New England reading
fans travel to bookstores, cafes and auditoriums (Jodi Picoult pretty much
filled the Worcester Hanover Theater when she spoke there) to absorb words of
wisdom from visiting writers.
The region is rife
with them.
Steve Almond lives
in Arlington; David McCullough has a home on Cape Cod; Anita Shreve, raised in
Dedham, lives in western Massachusetts. Gregory Maguire is in Concord and R.A. Salvatore
lives in Leominster. Kate Flora lives in Maine and in Concord (she cofounded
New England Crime Bake, whose mystery writers appear at libraries throughout
the region); Julia Glass lives in Marblehead; Brunonia Barry is based in Salem;
Picoult lives in New Hampshire. Anne Leary lives in Connecticut, Matthew Quick
in Holden. Andre Dubus III teaches in Lowell, near where he grew up.
Dozens of dedicated,
published writers would like to meet with your group. Check their web pages
(and publishers' websites) for information. Many have Facebook pages as well.
They're willing to visit or use Skype to visit via computer. Most of them are
Grub Street writers center members.
Here's the list:
Michelle Hoover (www.michelle-hoover.com
) published her first novel, "The Quickening," in 2010; her second is
slated for 2016.
Henriette Lazaridis Power (www.henriettepower.com)
wrote "The Clover House," a novel about Greek-American heritage and a
World War II tragedy published in 2013, a Boston Globe best-seller. A
literature instructor at Harvard for 10 years, she is a prolific writer. She is
interested in visits or Skype talks.
Angeli Mitter Duva (www.anjalimitterduva.com)
has released a debut novel, "Faint Praise of Rain," with She Writes
Press. She's glad to Skype or visit clubs near her Arlington home.
Lisa
Borders' second novel, "The Fifty-First State," was published in 2013
to positive reviews. Her first, "Cloud Cuckoo Land," was a
Massachusetts Book Awards honoree. She enjoys in-person, Facetime or Skype
visits.
Contact is www.lisaborders.com.
Laura Van den berg
(www.lauravandenberg.com), author of two well-received and awarded collections
of short stories, has a novel, "Find Me," coming out in February.
Random House children's author Jan
Kohuth of Holliston (http://www.janekohuth.com) is affiliated with Skype and
Penguin Classroom. Check her website. A 15 to 20 minute program for children is
also available by Skype.
Áine Greaney (www.ainegreaney.com)
lives north of Boston and in Ireland. A Pushcart honoree, she wrote "The
Big House," "Dance Lessons" and "Snow." She does lots
of in-person and Skype visits.
Simon & Schuster published Grub
Street instructor Rita Zoey Chin's memoir, "Let the Tornado Come." Discussion
questions are on the publisher's website. To Skype, see ritazoeychin@gmail.com.
Edgar-nominated author of 14 books,
Kate Flora (www.kateflora.com) has two books being published this fall. She
makes frequent bookstore and library appearances, often with fellow mystery
writers. She hasn't used Skype, but says she'll try it. A popular mystery and
police procedural writer, she recently wrote "Death Dealer: How Cops and
Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice," and a fourth Joe Burgess
mystery, "And Grant You Peace."
Manchester, N.H., teacher and short
story writer Tim Horvath (www.timhorvath.com) has won kudos on NPR and Salon,
and won a New Hampshire Literary Award, for his imaginative collection,
"Understories." He offers to Skype.
Award-winning author Tara L. Masih
("The Chalk Circle") will visit via Skype or conference call. Her
nonfiction anthology assembles voices from disparate cultures and times in a
groundbreaking collection. Learn more at www.taramasih.com
Ursula DeYoung of Cambridge
(ursula.deyoung@gmail.com) wrote "Shorecliff," a novel published by
Little, Brown about a large Maine family during the summer of 1928. She is
interested in Skype or in-person visits.
Lynne Griffin
(www.lynnegriffin.com), author of "Sea Escape" and "Life Without
Summer," lives in Boston but grew up in Worcester (her father was director
of advertising for the Telegram & Gazette) and in Holden. Find her on Facebook
or at Goodreads.com.
Author James Scott (www.jamesscottwriter.com)
does phone and Skype interviews related to his novel, "The Kept," a
dark, moody narrative of revenge set in upstate New York.
There are others, but this is a
good start. Many are accomplished, excellent speakers who will make your book
club session a good one. If your group does an author meeting, let me know.
Hear writers at Open Mic
Tatnuck Bookseller, 18 Lyman St. (Westbourgh
Shopping Center), sponsors a Literary Arts Open Mic every second and fourth
Thursday, monthly, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Author Jan Krause Greene ("I
Call Myself Earthgirl") will now host the session; Greene is a former
English teacher and newspaper columnist. For info on participation, contact
Zorina Frey, owner of IWA Publishing Services, at examinerzjerome@gmail.com.
Author
notes:
Channel 7 investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan
will sign her new Jane Ryland mystery, "Truth Be Told," at
Booklovers' Gourmet, 55 E. Main St., Webster on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 1-3 p.m.
Call (508) 949-6932 for information. Ryan followed up the award-winning
"The Wrong Girl" with her newest mystery. It's fast-moving, brimming
with characters and peppered with the funny asides and insider knowledge of a
veteran journalist. The book was released this month—surrounding fraudulent
mortgage activities and evictions, a self-confessed killer, and the interplay
between Ryland and her boyfriend, Detective Jake Brogan. See my blog for a
review.
Michael F. Bisceglia, Jr., who grew up in Worcester,
has written and published a novel about life in an Irish-Italian family,
"Gaelic and Garlic." The book, set in mid-20th century Worcester, is
the fictional memoir of a young man's early years among first-generational
Italian and Irish clans of Worcester. The story comes from the persona of a
youngster who grew up on Worcester streets, delivered the Gazette faithfully, and navigated Italian and Irish family rules daily,
acquiring some bruises in the process. The book is full of entertaining bits—it's
clever, though a bit overfull of tiresome witticisms and stereotyped ethnic
descriptions. Still, it has laughs and some local connections readers may
enjoy. I've reviewed it at www.readitandreeap.blogspot.com. The book is available
through Amazon.
Book
groups:
Haston Library's book group, meeting at
North Brookfield Library, will discuss Kenneth Winters' "The Lost Crown of
Colonnade" at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Leominster's Reading, Sharing and Laughing book
group meets at 7 p.m., Thursday at Chaibo in Fitchburg to discuss something a
bit macabre for Halloween: "Rebecca" by Daphne DuMaurier.
The Northborough Free Library hosts Friday Morning
Book Club on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m., to discuss "Ex Libris," by Anne
Fadiman.
Heywood Library Reading group meets Nov. 19 to
discuss "Anthill" by Edward G. Wilson.
Worcester Public Library's book club will meet at
6 p.m., Nov. 18 to discuss "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini.
There will be no December meeting.
Brookfield Public Library hosts the Nov. 25, 7 p.m.
meeting in the main room. Topic is "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker
Kline.
The Douglas Library Book Group will focus on Patry Francis’s
Cape Cod murder-mystery, "The Orphans of Race Point," at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday,
Nov. 18. Call to reserve a copy of the book. New members welcome. Homemade
refreshments, inspired by the title, will be served—in which case I advise that
you eat cautiously.
Speaking Volume's audio book group will discuss
"For the Benefit of Those Who See: Dispatches from the World of the
Blind" by Rosemary Mahoney at 8 p.m. Nov. 4. The Dec. 2 selection is
Geraldine Brooks' "Caleb's Crossing." To participate, call
508-752-0557.
Books, Brews & Banter meets at 6:30 p.m., Nov.
19 in O'Connor's Restaurant, Worcester, to discuss Ken Follett's "Fall of
Giants."
A Book Between Friends, Sturbridge, has slated
"White Oleander" for its 10 a.m., Nov. 15 meeting.
New Earth Book Club's Nov. 30 topic is "Grain
Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs and Sugar," by David
Perlmutter.
Ann
Connery Frantz, freelance writer/editor and cofounder of Lancaster's Seven
Bridge Writers Collaborative, blogs at www.readitandreeap.blogspot.com (two e’s is correct). Send news of
upcoming meetings to ann.frantz@gmail.com by mid-month.
