Topic of the Week for May 25-29: Expat Literature May 24, 2009
Posted by Carolyn Burns Bass in weekly topics.11 comments
Expatriate literature may be stocked in the travel section, but does it deserve a shelf of its own? Living for extended periods in foreign locales, expatriates struggle to reestablish themselves and find meaningful access to their new home. Travelers passing through often have the luxury to avoid the very issues of assimilation and identity that dominate the expat psyche. We’ll talk about the unique depths this can bring to expat lit’s combination of outsider-view-from-the-inside and journey of self-realization.
Joining us as guest host for LitChat on Friday, May 29 is Anastasia M. Ashman, a writer/producer of multimedia entertainment projects that further the worldwide cultural conversation. Drawn to the nexus of women, culture, travel — and history, inspired by a Bryn Mawr archaeology degree - she illuminates personal dynamics, from one family to entire hemispheres. Her productions capitalize on ten years of expatriatism and a decade in U.S. media and entertainment.
Anastasia’s coeditor of the expatriate literature collection Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey, endorsed by NBC TV’s Today Show, Lonely Planet and International Herald Tribune. Studied in seven North American universities, its literary ambassadorship is widely supported in Turkey.
In Istanbul, where she’s lived with her Turkish husband since 2003, Anastasia coproduced the Near East’s first Global Nomad Salon in association with Janera.com. The Economist calls this worldwide series of intellectual dinner parties “jetsetters with a conscience.” With a fellow author she’s co-developing an annual gathering of globally mobile progressives.
The native of Berkeley, California has published in Asian Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, National Geographic Traveler and Cornucopia, the magazine for connoisseurs of Turkish culture. She is currently writing a forensic memoir of friendship, and the screen adaptation of her Expat Harem wedding tale.
You may follow Anastasia on Twitter at @thandelike.
Topic of the Week: The power of language in literature May 16, 2009
Posted by Carolyn Burns Bass in fiction.add a comment
Topic of the Week for May 18-22, 2009:
The Power of Language in Literature
Emily St. John Mandel
What are books, but a collection of words arranged to relay meaning. Language is the vehicle that conveys the words, and more. Language is more than the spoken or written word, but the emotions, feelings and mystical connections between the lines.
In her beautifully written debut novel, Last Night in Montreal, Emily St. John Mandel creates a tableau of words unspoken, mysteries left hanging for readers to wonder, and messages glimmering in the subtext. As her protagonist searches for his girlfriend who vanished into a New York morning, the reader is urged alongside, suspended by the beauty of the language in its conveyance of clues.
Emily will join us for LitChat on May 22, where she’ll talk about her debut novel, Last Night in Montreal, and the power of language in literature.
Emily St. John Mandel was born on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, in 1979. She studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York. She lives in Brooklyn.
You may follow her on Twitter at @emilymandel.
Topic of the Week: All About Romance May 11, 2009
Posted by Carolyn Burns Bass in Uncategorized.3 comments
Candace Havens
Romance novels from category heroines in historicals to single title bestsellers make up a huge portion of book sales. This week at LitChat we’ll talk about what makes a good romance and chat about our favorite authors and titles.
Joining us on Friday is award-winning romance author, Candace “Candy” Havens. Candy’s novels include Charmed & Dangerous, Charmed & Ready, Charmed & Deadly, Like A Charm and The Demon King and I. She is known for writing strong female characters, who save the world, but aren’t exactly perfect. She is a two-time RITA, Write Touch Reader and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also the winner of the Barbara Wilson award.
Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood from George Clooney and Orlando Bloom to Nicole Kidman and Kate Beckinsale. You can hear Candy weekly on 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas Fort Worth Area.
Her popular online Writer’s Workshop has more than 1000 students and provides free classes to professional and aspiring writers.
Follow Candy on Twitter at @candacehavens.
Topic of the Week: Literary Fiction May 3, 2009
Posted by Carolyn Burns Bass in Uncategorized.2 comments
Topic of the Week for May 4-8, 2009:
Literary Fiction
Do you chat about literary fiction, or discuss it? All this week in LitChat we’ll be looking at how and why literary fiction can break all of the rules and get away with it.
Read the transcript from Elise Blackwell’s guest hosting of LitChat here.
Elise Blackwell
Joining us as guest host on Friday, May 8, is Elise Blackwell, author of Hunger, The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish, and Grub. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in Witness, Topic, Seed, Global City Review, Quick Fiction, Coal City Review, and elsewhere, and Elise has given readings and talks at dozens of literary festivals, universities, and bookstores. Her newest novel, The Unfinished Score, will be published by Unbridled Books in spring 2010.
Elise happened to be born in Austin, Texas, though she spent most of her formative years in southern Louisiana, punctuated by stints elsewhere. She studied creative writing as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University and then received an MFA from the University of California-Irvine. Before publishing her first novel in 2003, she worked as a bartender, entomology lab grunt, journalist, food critic, grower of exotic fruits, translator, and academic flap copy writer. She has taught at the University of California-Irvine and Boise State University, and is currently on the creative writing faculty of the University of South Carolina. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her husband, the novelist David Bajo, and their daughter Esme.
Elise´s debut novel was named a “best book of 2003” by the Los Angeles Times and a “best read of the year” by the Sydney Morning Herald. Her novels have been widely reviewed, and each was selected by independent booksellers as a Book Sense pick. The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish was named to the New Orleans Times-Picayune “books of 2007” list and chosen by the Monroe News-Star as “Louisiana book of the Year.” Grub was included in Kirkus’ “best of 2007” issue as well as named to the Book Sense Annual Highlights list.
You can follow Elise on Twitter at @eliseblackwell.
