Category Archives: Events

Literary readings in NYC laundromats

Posted on February 16, 2007 by Keren

Instead of burying their head in a book or heading to the nearest coffee shop to beat the boredom of laundry, New York writer Emily Rubin has organised a series of readings called “Dirty Laundry: Loads of Prose,” at laundromats in New York.

“Just mixing laundry and writing seemed completely natural to me because truly in life and metaphorically as a writer, everyone has dirty laundry,” said the Brooklyn native who started the series last year.

She contemplated holding the readings in various neighborhood venues including shops but said a laundromat seemed “a natural fit.”

People can wash their dirty laundry while listening to a poem or short story or just attend the readings. During the first of the 2007 series writer Carolyn Turgeon read some of her work while people loaded the dryers and washing machines.

Link to the Yahoo! News article

Posted in Articles, Events, Reading |

Free copies of Kidnapped distributed in Edinburgh

Posted on February 12, 2007 by Keren

In a program to promote awareness of the importance of Edinburgh on the current and historical literary scene, copies of Robert Louis Stevenson’s book Kidnapped are being given away for free this month in the city.

All this February, readers can pick up one of 25,000 free copies of the book from a variety of public libraries across Edinburgh, with plans afoot to leave further copies on buses and park benches and in cafes and bars. Added to this, a month-long events programme encompasses talks, readings, storytelling, drama workshops, film shows, discussions and puppetry.

Copies of Kidnapped will be available in an abridged version, in an unabridged version, and as a specially-commissioned graphic novel.

Read the full Guardian article here.

Posted in Articles, Events, Graphic novels, Reading |

Dartmoor Literary Festival

Posted on February 8, 2007 by Mark

Tavistock is to host the first ever Dartmoor Literary Festival next year. The event will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Dartmoor Society and will run over the weekend of May 9 to 11 2008.

Planning for the festival is still in its early stages, but it is hoped it will feature a mixture of talks, readings, and workshops, and will cover fiction of all genres — including novels, poems, and plays — written about and on Dartmoor. It is also expected that local reading and writing groups, as well as schools in the area, will have the chance to become involved.

Continue reading on Okehampton Today.

Posted in Events |

BEA launches podcast/video streaming site for public

Posted on December 3, 2006 by Keren

BookExpo America has expanded its free podcasting and video streaming service so that for the first time, BEA and other book-related programming will be available to the general public. Yesterday’s inaugural podcast was of the 57th National Book Awards presentation, which was held earlier this month. The program was made available on the BEA’s podcast site, www.bookexpocast.com.

“BEA’s podcast platform will enable BEA to become a year-round ‘convention without walls,’ and a destination for the thousands of people who are seeking book-related news and entertainment,”said Rob Simon, president and CEO of BurstMarketing, the company that is partnering with BEA.

Link to the Publishers Weekly article, link to the BookExpoCast site

Posted in Articles, Authors, Events, Websites |

Small Press Book Fair to take place in NYC on Dec. 2-3

Posted on November 29, 2006 by Keren

Mark your calendar! The Nineteenth Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair – December 2 & 3, 2006

December 2 & 3, Independent and Small Press Book Fair hosts over 100 top-notch presses & leading authors from Nation Books, PEN American & New York’s literary & political scene, including: Pamela Aidan, Dore Ashton, Amiri Baraka, Jennifer Baumgardner, Colin Channer, T. Cooper, Michael Cunningham, Luis Francia, Steve Freeman, Matthea Harvey, Caren Lissner, Joe Meno, Jonas Mekas, Mark Crispin Miller, Eileen Myles, Greg Palast, Rachel Pine, Peter Plate, Katha Pollitt, Eyal Press, Paul Robeson, Jr., Martha Southgate, David Levi Strauss, Anne Waldman and much more. Free Admission ($1 suggested donation). For a complete list of panels and events please click here. To register as an exhibitor please click here

For more information, see the Small Press Center website. (Via Publishers Weekly)

Posted in Authors, Booksellers, Events, Publishers |

Costa shortlist released

Posted on November 29, 2006 by Keren

The judges for what used to be called the Whitbread prize have marked its shift to sponsorship by the Costa coffee chain by shifting their taste towards the thriller.Two of the four books picked for the novels shortlist released last night for the inaugural £50,000 Costa award are marketed by their publishers as “gripping”, “tremendously exciting”, “gritty” and “thrilling”.

Read the rest of the Guardian article and browse the shortlist here.

Posted in Articles, Authors, Awards, Events, Newly Released Books, Reading |

Contest deadlines Nov. 30 – Dec. 1

Posted on November 28, 2006 by Keren

There are are dozens of contest deadlines coming up over the next couple days. Got a poem or story lying around? Why don’t you give one of these a try?

The following list is from the most recent Poets & Writers, Inc. contest calendar page, which lists major contest deadlines from now to mid-January. Check it out! Odds are there’s something here for you.

(more…)

Posted in Contests, Events, Resources, Websites |

History of Writing Researched Along the Silk Road

Posted on November 15, 2006 by Aurel

 Turkish and Swedish scholars are setting out to research the history of ‘Runic writing,’ which is thought to have formed the base of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.

During the journey which will take three months, the researchers will delve into the mysteries of time in 25 countries; all on the route of the historical Silk Road.

Planning to begin their scientific journey in April 2007, the researchers will study in a wide range of countries such as Mongolia, Russia, Iceland, Norway, England, and Kazakhstan.

 

The project team will act on the thesis that the Silk Road advanced into northern Europe carrying writing along with it. They will initially and primarily examine Runic writing.

Full article, Muhenna Kahveci, Zaman Daily News

Posted in Articles, Education, Events |

Nobel winner recounts tumultuous writing career

Posted on November 15, 2006 by Aurel

Orhan Pamuk, this year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, spoke about his personal experiences as an author and the importance of freedom of expression at the kickoff of “Strange Times, My Dear, A Freedom-to-Write Literary Festival” Tuesday in a packed Salomon 101.

Pamuk, a Turkish author, was one of a handful of authors and literary activists participating in a roundtable discussion that preceded a conversation with Pamuk moderated by Robert Coover, adjunct professor of literary arts and director of the International Writers Project, which sponsored the event.

The festival, which runs until Friday, is sponsored by the Program in Literary Arts and the Watson Institute for International Studies and includes lectures, readings and an Iranian film festival.

Each year, the IWP awards a fellowship to one writer who is unable to practice free expression in his or her own country and sponsors a festival to increase awareness of the situation in the IWP Fellow’s homeland. This year’s fellow is Iranian novelist Shahryar Mandanipour.

Full Article, Hannah Furst, Brown Daily Herald, here

Posted in Articles, Authors, Education, Events |

Canada Post launches 24th annual Santa letter-writing program

Posted on November 14, 2006 by Aurel

Canada post announced on Monday, Nov. 13, that Santa Claus’ North Pole Post Office at HOH OHO is open for business. Postal Elves across the country are ready and waiting to help Santa handle the satchels of mail he’ll receive this holiday season. Holiday spirit was in the air during an event held at The Salvation Army’s Christmas distribution centre. Santa looked on while post office representatives made a special delivery of $25,000 to the not-for-profit organization for its ‘Christmas Appeal’ fund.

For each of the past five years Santa has received more than one million letters from children around the world. Santa’s North Pole Post Office has processed more than 14 million letters since the national program began in 1982. More than 11,000 Canada Post employees (current and retired), known affectionately as Postal Elves, volunteer their time to help Santa respond to his letters in the language in which they are received, including Braille.

Children are reminded to include a complete return address and to send their holiday letters to Santa at his North Pole Workshop:

SANTA CLAUS

NORTH POLE H0H OH0

CANADA

Santa can also receive e-mails through a special website at www.canadapost.ca/santascorner. Children and parents can check the Canada Post site for holiday games and activities.

Original Northumberland News Article here

Posted in Children's books, Events, Resources, Science fiction/fantasy, Websites |