn Borough Hall

C.S. Hanson's CHARLES WINN SPEAKS

2011-09-15T09:00:00.016-04:00

Member C.S. Hanson's new play CHARLES WINN SPEAKS opens in previews tonight at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater.

Previews: Sept. 15 and 16.
Opening night: Sat., Sept. 17.
Closing night: Sat., Oct. 1.

CHARLES WINN SPEAKS
By C.S. Hanson
Directed by Lynn M. Thomson
Starring Christopher Kipiniak and Lindsey Gates

September 17 – October 1, 2011

Cherry Lane Studio Theatre
38 Commerce Street
New York City -- in the West Village

Tickets: $18. Call Telecharge: 212-239-6200 or
buy tickets online

Books at the Bar features Nina Burleigh

2011-09-14T09:45:00.008-04:00

On Thursday, September 15, Nina Burleigh will be the first guest of the Books at the Bar's new season, discussing her just-published, The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox.

American college student Amanda Knox thought she would spend a year abroad studying in picturesque Perugia. Instead, she may spend the rest of her life in an Italian prison for the gruesome murder of her roommate. But did she do it? See what Nina has to say as she explores the lurid case in her latest true-crime book and also delves into the realities and myths of Italian life, culture and the criminal justice system.

The program begins at 6pm with a wine and cheese reception for the author and is followed by a book discussion and question and answer session. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. The evening is free, fun and all are welcome.

Nina Burleigh, author of The Fatal Gift of Beauty

Books at the Bar
Thursday, Sept 15, 6pm
New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th Street (between 5th/6th Aves)

Writing Groups this Week

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

Interested Library members should contact me to inquire about space availability.

Monday, September 12
11am - 1pm Children's/Young Adult Writing Group

3pm - 4:45pm Non-Fiction Writing Group

Thursday, September 15
10am - 12pm Memoir Writing Group 2

All groups meet in the Whitridge Room.

Weekend Hours Begin Tomorrow

2011-09-09T09:56:00.006-04:00

The Library weekend hours resume tomorrow. Come visit us and take our minds off the fact that our beach-going days are officially over.

Now Open:
Saturdays 9am - 5pm
Sundays 1pm - 5pm

Help a Small Town NY Library

2011-09-02T09:51:00.007-04:00

Hurricane Irene may be just a memory to most New York City residents now - the hurricane that wasn't - but for many others not too far away, the storm was a tragedy.

The Wells Memorial Library, in the tiny Adirondacks town of Upper Jay, was devastated by Hurricane Irene. All but a few of their Children's Library collection has been lost to the extraordinary flooding they experienced.

For more information and ways to help rebuild their Children's collection, see here.

Closed for Labor Day

2011-09-02T09:05:00.005-04:00

Just a reminder that The New York Society Library will be closed Monday, September 5 for Labor Day.

We're open till 5pm today (Friday, Sept 2) so come on in and stock up for your weekend reading!

Have a wonderful holiday!

Library closed today

2011-08-29T08:07:00.001-04:00

The Library will be closed today, Monday, August 29.

Poets Meeting on Tuesday

2011-08-22T09:44:00.004-04:00

Poets writing group will be meeting Tuesday, August 23, from 4:30pm - 6:30pm in the Whitridge Room.

Library members only.

Writing Groups This Week

2011-08-15T07:00:00.007-04:00

Memoir Group
Monday, August 15, 2:30pm - 4:30pm, Whitridge Room
This the last meeting of the full group. In September, interested memoir writing members will be split into 2 groups. If you are not sure which group you've been assigned, please contact me.

Fiction Group 1
Tuesday, August 16, 5pm - 6:45pm, Whitridge Room

Please note that NYSL writing groups are open to Library members only.

How Do You Generate Buzz for the Debut & Mid-List Titles?

2011-08-12T09:31:00.037-04:00

Many of you will remember Elisabeth Weed, founder of Weed Literary, from The Writing Life talk we held this past January on Finding a Literary Agent*. In addition to her daily work, Elisabeth also manages to find time to write a very informative blog about the publishing business.

In her most recent post, she talks to Lucinda Blumenfeld, an agent who also works as an outside publicist and marketing professional, about the challenges of raising awareness for debut and mid-list titles.

Lucinda’s message is that word of mouth (she calls it “WOM”) is crucial, and appears to be the catalyst for the most popular books. We’ve talked about it before, in a number of The Writing Life programs, how authors must do more for themselves and must start much earlier in the process. Lucinda worked with NYSL member writer Gretchen Rubin on publicity for her wildly successful The Happiness Project. In our April 2010 talk Social Networking for Writers, just after publication of her book (and its debut on the NYT Bestseller List), Gretchen regaled (and slightly terrified) our member writers with the story of what it takes to build that word of mouth. It’s hard work. It takes time, effort, and dedication. But, according to Lucinda, it can also be gratifying for authors when their “fangelists” start tweeting and blogging the book.

She’s upfront about the fact that authors need to be realistic. You’re probably not going to get the front page of the New York Times Book Review or a tv spot, so look for non-traditional routes like writing an op-ed or a trend piece. Find outlets where you can have a larger impact, a place where you can get a larger conversation started which will be the hook that gets readers back to your book.

So get to it. Now’s the time! (Lucinda suggests getting started 6-8 months before publication.) Read the full interview with Lucinda in The Weekly Weeder.

*for recaps of The Writing Life talk Finding A Literary Agent, click here, here, and here.

Stacy Schiff, PEN Literary Award Winner

2011-08-11T09:13:00.013-04:00

Congratulations to member Stacy Schiff , for winning the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography for her blockbuster latest Cleopatra: A Life!

...and congratulations to NYSL friend Brigid Hughes for winning the PEN/Nora Magid Award, given to a magazine editor whose high literary standards and taste have contributed significantly to the excellence of the publication he or she edits. Our very first literary magazine salon featured Brigid and A Public Space , so we're thrilled for her.

For more 2011 PEN Literary Award winners, click here.

Are You On the Galley Cat List?

2011-08-09T16:00:00.016-04:00

Galley Cat, the publishing blog site, has created a list of authors willing to travel to book clubs (or visit via video or phone chat).

Book clubs can be a great way to create some buzz and build an audience, and writers often find themselves booked for return engagements if a club has enjoyed a visit. Publishers do have lists of book clubs but here's another way for the clubs to find you. Galley Cat has created an Authors Who Visit Book Clubs directory in Google Docs.

Check it out here.

WOOPS! Correction Non-fiction Writers Group TOMORROW

2011-08-08T09:00:00.006-04:00

WOOPS! I made a big mistake. The Library's Non-fiction Writers Group will actually meet TOMORROW. (I previously inaccurately wrote they were meeting today; the August meeting of the group is not being held on their regularly scheduled day.) Sorry for any confusion.

Tuesday, August 9, 3pm - 4:45pm
Whitridge Room

*open to NYSL members only

This Won't Take But a Minute of Your Time!

2011-08-03T09:14:00.019-04:00

August. The writing life slows down. It's the time of year agents and publishers shut down for a little R&R. The Library thins out as the members leave for the country (and I don't mean Brooklyn). Maybe you're vacationing, maybe you're taking a little break from writing. But I'm here, planning The Writing Life programming for Fall and beyond and I'd love to know what you think about the following topics. Could you help me out by leaving a comment below or better yet, send me a postcard! from whatever fabulous place you're at. Oh, and I am ALWAYS open to suggestions.

Organizing your work - tips, tricks, and tools for keeping your notes in line

Using the collections at NYPL - NYPL librarians talk about the collections and resources available to scholars and writers

Social Networking for Writers Redux - we had a very popular program in the Spring 2010, but it might be time for a refresher

Getting Published WITHOUT an Agent

Overcoming Writer's Block - strategies and stories

Finding and Applying for Grants and Prizes

Ebook Basics - publishing and publicizing your book for the ebook market

Invitation for NYSL Members: Pete Hamill at MCNY TONIGHT

2011-08-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

The Museum of the City of New York is once again extending a special invitation to members of The New York Society Library for a program featuring acclaimed author Pete Hamill.

Tuesday, August 2 at 6:30 PM
Pete Hamill, Tabloid City

The New York Times writes that Pete Hamill, in his latest novel, Tabloid City (Little, Brown & Company, 2011), “captures the grit and smell and pulse of Gotham’s sidewalks and subways.” In 50 years of newspaper reporting, 10 novels, and two collections of short stories Hamill has traced the ever-changing landscape of the city. Learn about the award-winning writer’s unique perspective on New York as he discusses Tabloid City, which chronicles the 24 hours following the death of a wealthy Greenwich Village socialite and her secretary.

Reservations required: 917-492-3395 or email programs@mcny.org
$6 museum members; $8 seniors and students; $12 non-members
$6 when you mention The New York Society Library

Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
212-534-1672

New Non-fiction from NYSL Members

2011-08-01T09:00:00.008-04:00

It's been a busy publishing season for NYSL member writers. There's something here for every kind of reader. {For a recap of member writers's fiction offerings, see my previous post.}

I'd definitely want Ina Caro to be my guide if I were traveling through France. In Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train, she takes readers on 25 enchanting and informative one-day journeys from Paris.

In the travel narrative The Other Side of the Mirror: An American Travels through Syria, Brooke Allen provides a refreshing alternate view of a country very much in the news lately.

Erica Jong is definitely not done being provocative. She's compiled powerful essays and stories about women's sexual experiences in her latest, Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex . Added bonus: the book also features essays by a number of other NYSL members, Daphne Merkin, Susan Cheever, and Molly Jong-Fast.

For all you Tony Bennett fans, David Evanier's All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett should hit just the right note (ok, bad pun).

Careful blog readers (hello, are you out there?) will note that Ronald De Feo has not one, but two books out this summer. His non-fiction entry is At the Margins: A reader's notes on the forgotten, the little read and the under-appreciated (Aug 22).

Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family – A Test of Will and Faith in World War I is Louisa Thomas's compelling story about her great-grandfather Norman Thomas, a six-time Presidential candidate and a conscientious objector, and his three brothers.

Beverly Behan has written a primer for the CEO in Great Companies Deserve Great Boards: A CEO's Guide to the Boardroom.

Mark Cannizzaro may not technically be a Library member, but he is married to yours truly, and since the football season is back on...New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History (Aug 19) is the perfect book for the Jets fan in your life. Trust me.

Summer Fiction from NYSL Members

2011-07-29T09:00:00.030-04:00

The dog days of summer are here indeed. I've compiled a list of new fiction from some of the Library's own member writers that would be perfect for a trip to the beach, the country cottage, or simply to the couch in your air conditioned apartment....

THRILLERS!

Two veteran journalists mine their rich experiences for a couple of debuts featuring high adventure in exotic locales. The Explorer's Code is from award winning CNN reporter Kitty Pilgrim, who sends her brainy oceanographer protagonist around the world in an action packed search for a valuable land deed. Nina Darnton's An African Affair also features a feisty heroine in a tale ripe with journalistic intrigue, political corruption, and romance.

If you like your globe trotting hit men with a passion for art and architecture, check out Ronald DeFeo's forthcoming Calling Mr. King (August 30).

From screenwriter (The Boys from Brazil, Fort Apache: The Bronx) and novelist Heywood Gould comes the fast paced, cinema style thriller The Serial Killer’s Daughter.

HISTORICAL FICTION

Gregory Murphy's atmospheric debut Incognito is a literary mystery set during the Gilded Age in New York and on Long Island.

Next to Love , the latest from Ellen Feldman, follows the lives of three women before, during, and after WWII. {this one is a particular favorite of mine...I chose it as a staff pick in our summer reading feature in the Summer Newsletter}

ELITE MANHATTAN

In two very different new novels, Manhattan's elite take center stage. Helen Schulman weaves a tale for our time in This Beautiful Life (August 2), exploring the fallout after a teenager sends an explicit video to a fellow student at an exclusive private school.

And The Social-Climber’s Handbook is Molly Jong-Fast 's dark and entertaining comedy about a woman who'll do anything to stay at the top of the social ladder.

Coming up: New non-fiction from NYSL members.

a note to all our fantastic NYSOCLIB member writers: if you've written a new book or have upcoming book talks or other appearances around the area, let me know! I'd love to share them with the rest of our membership.

Library discards as art

2011-07-28T12:47:00.008-04:00

Those of you that know our newest Children's Librarian, Julia Weist, also know that she's an amazing artist (her impressive resume includes an art degree from Cooper Union).

My sincerest apologies for the late notice, but you've got 2 days to get to the Gasser/Grunert gallery to see the current exhibition Against the Way Things Go , which features Julia's latest mixed media installation. It's a fascinating study of library books as cultural objects. As librarians, we love books. Some, like Julia, also write books. And many of us, end up {almost always reluctantly} weeding and discarding them as well. Check out the exhibit before it's gone. And yes, some of those discards did come from NYSL.

Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Inc.
524 West 19th Street
Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm and by appointment

Writing Groups this Week

2011-07-18T09:06:00.004-04:00

All group meeting are held in the Whitridge Room. Library members only.
For questions, please contact me!

Memoir Group
TODAY, Monday, July 18, 2:30pm - 4:45pm

Fiction Group I
Tuesday, July 19, 5pm - 6:45pm

Fiction Group II
Wednesday, July 20, 11am - 1pm
Please note this is the last meeting for Group II for the Summer. Group resumes in September (Tues, Sept 27, 11am; note this date is not the regularly scheduled day due to the Jewish holidays.

Ina Caro at B&N 82nd Street tonight

2011-07-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

NYSL member Ina Caro will present her latest book Paris to the Past: Traveling through French History by Train, which guides you through a history of France in twenty five train trips departing from Paris. Publishers Weekly calls it a "charming, rapturous guide to la Belle France that tells you where to go-and why."

Monday, July 11, 7pm
Barnes & Noble, 2289 Broadway (at 82nd St)
Event info

Erica Jong & Molly Jong-Fast at Bookhampton Tonight

2011-07-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Those of you that are lucky enough to be in the Hamptons this week (that would NOT include me, but whatever) should head over to BookHampton tonight to hear mother/daughter (and NYSL members) Erica Jong and Molly Jong-Fast read from the new anthology Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex.

Thursday, July 7, 8pm
Bookhampton
41 Main St, East Hampton, NY
event info

Check out a Library Netbook today!

2011-07-05T11:13:00.004-04:00

Starting today, you can check out one of the Library's new netbooks for in library use. The netbooks automatically pair with our wireless internet to let you use e-mail, do research, write, or do most Windows or browser-based activities.

Members may check out netbooks (one per membership) at the Circulation Desk for one-day use in the Library. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis, not by reservation, and must be returned the same day.

Anything created, downloaded or saved on the netbook will be wiped out when it shuts down--guaranteeing privacy but also requiring you to save your own content online or on a flash drive. 2GB flash drives are available for purchase at the Circulation Desk for $10.

For full details on laptop checkout and guidelines, see the policy document here or ask at the Circulation Desk.

Happy computing!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-01T09:39:00.045-04:00

Happy 4th of July weekend! As a reminder, the Library will be closed on Monday, July 4.

This weekend, I have an aggressive reading plan in place. The vision I have for my holiday weekend includes not much more than a lounge chair, a bunch of books (and technology) and some frosty beverages.

All of my holds come at the same time (sound familiar?) So, in making the excruciating decision about what stays and what goes, Kate Christensen's The Astral made the cut. I got hooked after reading her Pen/Faulkner award winning The Great Man, and then went on a Christensen reading spree.

And what better time than a holiday weekend to revisit David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again? If the title essay is any indication (which I've previously read), I am really going to enjoy the rest of them.

On my Nook, I'm in the middle of NYSOCLIB member writer Katharine Davis's atmospheric Capturing Paris, which I started reading while on vacation in Tuscany. I like to think I'll be enjoying her forthcoming novel, which is set in Tuscany, on a visit to Paris.

I also have a few weeks worth of The New Yorker on my Nook to catch up on too. {I'm a relatively late bloomer to the whole smartphone scene, but I recently got an iPhone and downloaded the Nook app. Anyone know why I can see all my ebooks but not my beloved New Yorker on there?}

I suppose there will be a barbeque or two, and some naps. I shall report back on my progress...

What are YOUR plans this weekend?

Writing Groups week of June 20

2011-06-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

Writing groups are open to New York Society Library members only.

Monday, June 20, 3pm
Memoir Group - please note that this group is now full. A new group will be forming in the Fall. Details on the new group will be provided in the Fall Events newsletter.

Tuesday, June 21, 5pm
Fiction Group I

Wednesday, June 22, 11am
Fiction Group II

Call 311 today to support NYC's public libraries

2011-06-16T11:03:00.007-04:00

As I've mentioned in other blog posts, New York City's public libraries are again facing staggering budget cuts. Let Mayor Bloomberg know that the programs and services that the New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Public Library provide are crucial to you and the city.

At noon today, Thursday, June 16, call 311 (call 212- 639-9675 if you're outside the city).

Thursday: Erica Jong and Molly Jong-Fast read from Sugar in My Bowl

2011-06-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

Mother and daughter (and NYSL members) Erica Jong and Molly Jong-Fast read from the new anthology Sugar in my Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex at McNally Jackson Books.

Thursday, June 16, 7pm
McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince St

Tuesday: Barnet Schecter at New York Historical Society

2011-06-13T15:20:00.006-04:00

NYSL member Barnet Schecter will join Barry Lewis and moderator Harold Holzer for a discussion about the 1863 draft riots.

New York City’s only "Civil War Battle" was the 1863 Draft Riot—a convulsive, racially-motivated street fight for the very soul of Manhattan. Experts provide a frank, no-holds-barred account of the sickening excesses of the bloody struggle, its lasting impact on New York politics, the efforts of the mayor, governor, and President Lincoln himself to quell the frightening disturbance, and what it all meant to the future of New York.

Barnet Schecter is an historian and the author of several books, including The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America and George Washington's America: A Biography Through His Maps. Barry Lewis is an architectural historian and the host of a popular series of walking tours on PBS. He currently teaches at Cooper Union Forum and the New York School of Interior Design. Harold Holzer (moderator) is Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and served as co-chair of the U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission for nine years. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 41 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era.

Tuesday, June 14, 6:30pm, $20
The New York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
www.nyhistory.org

Dolores Rice's Mr. Benn - A Femoir

2011-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Member Dolores Rice, artist in residence at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, will be presenting her newest work Mr. Benn - A Femoir: An exploration of life, with one costume change to the next on Monday, June 13.

Emerging from an on-screen world of costumes is an on-stage world into which Dolores Rice steps into multiple costumes as she travels through her semi-fictional life aided by story and song. This is an adaptation of the popular TV series Mr. Benn from 1971. Mr. Benn visits a fancy-dress costume shop where he is invited by the mustachioed, fez-wearing shopkeeper to try on a particular outfit. When he leaves through a magic door at the back of the changing room, he enters a world where he has an adventure before the shopkeeper reappears to lead him back to the changing room, and the story comes to an end. Mr. Benn returns to his normal life, but is left with a small souvenir of his magical adventure. Dolores Rice is a playwright, film-maker and novelist.

Monday, June 13th, 7pm, $10
Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Chambers St.between Greenwich and West Side Highway
For tickets online click here or call 212-220-1460

NYPL's Magathon

2011-06-06T16:14:00.010-04:00

Arrange your reading slot at the 24 Hour Read-In to save New York City libraries so you don't miss NYPL's Magathon, also being held this coming weekend.

If you love literary magazines, you gotta be there. This is the 12th year that NYPL and CLMP have hosted this event. In honor of NYPL's centennial, editors will read a favorite selection from their magazine's very first issue.
The Magathon
Saturday, June 11, 4 - 6:30pm
New York Public Library's DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room, 5th Ave. at 42nd St.
FREE!

On Sunday, June 12, 11am-4pm, load up on discounted lit mags at the Giant Lit Mag Fair!
Housing Works Used Book Café, 126 Crosby Street

It's that time again

2011-06-06T16:04:00.002-04:00

It's that time again. Funding for New York City's public libraries is again on the chopping block. We need public libraries now more than ever. Here's how you can help:

Starting at 4pm Saturday, June 11 and running through Sunday, June 12, the advocacy group Save NYC Libraries is hosting another We Will Not Be Shushed 24-hour Read-In on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library's Grand Army Plaza branch. Sign up here to read or just come by to show your support. Over 1,200 people attended last year's read in to support New York City libraries.

Download and print an advocacy letter and bring it by the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue on June 15 between 5 and 7 p.m. Get 25 or more library lovers to sign advocacy letters and you'll receive a free NYPL Centennial book.

If you can't make these events, you can still do your part by writing, calling, or emailing your New York City council member. Do it now. You'll be doing a great service to our great city.

Week of May 23

2011-05-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I am on vacation (arrivaderci, folks!) but here's what's going on this week:

Mon, May 23, 6pm
The popular Books at the Bar lecture series (run by NYSL member Diane Kiesel) is back with their last program for the season: author Daniel Feldman will talk about his latest book with Gerald Benjamin Tales From the Sausage Factory: Making Laws in New York State. If you've ever wondered how in the world things work -- or don't -- in Albany, now is your chance to find out. Wine and cheese reception, reading & discussion, book signing. FREE.
City Bar Association, 42 W. 44th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves)

Tues, May 24, 4:30pm
Poets Writing Group {NYSL members only}
Whitridge Room

Wed, May 25, 11am
Fiction Writing Group II {NYSL members only}
Whitridge Room

Fri, May 27 - Thurs, Jun 2, 6:30pm
Screening of NYSL member Michael Bergmann's very funny movie Tied to a Chair. Discounted tickets ($6.50 instead of $13) are available if you email michaelbergmann@me.com and indicate which day you'd like to attend.
check out the trailer here
Big Cinemas Manhattan, 239 E. 59th St.(betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves)

Tracy Quan joins Chester Brown at The Strand Thursday

2011-05-11T21:37:00.000-04:00

Member Tracy Quan (Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl ) joins author Chester Brown to discuss his latest Paying For It - a comic-strip memoir about being a john.

Thursday, May 12, 7pm
The Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway
Info

BLURB is a VERB

2011-05-09T10:09:00.019-04:00

About 2 years ago now {my, how time flies}, we held a Writing Life talk called Marketing and Publicity for Writers. It was less a talk than a moderated discussion, and member Ellen Feldman and former book editor/NYSL Circulation Assistant Andrew Corbin led the assembled audience of writers in a spirited give and take about the new realities of book marketing and publicity. The bottom line was unanimous: authors are pretty much on their own. Member writers shared lots of terrifically creative ideas that day, as well as plenty of sad (and unfortunately, humiliating) stories about self promotion.

One of the audience members that day was member Sarah Pinneo. Sarah has since left New York for greener pastures (or more literally, White Mountains) but she has continued her quest for the holy grail of book publicity.

Her new blog Blurb is a Verb is subtitled "adventures (+ misadventures!) in book publicity". HuffPo has already picked up one of her posts and it seems clear that she's going to get a lot of publicity about ...publicity. She wants to hear your stories. Plenty of other writers will too.

p.s. we miss you, Sarah...

Adam Gopnik & Cathleen Schine at MCNY Tuesday

2011-05-09T09:13:00.005-04:00

The Museum of the City of New York is generously offering a member's discount to New York Society Library members for tomorrow's event:

Tuesday, May 10 at 6:30 pm
Cathleen Schine and Adam Gopnik
In Conversation

In the essay “Place in Fiction,” Eudora Welty posited that “Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable as art, if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else.” Join two quintessentially New York writers, best-selling novelist Cathleen Schine, author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport (Picador, 2011), a humorous novel about three Upper West Side women who move to a cottage in Westport to re-group, and Adam Gopnik, columnist for The New Yorker and author of Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York (Vintage, 2007), a collection of essays about life in New York since 2000, for a conversation about the role place has played in their work.

Reservations required: 917-492-3395 or e-mail programs@mcny.org
$6 museum members; $8 seniors and students; $12 non-members
$6 when you mention the New York Society Library

Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029

Meg Wolitzer TONIGHT

2011-05-02T09:00:00.005-04:00

Member Meg Wolitzer, will discuss and sign her latest novel The Uncoupling tonight at Stony Brook Manhattan.

More info on Meg's website.

Monday, May 2, 7pm
Stony Brook Manhattan
101-113 East 27th Street, 3rd Floor

A Conversation about Character

2011-04-29T16:54:00.005-04:00

This past Wednesday, the authors (and, we're proud to say, also NYSL members) Meg Wolitzer and Elizabeth Strout got together in our Members' Room for a conversation about character. The room was filled with writers - when I saw the attendance list, I believe I blurted out to Sara, NYSL's Events Coordinator, "these are MY people!!!"

I was thinking about blogging about the event, but I don't need to. Member writer Sidney Stark has done it for me, and far better than I could have. Read her impressions of the evening on her blog, The Unblocked Writer...

Jan C. Grossman at NYPL 96th Street

2011-04-27T09:09:00.001-04:00

Member poet Jan C. Grossman will be reading from a manuscript in progress this Saturday at The New York Public Library's 96th Street branch.

Jan has been instrumental in the success of our own writing groups here at The New York Society Library. She facilitates the robust members only Poets Writing Group, which meets the 4th Tuesday of each month at 4:30pm.

Come on out and support Jan this weekend!
Poetry Reading by Jan C. Grossman
Saturday, April 30, 2pm
96th Street Library, NYPL
Info

Time's Most Influential

2011-04-25T16:25:00.010-04:00

The 2011 TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world is out, and as The New Yorker points out, there are, sadly, only 4 writers on the list.

At least one of those 4 is one of our own:
NYSL member Jonathan Franzen

Videos, a reading, food & wine, and 2 great magazines

2011-04-25T14:55:00.028-04:00

So, are you sick of me mentioning the Library's 2nd annual Literary Magazine Salon that's coming up this Thursday? Please indulge me, because I am really, really excited about it! And you should be too. It's a critic's pick this week in Time Out New York and featured in The Word in New York Magazine.

The arts & culture magazine BOMB is marking its 30th anniversary this year (The New York Times reported on their benefit gala last week in words and pictures) and they will be continuing the party this week at our salon. Paul Morris, BOMB's General Manager of Digital Media & Marketing will take us on an audiovisual tour of the magazine's illustrious history.

And then there's the upstart, 1-year old Electric Literature. Co-publisher and Editor-in-Chief Andy Hunter will be screening some short films inspired by work by Michael Cunningham and others and will be presenting author Nathan Englander, who will be reading from a new story to be published in the magazine's forthcoming issue #6.

We'll have food and wine and plenty of time to chat up our guests and pick up some current and back issues of the magazines. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, April 28, 6:30pm
$10; Advance registration

It's a Busy Week: April 25 - 29

2011-04-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

Next week is a busy one at the library....

Monday, April 25, 10am - 12:00pm
Children's/YA Writers Group {members only; Whitridge Room}

Tuesday, April 26, 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Poets Group {members only; Whitridge Room}

Wednesday, April 27
11am - 1pm Fiction Writers Group II {members only; Whitridge Room}

6:30pm Meg Wolitzer and Elizabeth Strout: A Conversation about Character and Contemporary Fiction {Members' Room; this event is FULLY REGISTERED}

Thursday, April 28, 6:30pm
A Literary Magazine Salon featuring BOMB and Electric Literature
{Members' Room}
Join us for food, wine, conversation, readings, video, and more celebrating two amazing literary magazines.

The Week Ahead: April 18 - 22

2011-04-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

A few writing group meetings, a few tech classes of note...Open to NYSL members only. All programs are held in the Whitridge Room.

Monday, April 18, 3pm - 4:45pm
Memoir Writers Group
Please be aware that this group is now at capacity. Interested new members are welcome to sit in and observe at this time; a new group will be forming in the Fall.

Tuesday, April 19, 5pm - 6:45pm
Fiction Writers Group I

Wednesday, April 20
10am - 11:30am Tech Workshop: Etsy {taught by Peri Pignetti}
2pm - 3:30pm Tech Workshop: JStor/Project MUSE {taught by yours truly}
A little space still available for both. Register here.

This Just In! Nathan Englander coming to NYSL!

2011-04-14T09:17:00.014-04:00

Exciting news this morning!

Nathan Englander, author of The Ministry of Special Cases and For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, has joined the program for our Literary Magazine Salon on April 28.

NYSL's Literary Magazine Salon features two amazing publications: the 1-year old Electric Literatureand the 30 year old BOMB magazine. Nathan will be reading from work to be published in EL's 6th issue.

Literary Magazine Salon
Thurs, April 28, 6:30pm
readings, food & wine, conversation!
$10 with advance registration
members register here
non-members please call or email our Events office:
212-288-6900 or events@nysoclib.org
The New York Society Library
53 E. 79th Street

Books at the Bar, Thurs, April 14

2011-04-13T09:14:00.008-04:00

I've written about this book talk series before. NYSL member and NY State Court Judge Diane Kiesel is the chair of Books at the Bar, a wonderful author lecture series that is held in the beautiful New York City Bar Association building.

Author Michael Greenburg will speak about his new book The Mad Bomber of New York: The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt that Paralyzed a City. The book chronicles the story of the disgruntled Con Edison employee who placed bombs around New York City landmarks in the 1950s.

The talk begins with a wine and cheese reception at 6 PM.

Thursday, April 14
The New York City Bar
42 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
FREE and open to the public

Literary Journals are thriving, have you heard?

2011-04-12T09:33:00.043-04:00

Literary magazines are thriving, according to The New York Times.

Are we supposed to be surprised? We aren't. Our members are passionate readers of literary magazines - and thanks to some generous donors, we recently added subscriptions to jubliat, BOMB, Ploughshares, the Southern Review, and Barrow Street to our collection.

The Library is also proud to sponsor an annual Literary Magazine Salon, this year featuring the 30 year old BOMB magazine and the 1 year old Electric Literature. Both magazines have been using new media to explore different forms and attract audiences. This year's event will be held on April 28 at 6:30pm in the Members' Room. There will be food and wine, readings, short films, and a good dose of great conversation. Join us! Event information is on our website and on Facebook.

There's also a great program TONIGHT at NYPL. And truth be told, Periodically Speaking is the inspiration for The New York Society Library's Lit Mag Salon. As a library student, I interned with Karen Gisonny, the Helen G. Bernstein Librarian for Periodicals and Journals at NYPL, who has been running this literary magazine series along with the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses for a number of years. The experience was eye opening - I discovered magazines I'd never seen before and received a real education in what a labor of love it is for the people who tirelessly work to put out these gems. I highly recommend you attend tonight's event - I think you'll be amazed.
Periodically Speaking: The Little Magazine Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room
The New York Public Library, 5th Ave at 42nd St.
TONIGHT at 6pm, FREE

A Literary Magazine Salon featuring BOMB and Electric Literature
Members' Room, The New York Society Library
53 E. 79th Street (between Park and Madison)
Thursday, April 28 at 6:30pm
$10 w/advance registration

Non-members can register by calling or emailing our Events office: 212-288-6900 x230 or events@nysoclib.org.

Remembering Matthew Phillips

2011-04-11T14:26:00.004-04:00

All of us here at The New York Society Library were saddened to hear that one of our member writers, Matthew Phillips, died last week. Matthew was the son of member and writer Louis Phillips.

A memorial service was held yesterday on the Upper West Side. The news website Mondoweiss, for which Matthew often contributed, published a moving tribute and reported this account of the memorial service.

Matthew's family has set up a fund at the Library in his name. Contributions will be used to buy books for the collection which will include a special memorial bookplate with Matt's name. Contributions can be mailed to The New York Society Library, 53 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075.

The Writing Life this week

2011-04-11T09:04:00.003-04:00

Monday, April 11
10 am - 12 pm! Children's/Young Adult writing group starts!
Whitridge Room

3 pm - 4:45 pm Non-fiction writing group
Whitridge Room

Tuesday, April 12
10 am Journaling for Writers with Hilary Thayer Hamann
Whitridge Room
room still available; email me at cwaters@nysoclib.org

Lisa Dierbeck makes longlist for Independent Bookseller's Award

2011-04-09T10:42:00.006-04:00

Member Lisa Dierbeck's The Autobiography of Jenny X has been named to the longlist for the first ever Independent Booksellers Choice Award.

The short list will be announced on May 1, and the 5 winners will be announced on May 23 at Housing Works Bookstore.

Congratulations, Lisa! A full list of all of the nominees is here.

Journaling

2011-04-07T09:53:00.013-04:00

We still have some room in next week's daytime Writing Life talk on Journaling for Writers.

Next Tuesday, take a break from your writing and join us for an illuminating discussion about how to use journaling to improve your writing,

Our speaker is Hilary Thayer Hamann, the author of the cult classic novel The Anthropology of an American Girl, which was independently published and later picked up by Spiegel and Grau.

Tuesday, April 12, 10 a.m.
Whitridge Room
register by

e-mailing me at: cwaters@nysoclib.org

Revising Your Dissertation

2011-04-05T09:00:00.001-04:00

We've just acquired a book that may be of some interest to our member scholars: Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors.

This book, edited by Beth Luey, is full of great tips and information for turning your dissertation into a book or into articles for commercial publication. Check it out!

Meg Wolitzer at Barnes and Noble

2011-04-04T09:00:00.003-04:00

NYSL Member Meg Wolitzer will join Mary Gordon in conversation on Tuesday to discuss their respective new novels: Wolitzer's Uncoupling and Gordon's The Love of My Youth.

Tues, April 5 at 7pm
Barnes & Noble
86th & Lexington

Meredith Bergmann at Bowery Poetry Club

2011-04-01T14:39:00.003-04:00

This Sunday, head on down to the Bowery Poetry Club for a reading by Rachel Hadas and NYSL member Meredith Bergmann, plus an open mic for metrical poetry.

Meredith will be reading a disobedient sestina and giving a mock-art-historical-murder-mystery slide lecture.

Sunday, April 3, 6:00-7:30 PM
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery(just north of Houston St.)

Biographers in the House?

2011-03-29T09:15:00.011-04:00

If you're a biographer or historian, you really need to attend The Compleat Biographer Conference. This year, on May 21 at the National Press Club in Washington DC, the Biographers International Organization will be hosting its 2nd annual conference.

It's an amazing chance to network and learn from renowned biographers, agents, editors, publicity directors, librarians, archivists, and social networking experts. Highlights of the daylong conference include sixteen workshops on such topics as organizing your research, funding your work, turning research into narrative, interview techniques, writing the young adult biography as well as an opportunity to participate in Agent Speed Dating {maybe attend the Author/Agent Fit workshop first...}

The luncheon keynote address will be given by none other than NYSL trustee Robert Caro. NYSL Member Stacy Schiff will be interviewed and will sign copies of her latest blockbuster biography Cleopatra at an end of day reception.

May 21, 2011
The National Press Club
Washington DC
Conference Information

Open Mic. Closed Mic.

2011-03-28T09:52:00.051-04:00

Ok, so I admit that it really isn't an Open Mic. You can't just show up and expect to read. But the 16 Library members that signed up in advance and read from their newly published or work in progress were terrifically entertaining nonetheless. We had a packed house for the Library's 4th Open Mic (Closed Mic?) last Thursday night.

As I was acting as hostess and emcee, I had the unenviable job of marking time and enforcing the 5 minute reading rule. I may have been as nervous as the writers, my heart racing as the timer I was using clicked down the seconds; as a result, I surely missed some nuances in the readings and I definitely couldn't take down notes as I had hoped. In any case, here's a rundown on the evening...If you were there, please feel free to add your two cents to the comments below.

Someone has to go first and that job fell to Betsy Hulick, a member of the Library's poetry writing group, who read two potent poems from a collection called Shorts {along with one referencing a certain male anatomical part that got a good laugh}.

Fiction was well represented on Thursday. The first of 7 fiction offerings began with E.E. Liberty's forthcoming spy thriller Aquarius. Carol Rial, who runs the Great Reads reading group at NYSL, gave us a taste of Another Manhattan, her novel in progress.

Donald Paneth then stirred up the journalist-heavy crowd with a scathing critique of the current media with his Proposal for a new type of newspaper. The missive prompted a number of readers who followed him to out themselves as journalists to the crowd.

Former WSJ reporter {as we now know} Lauren Lipton, author of The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP, read from her as yet unnamed new novel.

Lauren Lipton

Unusual for our Open Mics, there were only 3 poets on the program. Carlyn Parker mused about a life of traveling and then finding herself widowed with an empty nest in a series of poems from her book Riding the Waves: A Memoir in Poetry and Prose.

Eric Best, another former journalist {San Francisco Examiner}, read the prologue from his moving and emotional memoir Into My Father's Wake. CUNY biology professor Sally G. Hoskins then changed the tone with a dose of canine insight in Doggedly Dreaming, a hilarious, laugh out loud essay from her book in progress called Not As Expected: A Scientist Looks at 21st Century Life.

Sally G. Hoskins is Doggedly Dreaming

A Portuguese Fado singer in Providence, RI is the protagonist in Cathy Torigian's atmospheric novel in progress, Fatima, who we first heard at Open Mic II.

Jack Levin then gave us What Men Don't Know {in only 5 minutes!}, a theater work in progress, which he later confessed he wrote the night before.

The remaining fiction came from Marion Cuba, author of Shanghai Legacy, who read from her latest historical fiction in progress, The Crucible of Vichy and Gary Schlesinger shared a chapter of his novel A Son and A Father, which is currently in revision.

Playwright C.S. Hanson called on friend and actor Vince Gatton to help read a scene from Etruscan Lovers and Other Fools, which was developed at LaMama and just finished a run at The Cornwall Town Hall in Cornwall, CT.

C.S. Hanson and Vince Gatton

From Sydney LeBlanc, we learned that x=3 (or it should, anyway) from the first chapter of her humorous memoir of growing up in Louisiana, Escape Velocity.

As the readings wound down, another journalist, Patricia Lawler Kenet read her short story Jeremy's Dream. And the Library's very own Alan Behler closed the readings with two powerful poems, one an ode to his vanishing hometown, Detroit.

After the readings, member writers and audience members finished up the wine and snacks and mingled and networked. We took a few pictures once we remembered we had a camera. Here's a link to all the snaps.

Thanks again to all our readers and to the rapt audience for a great evening!

Remembering Steven Kroll

2011-03-14T14:02:00.017-04:00

All of us at the Library were saddened by the news that member writer Steven Kroll died last week.

Steven Kroll presenting A Neighborhood of Stories with young fans at the Library last April.

Head Librarian Mark Bartlett shared the following remembrance of Steven:

"I was so saddened to hear that author and Library member Steven Kroll died last week.

Steven was a lovely and kind man. We first met two years ago at his good friend Richard Peck's book launch for A Season of Gifts. The Children's Library was so pleased to feature Steven as part of our National Library Week month-long celebration in April 2010. In a presentation called "Neighborhood of Stories", he spoke about the inspiration for his storytelling. He entertained an appreciative audience of kids, parents and Library staff. Steven signed a copy of the Library week poster and it hangs in my office in the Library. My sister is a school teacher in Toronto and I'm happy to note that I gave her two of Steven's recent books, which she uses in her classroom library."

Steven was the author of over ninety books for children and young adults, including Jungle Bullies (2009) and The Biggest Pumpkin Ever (1984). A tribute to Steven can be found on the PEN American Center website. He will be missed.

Unexpected New York with Sandy Miller

2011-03-11T17:47:00.009-05:00

Member Sandy Miller discusses his latest book Unexpected New York at the Brooklyn Historical Society on Sunday.

Sunday, March 13, 2pm
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn
Info

Jonathan Franzen and Jhumpa Lahiri at the New School on Friday

2011-03-10T13:32:00.020-05:00

NYSL member Jonathan Franzen (Freedom) and Jhumpa Lahiri (Unaccustomed Earth) will read from their latest novels tomorrow at the New School.

Friday, March 11, 7 pm
The New School
Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street
$10 register by email: boxoffice@newschool.edu or call: 212.229.5488.
Information.

Tonight's Event with Laura J. Snyder Postponed

2011-03-10T08:52:00.007-05:00

Unfortunately, for medical reasons, member Dr. Laura J. Snyder has had to postpone tonight's event on her new book The Philosophical Breakfast Club .

It will now take place on Thursday, April 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Members’ Room. Anyone currently registered has a confirmed space for the new date; if you have prepaid, that will carry over.

Members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters

2011-03-09T12:36:00.025-05:00

Congratulations to members Louis Begley and Robert A.M. Stern who have been voted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Academy is a distinguished honor society of 250 architects, composers, artists, and writers. Election to the Academy is a singular honor for Americans in the arts.

Louis Begley is the author of 11 books of fiction and non-fiction. Wartime Lies was a finalist for the National Book Award and About Schmidt was made into a movie starring Jack Nicholson. His non-fiction includes his latest work, the highly acclaimed Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters.

Robert A.M. Stern is an award winning architect whose work has been classified as postmodernist. He is Dean of the Yale School of Architecture and is the author of numerous books on architecture, including the National Book Award finalist New York 1930

Begley and Stern join NYSL members Robert Caro, Joan Didion, Jules Feiffer, Francine du Plessix Gray, Shirley Hazzard, and Tom Wolfe as members of the Academy.

Support your fellow member writers

2011-03-07T09:49:00.009-05:00

Hi all, just a reminder that there's still time to register for this Thursday's talk at the Library...

Library member Laura J. Snyder will discuss her new book The Philosophical Breakfast Club about how a small group of men working in the early nineteenth century made a number of significant discoveries and, together, brought about a scientific revolution.

Thursday, March 10, 6:30pm
Members' Room
$10 with advance registration/$15 at the door

Monday night events

2011-03-04T09:00:00.001-05:00

Some options for Monday, March 7:

FDR's Funeral Train: A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance
Author Robert Klara discusses his latest book at Books at the Bar
6 p.m. (reading and signing starts with a cocktail reception)
FREE!
New York City Bar Association
42 W. 44th Street between 5th and 6th Aves

Linda Gordon: Picturing Women in the Great Depression
The popular image of women during the Great Depression is dominated by rural themes: mothers protecting their families from fierce dust storms and greedy bank managers, Ma Joad from The Grapes of Wrath, and Dorothea Lange’s iconic “Migrant Mother.” But as Denys Wortman’s vivid slice-of-life cartoons of New York in the depression show, urban women were also hit hard by the economic disaster.
6:30 p.m.
$6 when you mention the Writing Life blog
Reservations required: 917-492-3395 or e-mail programs@mcny.org
Museum of the City of New York
5th Ave at 103rd Street

Jules Feiffer in person Saturday

2011-03-03T14:44:00.022-05:00

Looking for something to do this Saturday?
Library member Jules Feiffer will be at the Museum of the Moving Image this weekend for a screening and discussion of I Want to Go Home. Feiffer's script won a best screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival for this spoof of comic strips, Gershwin music, and pulp fiction.

Directed by Alain Resnais and starring Adolph Green, Linda Lavin, Gérard Depardieu.

Saturday, March 5, 7pm
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria, Queens
Free with museum admission
Event Info

Cait Murphy at Books at the Bar TONIGHT

2011-02-23T12:00:00.009-05:00

If you're not aware of this great lecture series from the New York City Bar Association, tonight's a good one to check out.... The book reading and signing kicks off with a wine and cheese reception! And even better, it's FREE and open to the public.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 6 pm, FREE!
New York City Bar Association, 44th Street (between 5th and 6th)

Speaker: CAIT MURPHY, Author
Scoundrels in Law: The Trials of Howe and Hummel, Lawyers to the Gangsters, Cops, Starlets, and Rakes Who Made the Gilded Age

Learn about the exploits of New York's first celebrity lawyers whose high-powered and high-maintenance clients of every stripe paved the way for the media trials of modern times.

NYSL Member (and NY State Judge) Diane Kiesel is the chair of Books at the Bar. Info

Poets & Fiction Writers Group II this week

2011-02-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Writing group meetings this week:

POETS: Tuesday, Feb 22, 4:30 pm, Whitridge Room

FICTION GROUP II: Wednesday, Feb 23, 11 am, Whitridge Room

Please note that writing groups are open to Library members only.

Reminder: Library Closed for President's Day

2011-02-18T09:53:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder that The New York Society Library will be closed on Sunday, February 20 and Monday, February 21 for President's Day.

We are open as usual on Saturday, February 19 from 9 am - 5pm, so come in and stock up.

dumped on Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T10:36:00.005-05:00

I was dumped by a literary magazine (which shall remain nameless) on Valentine's Day.

I've been working on booking this year's Literary Magazine Salon and I had a really great program nailed down. But yesterday, I got the "Dear John" letter from one of the magazines that I was really excited about and that had previously agreed to participate.

I'm heartbroken.

Calling all Children's/YA member writers

2011-02-11T11:02:00.004-05:00

Member writers:
I've been doing some preliminary investigation into inaugurating a Children's/Young Adult Writing Group here at the Library. I have already spoken to some of you and there seems to be interest.

So, if you're a member of The New York Society Library , you're currently working on a children's or young adult book, and interested in joining a writing group, drop me a line or give me a call.

Countdown to the Oscars with Molly Haskell and others

2011-02-04T11:47:00.005-05:00

Member Molly Haskell ((Frankly, My Dear: Gone With the Wind Revisited and From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies) joins a panel to discuss the upcoming Oscar race and trends in Oscar history.

Hosted by the 92nd Street Y's "Reel Pieces" and Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf, the panel also features New York Times film critic A.O. Scott and Mark Harris, author of Pictures At A Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood.

Tuesday, Feb 8, 8pm
92nd Street Y
For tickets, click here

Member Writer Notes and News

2011-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Some new-ish notes about some of our member writers:

Member Alexandra Horowitz's Inside of a Dog: What Dogs, See, Smell and Know is one of the most popular selling books on college campuses.

Member Jonathan Franzen has been nominated for a National Book Critic Circle Award for his bestselling Freedom.

Member Dan Cryer's first book, Being Alive and Having to Die, a biography of Forrest Church, has been purchased by St. Martin's Press. The book will be published in the Fall. {via Publishers Lunch}

Kristin Davis will star in a television treatment of member Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project.

Got news to share? Let me know!

News out of Egypt

2011-02-02T11:31:00.006-05:00

The political turmoil in Egypt is having an impact on its book industry, its writers and its libraries. Here are some of the news reports:

The Cairo Book fair, which was due to start on January 29, has been cancelled {source LATimes}.

The International Publishers Association has reported that its vice president "is under attack, physically," and that people on th street are defending him. Bulletins are being posted on Twitter @ipasecretary {source Publishers Marketplace}

The Guardian is reporting that Alexandria youth 'protecting library from looters'

GalleyCat shares how Writers in Egypt Can Beat the Internet Shutdown

Research!

2011-02-02T09:00:00.009-05:00

What's going on? All of a sudden, the NYSL reference desk is getting a workout. Not that we mind it - in fact, it's about time. Have you all been sleeping for the last couple of months?

I've had quite a few email inquiries directly from writers in the past two days, several more inquiries from members and non-members alike to our general reference desk email account , and I was told there was a line of eager Reference Desk patrons yesterday afternoon (where are you all in the morning when I'm on the desk?).

I guess you are all back to work. Anyway, this is a good time to remind everyone that we are indeed here to HELP!

The internet may have changed the way you research and made it infinitely easier, but a skilled librarian could be your best kept secret. Today, the inquiries we get are less likely to be simple basic factual questions, because face it, that's pretty easy to find and validate on the web. Instead, we are often asked for more in depth support - when a Google search doesn't turn up what you need, we can assist with better search strategies, advise on where to find good print resources (I know it's shocking to consider, but not everything is on the web), how to locate primary sources of letters and manuscripts, and provide tutorials on using library paid subscription databases which require much more specific search strategies than you need to search Google or Bing. We also have lots of friends in lots of libraries - if we don't know, we call on our colleagues in other institutions.

Did you know that many, but not all of the world's libraries' resources are cataloged in WorldCat? It's a great resource, but you won't find NYSL's collection there or the collections of many other smaller libraries. So we have other tools to help you locate hard to find materials.

Stop by and talk to one of our crack Reference Desk staffers or email us. We're happy to give you hands on tutorials of our electronic resources, research assistance, tips for more efficient and successful web and catalog searching, referral cards for access to local area collections through our Metro membership, and handle interlibrary loan requests.

Guidelines for would-be memoirists

2011-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

I was a little busy yesterday, what with a snow day, a comp day, and a whole weekend off in between (librarian's hours!), otherwise I would have posted this sooner.

I have lately been complaining to my book loving friends about how tired I am of memoir. Everyone has a story. I understand that. That everyone needs to share their story with the world is more confusing to me. Why not just keep a journal for yourself? I have been keeping a diary since I was about 10 {"I had FUN today!!" was a common passage} but I can't imagine sharing it with anyone or for that matter, that anyone would care to read it.

So it was with a bit of relief that I read Neil Genzlinger's piece in this past Sunday's New York Times Book Review.

All would-be memoirists, please take note. Genzlinger's maxims:
1-"That you had parents and a childhood does not of itself qualify you to write a memoir."
2-"No one wants to relive your misery."
3-"If you're jumping on a bandwagon, make sure you have better credentials than the people already on it."
4-"If you must write one, consider making yourself the least important character in it."

Or, perhaps...consider turning it into fiction? The agents we had for our January Finding a Literary Agent talk also weighed in on memoir, admitting that you better have a good story because the market is truly saturated.

What do all you member writers think?

Writing Groups this week

2011-01-24T09:37:00.003-05:00

Writing groups meeting this week (all meet in the Whitridge Room):

Memoir Writers: TODAY, Monday, Jan 24 @3pm

Poets: Tuesday, Jan 25 @4:30pm

Fiction Writers Group II: Wednesday, Jan 26 @11am

All groups are open to active members of the Library.

In case you were wondering...

2011-01-21T09:16:00.004-05:00

yes, the Library is open today.

Come visit us.

Finding a Literary Agent, Part III

2011-01-20T09:10:00.013-05:00

This is the last post on the Q&A from last week's The Writing Life daytime talk series program on finding a literary agent. Read Part I and Part II.

Our speakers:
Zoe Pagnamenta (ZP), founder of The Zoe Pagnamenta Agency
Sharon Bowers (SB), partner at The Miller Agency
Elisabeth Weed (EW), founder of Weed Literary

Q: When can I move on from my current agent?
EW: Look at the term clause
SB: If you're unhappy, drop the agent an email to let them know.

Q: Why would you need an agent if an editor is already interested in your book?
ZP: I think it's in the best interestsof a writer. The agent can guide the writer through the process.
SB: Agent is more involved in the marketing than an editor is. For example, we can call the NY Times if we know them to try and get attention. The agent is your buffer. If you're unhappy with the editor or something going on with the publishing process, the agent will work with the editor.

Q: Why is the standard agent fee 15%?
EW: It used to be 10%. It's just become the industry norm.
SB: Fee is not negotiable.

Q: The Miller Agency website says it doesn't take unsolicited manuscripts. How could we submit to you?
SB: We do look at unsolicited work and will always take on writers we want to sell. We take a lot of referrals. It's just become our house policy not to solicit because we get so much. So in keeping with that, we've also made our website very minimalist.

Q: Is it appropriate to send a full manuscript?
SB: I like having the full manuscript of a novel, but if there's a good hook...

Q: What's the easiest kind of book for you to sell?
EW: A sexy, upmarket thriller
SB: If you're currently on a tv show right now. Also, a really smart mystery series -not a standalone mystery. Something like Tana French...
ZP: Historical fiction

Q: Are parenting books over?
EW: I've done some. But I've been told it's tough now because so much information is online. The more specific the topic, the better.
SB: Author's expertise on the topic is crucial.

Q: Would you ever introduce an editor to an author before signing?
EW: Typically no. Sometimes when there's an auction for a book.
ZP: Very often we might do a phone conversation. Editor might want to know how receptive the author is to edits.

Q: Who does fact checking?
EW: Publisher will fact check.

Q: Is there an argument for smaller agencies versus large powerhouse agencies?
ZP: Definitely you get more attention from smaller agencies. They take fewer meetings.
EW: Smaller agencies like ours have more time for writers.
SB: If you have the choice of a larger agency, though, you probably have more choices. If a large agency wants to sign you, go for it. I say make hay while the sun shines.

...and that's all folks. Did I catch everything from the Q&A? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Finding a Literary Agent, Part II

2011-01-19T09:14:00.017-05:00

I'm not sure why yesterday's post (notes from Finding a Literary Agent, Part I) looks like it was published last week. It wasn't. I just posted it yesterday. Anyway....here's more from the Jan 11 talk in The Writing Life daytime talk series program.

{Also, if I've missed something key or you have something to add that the speakers mentioned, please add that to the comments below or email me and I'll update these notes.}

Our speakers:
Zoe Pagnamenta (ZP), founder of The Zoe Pagnamenta Agency
Sharon Bowers (SB), partner at The Miller Agency
Elisabeth Weed (EW), founder of Weed Literary

Q: What if you write in various forms - fiction, screenplays...
ZP: Agents at ICM and William Morris do both film and books. But most agents would work with you and connect you with the right people for the work.

{our agents had differing viewpoints on this question:}
Q: What should writers ask an agent they are looking to sign with?
EW: Ask "where would you send my book?". An agent should be able to answer that?. Ask to speak with other authors on their roster.
SB: If you want to speak to my other authors, that's a red flag for me. I might get the impression you're going to be difficult. What you're paying us for is our experience.
ZP: Ask "what do agents do everyday?" - they should answer that they take a book all the way through the process, because that's what we do. Ask "what do they see their role as?"
SB: Ask how many clients they have. If an agent asks you for money, that's a red flag. Agents should never ask you for money. We get paid when the book sells.

Q: How necessary is it to have an editor in advance for a first time author?
EW: I do 2-3 edits before sending to an editor. I suggest putting it away for a month, read it, edit again, send to friends you trust, put it away again. Get it as polished as you can first.
SB: It's not done till the agent feels it's done, so many edits may be necessary before sending it to publishers

Q: I'm writing memoir - how should I tell a prospective agent about it?
ZP: Your cover letter should outline the full story. There are some great books out there: Susan Rabiner's Thinking like your editor : how to write great serious nonfiction-- and get it published is a good one.
SB: Put your credentials at the top of the cover letter - if you're a doctor specializing in {blank} and your book is about {blank}

Q: Which chapter do I send as a sample? The first? last?
EW: For fiction, send the 1st 3 chapters.

Q: How much of a book must be finished before inquiring about an agent?
EW: For fiction, the whole thing.
SB: For non-fiction, I don't necessarily want the whole thing. Publishers will buy on proposal.

Q: Is it ok to send queries to more than 1 agent at the same time?
EW: 5-10 at a time ok, but say that it's a multiple submission
ZP: Definitely tell us that you're sending to other agents. We like to know if we have competition.

Q: What should the submission look like?
ZP: It should be as simple as possible
SB: 12 pt double spaced Times New Roman or Courier

Part III of the Q&A tomorrow....

Finding a Literary Agent, Part I

2011-01-11T15:05:00.016-05:00

I promised to take notes and share the Q&A from last week's Writing Life daytime talk series program on finding a literary agent. Thanks to our terrific speakers, I have 9 pages of furiously scribbled notes. It's going to take me a few days to get them all transcribed (mostly paraphrased, I'm afraid).

Our speakers:
Zoe Pagnamenta (ZP), founder of The Zoe Pagnamenta Agency
Sharon Bowers (SB), partner at The Miller Agency
Elisabeth Weed (EW), founder of Weed Literary

I love our members. No reason not to cut right to the chase:
Q: How do we submit to you?
EW: Submit 1 page query about the book and about you via email. Definitely mention NYSL
SB: Do mention NYSL. Do some research - do mention "I saw that you sold this...". Don't say "this is the book that's going to make you rich". What's selling? Women's romance is growing, publishers are buying in quantity.
ZP: Keep cover letters short, say less. Agencies post guidelines on websites. Look at my client list to see the kind of things I go for. I prefer mail submissions (cover letter, 1st 50pp synopsis, sense of how you write)

Q: How democratic is this process? Does an anonymous writer have a chance?
EW: I read everything that comes through. Publishers Marketplace is a great place to start to find out what kind of work specific agents are buying
SB: Our site is minimal. We say we don't take unsolicited manuscripts, but we do look at them if they come in. We do take a lot of referrals. Sometimes as an agent you just fall in love with the work.
ZP: There is a degree of luck involved in getting it sold. The timing of the submission is sometimes influenced by what's already on the editor's desk, what else is going on. May not work the 1st time, sometimes the next. Authors shouldn't give up, especially if you're given comments which could help improve the work.

Q: Has the publishing industry changed in the past 2 years?
EW: I have 10 books coming out between April and June, including debut fiction. There are less $ for marketing, definitely, and a lot will fall on the shoulders of authors, including tweeting, blogging. I'm hopeful about e-books and think it could revive book industry.
SB: Definitely feel an uptick. 1 year ago, buys were down, advances were down.

Q: How will industry restructure with e-books? What will industry look like 3 years out?
ZP: Printed books must be higher production quality, better looking, and must be something you want to own.
SB: Industry will still look to agented work. Agents are the 1st line filter and editors sometimes refer writers to agents so an agent is involved in process. I also see books being less expensive for consumers. Unfortunately, I also think fewer people will be able to make a living as a writer.

Q: Do agents ever look at work outside their comfort zone?
EW: Yes. I am always surprising myself.
ZP: Yes, but it's in your best interest to submit your manuscript to an agent that knows about your subject. Especially true for non-fiction.

Q: Are there agents interested in work other than commercial fiction?
ZP: Younger agents at bigger agencies
EW: Sometimes it's a labor of love. I'm selling 1 book now to a university press.

Q: What does commercial mean?
ZP: Difficult to talk commercial non-fiction versus fiction. For fiction, must have characters, good story, universal themes. Watch the market, see what works.
EW: Just talk about the work and let the market work it out. Will or will not get that label once it's published.

Q: What qualities make you fall in love with a memoir?
ZP: Must be utterly convincing, not artificial, a powerful story. Also must be right length. If it's a misery memoir, add some lightness.
SB: Must be literary above all. Market is overdone on redemption memoir.

Part II of the Q&A tomorrow....

Today's Finding a Literary Agent talk is FULLY REGISTERED

2011-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

This took me a little by surprise. I knew this morning's Writing Life daytime talk series program was going to be popular, but I am still shocked by the overwhelming response.

I wish I could accommodate every member who is interested, but at this point, if you are not officially registered or were not notified that your waitlist status was transferred to registered, unfortunately I do not have a seat for you.

I will be taking copious notes of our presenters' comments and the Q&A and will record as much as possible of that in upcoming blog posts. Stay tuned!

Congratulations to Trustee Robert Caro

2011-01-10T12:36:00.008-05:00

NYSL trustee Robert Caro can add yet another award to his many honors.

Caro has been awarded the 2011 BIO Award, given by the Biographers International Organization "to a colleague who has made a major contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of real life depiction". {via Publishers Marketplace}

For his biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, twice won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, and has won virtually every other major literary honor. The Power Broker was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the hundred greatest nonfiction books of the twentieth century.

The Most Literary Rent Party Ever on Feb 6

2011-01-10T09:00:00.007-05:00

The writer Charles Bock (Beautiful Children) has some great friends. On February 6 at PS 122, a number of them will get together to throw the Most Literary Rent Party Ever to benefit Bock's wife Diana Colbert, who has leukemia.

Tickets go on sale today for the party, where you can help the cause and meet many of Bock's writer friends such as (NYSL members) Jonathan Franzen and Susan Cheever, Joshua Ferris, Mary-Beth Hughes, Nicole Krauss, Gary Shteyngart, Rick Moody, Richard Price, Mary Gaitskill and many others. Forget the Super Bowl - the Giants won't be there - and this sounds more up our alley anyway. Send me an email if you're going...

In case you missed it, here's a link to the New York Times Arts Beat blog post about the benefit.

The Top 10 I Read in 2010

2011-01-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

In a prior blog post, I promised my list of the Top 10 books I read this past year. Everyone seems to have put together a Top 10 list, and maybe you're tired of them, maybe not. But there's something satisfying about making (and sharing) lists, so herewith, the top 10 books I read (not necessarily published) in 2010 (in no particular order):

1. A Confederacy of Dunces. How I made it all these years without reading John Kennedy Toole's classic comic novel is a mystery. I suspect, after talking with a colleague, that it might have been the cover. I like to think I don't judge books by their covers, but this cover is just awful. Anyway, I've made up for not reading it all these years by subsequently recommending it to everyone I know.

2. Room by Emma Donohue. Quite simply, the best book I read this year. I read it through in one sitting.

3. Freedom. There was a lot of early praise for Jonathan Franzen's latest...and then the criticism began. I thought it was great (but then I loved The Corrections too).

4. The Most Beautiful Book in the World. The novellas in this collection by Eric Emmanuel-Schmitt are surprising and uplifting, illuminating situations that are not always what they seem. The only story that seems out of place is the title story - interestingly, the one that attracted me to the book in the first place (see: judging book by its cover, er.. title)

5. I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang (by Robert Burns) was originally published in 1932 (and made into a classic movie starring Paul Muni), and is one of the most remarkable stories of wrongful conviction, punishment, escape, punishment, escape...

6. One Day by David Nicholls. A "Hollywood-ready" {says Publishers Weekly} romantic comedy. Let's just say it was a guilty pleasure. And I'm betting that the book will be better than the movie, anyway.

7. As someone who used to spend a lot of time in airports in a previous life, I really enjoyed Alain de Botton's A Week at the Airport. de Botton was invited to be Heathrow's writer in residence and his witty and perceptive observations on airport life are beautifully rendered.

8. In A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan changes the narration from character to character and jumps back and forth across decades in a story that sometimes confuses. But don't let that put you off, because as the novel progresses, you are increasingly drawn to these characters and their intersecting lives.

9. David Goodwillie's debut novel American Subversive is a fascinating characterization of a home grown terrorist and he weaves this into a great psychological thriller that also involves a jaded political blogger who happens to stumble into the story of a terrorist plot.

10. I don't read a lot of mysteries, but Tana French's Faithful Place drew me in as much for the characters at the center of it - the estranged Irish family of cop Frank Mackey (introduced in French's earlier mystery The Likeness) - as much for the story itself.

and some of the others...The Lovers by Vendela Vida, American Music by Jane Mendelsohn, The End of Wall Street by Roger Lowenstein.

Books at the Bar TONIGHT

2011-01-06T09:00:00.011-05:00

I highly recommend the Books at the Bar series. Fascinating book talks (all with some sort of legal bent) at the beautiful New York City Bar Association. and there's Wine and Cheese! {there, I got your attention}.

Books at the Bar welcomes author Steve Wermiel who will discuss his new book written with Seth Stern -- Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. Steve is a professor in Washington, D.C. and a former newspaper reporter who covered the Supreme Court for many years. He had unprecedented access to the justice's personal papers. This promises to be an interesting and lively program.

Thursday, Jan 6, 6:00pm
The New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th Street
Free and open to the public!

The Books at the Bar series is a program of the New York City Bar Association and is chaired by NYSL member, New York State Judge, and author Diane Kiesel.

How many books did you read last year?

2011-01-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

I read 52*. I know this because I keep track of them on Goodreads, which is a fabulous tool if, like me, you're losing your faculty for remembering things you read just last month.

The LA Times is taking a poll {thanks for the link Book Bench}. One woman read 462 books. Preposterous, you say? Well read on...

How many did you read last year?

*everyone's got their Top 10 lists. Will post mine in an upcoming post.

New books for writers

2011-01-04T09:00:00.004-05:00

We've purchased a few new books on or about the craft of writing. For those of you who need a little encouragement, a little instruction, or just some writerly camraderie...

According to Booklist, New York Times columnist Stanley Fish "communicates and instills in readers a deep appreciation for beautiful sentences that do things the language you use every day would not have seemed capable of doing" in How to Write a Sentence .

Stony Brook University professor Roger Rosenblatt takes you through the winter/spring 2008 semester of his class "Writing Everything" and tackles the questions that trouble his students in Unless it Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing.

Personally, I am eagerly awaiting Volume 2 of Gail Godwin's The Making of a Writer, covering her journal entries from 1963-1969 (yes, that's me with the first hold on it). I recently finished The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961-1963, and was rapt. I'll write more about this in an upcoming post because I'm also working on booking a Writing Life Daytime Talk series program on journaling. More to come...

January e-newsletter

2011-01-03T10:53:00.005-05:00

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Lockers, We've Got Lockers

2011-01-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

The day lockers are now ready for use. If you're in the Library and would like to snag one for the day, ask at the Circulation Desk.

The lucky members who have been assigned six-month lockers have all been notified. If you would like to add your name to the six-month locker waiting list, please ask at the Circulation Desk for an application

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T09:00:00.003-05:00

The Library will close at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 31. So, go on, get out of here. Give yourself a break and start celebrating!

We will be closed Saturday, January 1 and Sunday, January 2.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-30T09:00:00.007-05:00

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I generally don't because I'm usually still disappointed about not achieving what I had intended to during the Fall. I always loved school (nerd) and Autumn was a breath of fresh air for me after my least favorite season, so I embraced a new school year as my new year's. I still do even though my school days are well over.

But this year, I shall make one true New Year's resolution: to turn this blog into a blog, and not simply a list of announcements with a random prose entry thrown in every couple of months*.

Oh, and hey, all you NYSL member writers: if you want to guest blog, email me. Cause you know I'll need help with this.

*I realize that I have promised this before. But this is a resolution. I'll try harder.

comic courtesy of Nature's Graffiti