Can I pick 'em or what?

TEN authors from the most recent "Best of," lists at the New York Times have read at Happy Ending! Congratulations, everyone!

'The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America'
By STEVEN JOHNSON

'The Song is You."
By ARTHUR PHILLIPS

'Do Not Deny Me: Stories'
By JEAN THOMPSON

'Don’t Cry: Stories'
By MARY GAITSKILL

'Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned'
By WELLS TOWER

'Lark and Termite'
By JAYNE ANNE PHILLIPS

'Sag Harbor'
By COLSON WHITEHEAD

'The Sky Below'
By STACEY D’ERASMO

'Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned'
By WELLS TOWER

'When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood'
By SAÏD SAYRAFIEZADEH

And...I'm in discussions with at least 4 of the others. Not bad, I say. Not bad at all.

A Peek Into America...Night at HERS

Check out this Time.com vid of the superbly-named Rich Benjamin, one of the readers for AMERICA NIGHT (Jan. 6th! Mark those calendars or we'll label you a flag-burner!). Here he talks about his new book, Searching for Whitopia, which Booklist describes as "a thoroughly engaging and eye-opening look at an urgent social issue" and has selected for the 2009 Editor's Choice Award! Congrats, Rich.

Catching Up...

I've disappeared. It's true. I can't tell you what I've been doing because it's boring and it will make me want to turn my skin inside out with irritation. But, here's a visual rundown of some things I wanted to blog about, but didn't due to the time constraints that boring things impose upon your life. In no particular order...

1. HALLOWEEN








2. ART

Derek Loosvelt, my neighbor and friend, runs the Adelphi Salon out of his apartment once every couple months. He asked writers to make some art for his salon. The art had to include written words. Here's what I made. Notice there are no written words. Oh siiit - rule breaker!






3. SUFJAN STEVENS

Went to the 92nd Street Y Tribeca (or whatever the hell it's called) to see Osso, David Stith and Sufjan Stevens' BQE screening (which I saw live at BAM a couple years ago.)




4. STACKED UP

Shot an episode of Stacked Up which was really fun. The site and the idea are both fantastic. Check it out. Mine will be up in a couple weeks.




5. HIKING

I went to Connecticut with DJC and his sister, CC to go hiking with their family and friends. We went to the Edwin Way Teale Memorial Sanctuary. He had a writing cabin (it's the first picture below) which I would like to have relocated to my living room.





6. BRICK BREAKER

CC got DJC addicted to Brick Breaker over our hiking weekend. DJC broke CC's high score and then CC broke that score and then I went to see what all the fuss was about and I broke both their scores by, well - A LOT. I'm at 6200. This guy is in the millions.



7. LILI

Had a sleepover with my 9 year old niece who told me and DJC that she was "Attacking every 80s song on YouTube she could find." Then we watched old 80s videos for hours.



8. DEADLINE

Handed in 2nd (out of 3) children's books I'm writing for Penguin. Got galley for the first one. Here's the cover.



9. NOVEL

Been working on my own novel. Here's what it looks like.

In The Spirit Of Film Night

I know like, a half second ago I told you to go to All Tomorrow's Parties on either Friday or Saturday this weekend, but I'm retracting that statement and telling you to go on Friday so that you can go to Cinema 16 on Saturday.

In case you're not familiar, Cinema 16 pairs old, often under-watched films with a live soundtrack by a band (with completely original music for the event), and is sponsored by Drambuie, meaning free dranks all night (and free admission with rsvp). I've only had the chance to go to one of these showings and let me give you a little advice: Avoid the "Chambuie." It's champagne and Drambuie and if you ask me nobody should be drinking drinks with the words "SHAM" and "BOOO" in their names.

The band this weekend is These Are Powers and the films will be:

Two PSA's and one educational video from the 60s and 70s:

Styling and Experimenting, 1964 - Illustrates the process of designing the "new" mustang.

One Got Fat: Bicycle Safety, 1963 – A group of children wearing ape masks, demonstrate the dangers of biking in this strange and dark PSA.

Solar System 2nd Edition, 1977 – Tom Smith headed up the Special Effects team at Industrial Light & Magic, where he created all the goodies for the Star Wars films. This is his academic film masterwork.

(thanks for the program, myopenbar).

Galapagos

7:30 PM, Sat. Nov. 21st

16 Main Street at Water Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Intern Post-Show Recap: Crisis&Suburbia

CRISIS: waking up with serious kate gosselin bedhead.









BRUTAL.

I have a knack for crises, as November 11th's show and this morning proved. You see, I put together a little suburban video comp to play in the background of Crisis&Suburbia nite, had the cd all ready to go, but apparently this disc did something to piss off computers in a past life, because no device would play it. I had to admit defeat and explain the entire vid onstage--to a VERY sympathetic audience, I should add (whoever cooed, "Ohh, it's alright!"--I love you. You're great.).

Everyone else seemed to have a pretty smooth run that night. Kaiser Cartel sounded great (and were hella cute, let's be honest). Victor Lodato may have almost knocked an audience member unconscious with a music stand, but he was too heliumated to notice, and I was too enthralled with his reading to care. Lauren Grodstein juxtaposed a superbly down-trodden excerpt from her novel A Friend of the Family with a bubbly postcard she received from a not-quite-stranger in Amsterdam. We were "impressed," too, Lauren. Paul Rudnick performed the monologue that opens his, The New Century, painfully funny and inspired in part by his late mother, who was clearly quite a woman.

Alright, I'm going to go fix my "backwards mullet" hair situation. See you on Dec. 2nd for Film Night with John Cameron Mitchell and Jonathon C-A-O-U-E-[and sometimes Y!]-TTE!

Party All the Time

So you missed out on the midnight, Friday the 13th showing of upcoming (Dec. 2nd!) HERS-er Jonathon Caouette's new film, All Tomorrow's Parties, because you were doing something REALLY, REALLY important, like celebrating my birthday. It's forgivable, but only because this phenom-looking movie will be back at IFC tomorrow (Friday the 20th) and Saturday, both for 12:15 am showings. Really, it looks so good.

Here's a blurb on the film from the Seattle International Film Festival:

On the eve of its tenth anniversary, the All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival is an ingenious testament to alternative music, communal living, and iconoclastic creativity. Founded by Belle & Sebastian’s Barry Hogan in 1999 as an alternative to larger, more corporate festivals, ATP is a sponsorship-free festival where the organizers, artists, and fans all stay in the same chalet-style housing complex. Every year the event is curated by a specific artist or band, essentially making each festival a concert as ultimate mix tape. This unique concept is mirrored in All Tomorrow's Parties’ visual approach. The film is created from found or contributed footage from over 200 filmmakers, fans, and musicians who've attended the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival over its history. With interviews and footage of more than 30 bands (ranging from Nick Cave to Animal Collective and from Portishead to Grizzly Bear), this post-punk DIY bricolage uses material filmed in a multitude of formats, including Super8, camcorder, and mobile-phone material. The final product, which captures the experience from the perspective of fan, artist, and curator alike, celebrates the uncompromising vitality of this unique festival experience.

Ahh, can't wait.

Reviews and things that happen after...

My Crazy Music blog reviews Crisis and Suburbia Night.

I will now get dressed and ready for the National Book Awards although I am going to the Gin Mingle at Housing Works and not to the National Book Awards. I will, however, be going to the National Book Awards after-party, because really, it's only after that things really start.

Crisis & Suburbia: Post-Show Intern Write-Up

Sitting backstage at Joe's Pub, listening to Amanda read off a list of possible crises, I couldn't help but think of a few of my own.

I don't receive at least two Facebook notifications every 30 minutes: Crisis.
Twitter doesn't work on the internet or my phone: Crisis.
The temperature dips below 60: Crisis.
When the food on my plate touches the other food on my plate: Crisis.
The New York Times includes every section except the one with the crossword: Crisis.
They're out of grits at my local grocery store: CRISIS!
Moving to New York after growing up in perhaps the largest cluster of suburbs ever: Crisis.

See? My life is hard, y'all. But at least all these crises make me extra-excited when I find Sharpie pens on sale or get a free slice of cake.

Last week's Happy Ending was one of the best.

After their amazing set--including a Mellencamp cover(!!!)--Kaiser Cartel is my new favorite local band. I urge you to take a listen, so when your hip friends mention them you won't have to ask, "Oh, you mean Cartel?" and make the hip friends slap you. I also want to bunny-nap their mascot.

Lauren Grodstein's A Friend of the Family was so creepy! After, she risked reading from an amazing postcard from someone she met on what was apparently the kind of Eurotrip that they based the movie on.

Victor Lodato let me hold balloons! If I forget everything else about this night, I will remember that I got to stand onstage holding a bunch of multicolored balloons, while Victor gave a heliumed reading of Mathilda Savitch. Balloons are the opposite of a crisis.

For most of the night, I had been thinking that Paul Rudnick's name sounded awfully familiar. There's no reason why it shouldn't, since he wrote Addams Family Values and In & Out, among others. But he also wrote, I Hate Hamlet, one of the favorites in my high school directing class--I'm not really sure any of us understood it, though.

This Happy Ending was definitely not a crisis situation---it must have had something to do with the ballooons.

How do YOU Stack Up?

Have a look at this cool site and great idea...STACKED UP! They came to my house on Monday and shot me. Believe it or not, I'm still alive.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Book Tour - Bring HeLa to Your Town

This is my favorite almost-published book. I've been calling it a "red blood cellular thriller," so if you hear anyone else refer to it that way, tell them it's a goddamn TRADEMARK and they owe me money.

Don't let your cells get scraped out of you before reading this book.

Rebecca Skloot was supposed to do Happy Ending on February 10th (alongside Joshua Ferris, for Illness Night), but her book is about to EXPLODE and was moved up a week and now she can't do it (don't worry folks, Ferris is still in and it's still going to be sick! Ha ha ha pun). I'm sad to lose her, but since I have issues of propriety and territory and I like to pretend I've discovered people who have long been known to many, I will just go right on believing that, while she ultimately had to cancel, I booked her first. Take that Oprah!

More on her book, in her own words below....





Lots of excitement and news about my book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (aka HeLa), which hits stores February 2nd (after ten years in the works). It just got a starred review in Publishers Weekly and in Booklist, and was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers title for Spring 2010. Culture Dish is very excited about all of this. But the big news for this post is that I'm organizing a three-month-long book tour that will have me speaking nationwide at universities, scientific organizations, bookstores, book groups, high schools, and more. If you'd like me to speak about the book, about HeLa, the history and ethics of tissue culture, race and medicine, or any number of other related topics, see the Immortal Life's interactive book tour map below. Click on your region to see when I'm scheduled to be in your area, and email me to bring The Immortal Life to your town.

The Immortal Book Tour is a grass-roots, author-funded tour on a scale that no sane publishing house would or could organize or fund. (For those not familiar with the publishing industry, see here for the New Yorker's humorous take on why this sort of thing is necessary). Crazy as it may be, I'm convinced it will be a fun and effective way to spread the word about this book -- and honestly, after ten years of working on it solo, I'm ready to go talk about it with everyone I can. I admit, I've imagined touring in one of these with cells painted all over it, but at this point, due to budget constraints, I may be touring in one of these. This tour will depend entirely on and funding from talks at universities and other venues, so locations able to help cover expenses get priority (and many, many thanks), but I'm also looking to hear from bookstores and other organizations in towns I'll be visiting, where I'll gladly speak if I'm able to get myself there. Interactive book tour map and link for below the jump (and if you're interested in having me speak at a date after the tour, that works too: my schedule for summer and fall is wide open at this point):

Go to her WEBSITE to check out her insane THREE MONTH LONG TOUR!

7 is my favorite number!

Check it out...

Paste Magazine asked me to pick my favorite book of the decade and I done did picked! They put it at #7. See here.

Essays and Fictions V.V Launch

Hey Ithica, heads-up! There's a party coming your way.

Essays and Fictions is hosting a launch for their Volume V at Buffalo St. Books, 3 pm this Saturday. Readers on the docket are Margot Berwin, Anthony Di Renzo, "and a special guest, who may or may not be wearing a mask." I've decided to get my hopes up.

I only know one person in Ithica, and he happens to be this pretty brilliant anthropology professor, so maybe this sort of brain-feeding thing would be up his alley. Hear that, Chris? Bring your friends.

Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Best Books (Written By Men) of 2009

So it turns out when Publishers Weekly say, "We ignored gender and genre..." in creating their Top Ten Books of '09 list, they meant that they ignored one gender, entirely. The list came out a week ago and consists of ten male authors, two of whom are people of color, while the top 100 list is over two-thirds male. Yay Publishers Weekly for maintaining the status quo!

In response, the Women in Letters and Literary Arts has begun compiling a list of all the books published by women in 2009, just in case Publishers Weekly gave you the idea that it had been a quiet year for the ladies.

What scares me about this sort of exclusionary list is that instead of questioning how preferential bias towards white, male voices is still so commonplace in these lit institutions, and asking editors to turn that question towards their own reading histories, some might actually question whether women deserve a place on the list, because, you know, it's just this year! And, perhaps the 10 best really did happen to be all by men! And then the under-the-breath question that follows: Isn't it kind of 'overly-PC' to include female authors just so that it's not all men? Yup, and it's overly sexist to think that that should ever be a reason for including female authors.

It's this kind of thinking that saturates and resaturates the publishing world, keeping the bias intact, and man, doesn't it just make you mad enough to write a critically-acclaimed, numerously-translated and widely-loved novel just to really rub their noses in it? Oh wait.

The NYTimes has something to say about it all here, and as for you, PW, call me when you have a list that can be accused of being a girls' club.

photo courtesy of corbis

Crisis & Suburbia tomorrow night! 11/11. Tickets running out!

Come tomorrow night and see Kaiser Cartel live! Readers are Paul Rudnick, Lauren Grodstein and Victor Lodato. Theme: CRISIS & SUBURBIA. Place: JOE'S PUB!

Watch the video below and I can almost guarantee you'll want to get your tickets now before they sell out!

I am clear, as in transparent and see-through, not lucid.

All right peeps, it's been slow going over here at the headquarters of Amanda Stern Central, but I believe I'm back up and running. Do you know the worst feeling in the world (outside of catatonic depression and endless sorrow)? Feeling so far behind your own work that it's paralyzing. That's sort of how I feel. Computer crashes are sad and destabilizing and that in itself is sad and destabilizing. I swear to you that I felt invisible without my computer or my blackberry. I honestly felt like I was not part of the world in any concrete way. But I was and I am and here is some evidence...FROM HALLOWEEN....

Well, actually -- I guess I still don't exist because the three times I've tried to load a photo I get an error message.

So be it.

Evidence to come later.

Almost home

One more day and I should be up and running...

Very excited to have a functioning computer attached to my fingertips...

Till then...

2:20 check up

at the Apple store and then hopefully I'm good to go. First, I need to clean this computer so they don't judge me based on all the grime. Then home to work on book then back out to Electric Literature party then back home for re-installing all my applications.

The worst part of all this technological bullshit has been...

None of my iphoto photos were transferred. They are gone. Lost. Gone and lost. That is very, very un-good. Now all that came before no longer exists.

Technological and gastronomical breakdown

I've spent the better part of the past three days on the phone with Apple and Microsoft. So far, I like the Apple people better, but I fucking hate their computer. I had to do a big transfer and then a horrifying ERASE and DELETE of the entire system. In the middle of all this my blackberry broke and I spent two hours at the phone store this morning and had to buy a new blackberry with money I don't have. Add to this - last night's dinner with Arthur Phillips! We went to Grand Sichaun on Canal Street where you order raw shit like pig tendons and squid balls and throw it in boiling shit and Maneschewitz my stomach hurts today.

When I return to full blogging form I will post about my weekend which was filled with cultural things like:

1) Sufjan Stevens, Osso, David Stith, Shara Worden concert/film screening
2) Private Doveman house concert
3) Art salon on Adelphi Street

Until then, my stomach really, really hurts.

Electric Literature Event Wednesday Night!

It's gotten to the point where we over here at HERSblogworld have so many last minute plans for you that you might as well just permanently clear your schedule and await instruction, you know? DEFINITELY free yourself up Wednesday night, because Electric Literature is hosting their second issue release party at DROM, and it sounds like it's going to be stellar.

From the lovely folks of EL, the Wednesday night logistics:

9:30pm- NEW OPTIMISM featuring Miho Hatori, former vocalist of Cibo Matto, aka “Noodle” of Gorrilaz, Collaborator of Handsome Boy Modelling School, John Zorn, Blackalicious and The 6ths.

8:30pm- Authors: MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Hours, and author of A Home At the End of the World, and Specimen Days
and JIM SHEPARD, author of six novels, including Project X, and three story collections, including Love and Hydrogen and Like You'd Understand, Anyway, which was nominated for the National Book Award and won The Story Prize.

7:30pm- The films of MARTHA COLBURN with live musical accompaniment by MUDANG ROUGE

-Our good friend Noah C. spinning all night.

And:

** Bulldog Gin Drink Specials from 7-9pm!** Dirty martinis, anyone? [ED. NOTE: yes, thank you]

At DROM, in the heart of the East Village
85 Avenue A
(between 5th St & 6th St)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 777-1157

Wednesday, October 28th, 7pm

Admission: $12 @ the door (You’ll make that back in drink specials in no time.)

Come early for the booze (7-9pm) and the films (7-8pm) which are not to be missed!

cover image courtesy of electricliterature.com

See you there!

KAISER CARTEL JUST ADDED for NOVEMBER 11th!!

Laurie Sandell introduced me to Kaiser Cartel and I especially love this song and have played it incessantly for a week now. They're playing on November 11th for CRISIS & SUBURBIA night with Lauren Grodstein, Victor Lodato and Paul Rudnick. They're seriously talented.

Witness:



Get tickets for November 11th show before they sell out!




And don't get mad at me if you miss out!

Greenlight Bookstore Opening

The only reason there's no exclamation point in that title is because I realized all my titles have exclamation points. My bad. This IS exciting, though, so you know what?

Greenlight Bookstore is opening in Ft. Greene! Yeah!!!

As of now, they're open 10-10 Monday-Saturday and 12/8 on Sundays. Stop by at 686 Fulton St. at South Portland, and if you like combining books and a little booze, head to their launch party this Saturday, October 24th at 7pm for some free champagne and giveaways.

Oh, and Amanda has more to say about this, so keep your eyeballs on the blog!

Town Hall MET-ing!

Hey, this is neat:

A group of art-thinkers known as Town Hall Meeting (perhaps you've seen them speak at the New Museum) are presenting a personalized guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art next Sunday, in which members and bright friends of members station themselves at art works "that they feel a particular affinity towards" and give a little talk. Maps to these presenters will be handed out in front of the museum. Here's their blurb on the event:

Mission:

To establish a sense of ownership over New York's largest public collection of objects d'art, and to highlight the accessibility of this venue. We are hoping that all those who come across out tour are enticed to establish their own connection with the collection in a new and unique manner. We want this to be - like many other projects - informative, fun and open to all.

Stop by between 11 am and 1pm next Sunday, October 25th, look for the Town Hall Meeting brick stack (below)--and engage!

Last Minute Change In Your Evening Plans!

"The Brooklyn Play" by Zebra Crossing, 7 pm tonight at The City Reliquary:

"In February 2009, we met as a group to explore the question, 'what is Brooklyn, and how can we put that on stage?' We spent the next five months conducting our investigation, uncovering found history, personal stories, family recollection, and YouTube videos; conducting on-the-street interviews, neighborhood field trips, e-mail questionnaires, and vigorous debates.

Now, we invite you to join the conversation as we present a look at the initial results of our ongoing process. Part theatre piece, part travel guide and part oral history; stuffed to the brim with video, puppetry, field recordings and faux historical re-enactments, "Brooklyn Play" is our attempt to express (some of) the many identities and experiences of Brooklyn."

I always knew it would take puppets to get to the heart of what Brooklyn is all about.

If you don't feel like fending off the Nor'easter tonight, stop by the Reliquary next Thursday to see Holopaw play there as part of CMJ, or just visit the museum sometime between 12 and 6pm on the weekend because it's totally delightful.

370 Metropolitan Avenue at Havemeyer
Williamsburgh, BK

Mama's got a brand new blog

Okay, it's not a blog, it's a website, but "Mama's got a brand new website," doesn't have the same ring. My mom, Eve Stuart, is now officially a resident of the World Wide Google. Go visit her website, here and then, if you're free tomorrow or over the weekend, check out her NYC photography debut at the High Line Open Studios.


Tonight through Sunday, more than 100 New York artists are opening their doors for an exclusive peek inside their private work spaces as part of the High Line Open Studios 2009, and my mom is one of them!

OPEN HOURS:

FRIDAY (16th) 6-9pm
SATURDAY(17th) - SUNDAY(18th) 12-6pm



My mom's work will be here: 508 West 26th Street Studio 5A. Come check it out.

This is what a visit to the High Line looks like:







Free coffee will be served at the Greeting Center (526 West 26th Street) and the Standard Hotel Plaza. Download a map of participating studios here.

More Phone Phiction!

Having talked up the iphone-accessible fiction from Featherpress and Electric Literature, we now have yet another way for you to steadfastly avoid eye contact and pass time on the subway without resorting to those little jewel-stacking games:

Moulinarn Mobile Books' "Fivers: Flash Fiction for your phone"!



















The first five come from Lemony Snicket, Anna North, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Joshua Furst, and Andrew Foster Altschul. Access them here, so that you can read Hemmings “Author Questionnaire,” in which "an author answers questions about a book she has written called HOW TO PARTY WITH AN INFANT." Excellent.

The Story Prize

A journalist, a novelist, and a librarian will judge the $20,000 Story Prize this year--awarded to a short story collection written in English and published in the U.S. during the calendar year.

Author A.M. Homes, LA Times journalist Carolyn Kellogg, and Ohio's Cuyahoga County Public Library librarian Bill Kelly will judge the 2009 prize. The winner will join a distinguished list that includes Edwidge Danticat, Mary Gordon, Jim Shepard, and Tobias Wolff. The winner takes home $20,000, and finalists each receive $5,000.

Here's more from the release: "The final deadline for submitting books is November 16, 2009. The three finalists will be announced in late January, 2010. The 2009 Story Prize winner will be announced on March 3, 2010 at an event open to the public and featuring conversations and readings with the three finalists at The New School in New York City."

A Day Late and just unbelievably short (both on inches and dollars)

The National Book Foundation announced the finalists for the 2009 National Book Awards. I have a penchant for taking credit and claiming responsibility for things that get recognized (is this one of the terrible traits that befalls the youngest child?) even when I've nothing to do with any of it. So, alongside the announcement of the NBA finalists, please find in bold my editorials on the responsibility I will take for specific nominations, even (and especially) where one thing has nothing to do with the other...

Fiction finalists:
Bonnie Jo Campbell for "American Salvage" from Wayne State University Press (none)
Colum McCann for "Let the Great World Spin from Random House (met him at a party once.)
Daniyal Mueenuddin for "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" from W.W. Norton & Co. (saw this in the Norton catalogue a long time ago and thought it looked really good).
Jayne Anne Phillips for "Lark and Termite" from Alfred A. Knopf (She read at Happy Ending!)
Marcel Theroux for "Far North" from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (none)

The nonfiction finalists are: (I don't read a lot of non-fiction, so sadly I can't take any credit for these)
David M. Carroll for "Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook" from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Sean B. Carroll for "Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species" from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Greg Grandin for "Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City" from Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt
Adrienne Mayor for "The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy" from Princeton University Press
T. J. Stiles for "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt" from Alfred A. Knopf

Poetry Finalists
Rae Armantrout, Versed (Wesleyan University Press) (I really like her name)
Ann Lauterbach, Or to Begin Again, (Viking Penguin)
Carl Phillips, Speak Low (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) (met him years ago, heard him read and thought his poems were very special. Word must have gotten back to the NBA)
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Open Interval (University of Pittsburgh Press) (I like her name)
Keith Waldrop, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy (University of California Press)

Young People's Literature Finalist
Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith (Henry Holt and Co.)
Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
David Small, Stitches (W.W. Norton & Co.) (Obsessed and he wrote a comment on my blog and this probably had a lot to do with how he got discovered, even though he wrote the comment two weeks ago)
Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)

Power Trailer!

Watch the trailer for Ari Gold's debut feature, "Adventures of Power." Ethan Gold wrote 15 songs and a full score for this film.

PAL EVENTS....

WRITER (there is more than one, but since this is the Pal Events page, I'll just stick with the theme and list the pal): ELISA ZURITSKY



Starring (among other people): NADIA DAJANI (met her once at a friend's party, so she's only a party pal, but I liked her immensely so she gets a plug).

AND...in another part of town...

ETHAN GOLD'S (<---pal) brother Ari Gold- not my pal for no other reason than we've never met) feature film "Adventures of Power," which Ethan wrote 15 songs and a full music score for, is coming to theatres at last, starting tonight! It's the tale of a small town misfit who dreams of making it in the big world as an air drummer. Ridiculous and funny and also inspiring and geniune.

Come see the movie at the Loews Village 7 in Manhattan this weekend....
Fri-Mon: 12:00, 2:30, 6:00, 8:30, 10:45. Tues-Thurs: 2:45, 5:15, 8:00, 10:30.
Opening in other cities in the next week. Stars in attendance. (Including Adrian Grenier)

Details here

The full original soundtrack album will be available soon on itunes, and a few advance copies at screenings this weekend. Never have Ennio Morricone, death metal, Arabic funk, classic rock, pop country and mall punk blended so well.

FAKE ARI GOLD -
REAL ADRIAN GRENIER -

HELP KEEP US AFLOAT!

The Happy Ending Music and Reading Series is a sponsored project of NYFA's. This doesn't mean they give us money. They don't. What it does mean is that we can officially operate as a non-profit and your financial gifts are tax-exempt. Until November 1st a kindly anonymous donor is matching all donations to all NYFA's sponsored projects. Please consider giving to this series which survives on a budget of Zero. After expenses, no one makes a penny and in fact, Ms. Amanda Stern loses money (of which she has very little as I believe we've partly established). Please help us cover these expenses, which include: the evening's programs, internet hosting, database software, ink, paper, video cassettes (we currently borrow a video camera), a Flickr account and so much more...

Please Consider a Gift to NYFA from NYFA on Vimeo.

This is Cool, Right?

Okay, I promised Amanda that I would try to A) Post more often and B) Keep my food-truck posts to a minimum. Let me explain.

I really love food trucks. Yesterday, when I was walking to get Amanda her pre-show ritual Luna bar, it took everything I had in me to not go buy ALL the cupcakes from the Cupcake Truck.

I am a food truck connoisseur (hey, now, that's French!), and Summer '09 was the Summer of Food Trucks.

I think that the 53rd and 6th Halal Guy and the Treats Truck may have spent a lonely winter together because, this summer, 89 million baby food trucks popped up all over NYC. I am partial to sweets, so I spent a lot of time at the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and Street Sweets. Amanda wanted to know about the savories--specifically the Dumpling Truck and the Bistro Truck.

The point is: food trucks are awesome. It's fast food, but you can totally pretend it's good for you because a real person actually made it. So, hooray, calories don't count (if they ever did!)!

And tomorrow is the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck's last day of the season (he's usually around Union Square). I will surely shed a sugary tear.

Found in Translation: I AM OFFICIALLY FRENCH.

Last night, I welcomed the French author, Tanguy Viel (phonetic pronunciation: Tohn-gee Viellllll) and spoke French on stage in front of real live French people. Not only that, they were from the French Embassy. Did they laugh? Yes. Did they clap? Eh. But, I am French now and I recognize a look of approval when I see one. Afterwards, I was told by an official and professional French translator, Isabelle Dupuis, that I have a good ear and a good accent. The people at the Embassy nodded in agreement. And that means, as we all well know, that I am now officially French. Without further ado, below please find my official French announcement brought to you courtesy of Babelfish. Below that, please find the French to English conversion, also brought to you courtesy of Babelfish and under that, the original English that I originally typed into Babelfish. Bon! Ca va! Allez!

MY OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN FRENCH:

Je suis ainsi excité pour annoncer cela en date de la nuit dernière, approximativement au 8:15 P.M., je suis devenu officiellement Français. Vingt membres de l'ambassade de France étaient témoin de la conversion et il y avait des cris de " ; FÈVE ! " ; tout autour. Une des meilleures pièces d'être officiellement Français était la découverte, lors d'entrer dans mon cabinet quand je suis arrivé à la maison, que mes vêtements et accessoires des fournisseurs urbains et 21 avaient été remplacée pour toujours par des vêtements et des accessoires de Chanel, de Celine, de Guerlain, de Printemps et d'articles éclectiques du marché aux puces d'Ouen de saint. Mon réfrigérateur a été stocké avec des épiceries de Franprix et champion et mes meubles de hand-me-down avec des antiquités de Chez Gersaint et de Meubles Authentiques. J'irai maintenant mensonge sur mon divan de évanouissement et attendrai mon Monsieur pour appeler.

BABELFISH'S TRANSLATION OF THE FRENCH ANNOUNCEMENT ABOVE INTO ENGLISH:

I am thus excited to announce that in date of last night, roughly with the 8:15 TOKEN ENTRY, I became officially French. Twenty members of l' embassy of France were pilot conversion and there were cries of " ; BROAD BEAN! " ; around. One of the best parts d' to be officially French was the discovery, at the time d' to enter my cabinet when I arrived at the house, that my clothing and accessories of the urban suppliers and 21 had been replaced for always by clothing and accessories of Chanel, Celine, of Guerlain, Spring and d' eclectic articles of the flea market d' Ouen of saint. My refrigerator was stored with grocers of Franprix and champion and my pieces of furniture of hand-me-down with antiquities from Gersaint and Authentic Pieces of furniture. J' will go now lie on my couch of fainding and will await my Mister to call.

WHAT I ORIGINALLY TYPED INTO BABELFISH IN ENGLISH TO BE TRANSLATED INTO FRENCH:

I am very excited to announce that at approximately 8:15pm last night, I became officially French. Twenty members of the French Embassy witnessed the conversion and there were shouts of "BON!" all around. One of the best parts of being officially French was the discovery, upon entering my closet, that my clothes and accessories from Urban Outfitters and Forever 21 had been replaced with clothing and accessories from Chanel, Celine, Guerlain and Printemps. My hand me down furniture had been replaced by furniture from Chez Gersaint and Meubles Authentiques and eclectic pieces from the Saint Ouen Flea Market. My refrigerator had been stocked with groceries from Franprix and Champion. I will now go lie on my fainting couch and wait for the Monsieur to call.

Special thanks to the French Culture wing of the French Embassy for approving the conversion!

Intern blog--Un recap.

Bonjour!

Last night at Happy Ending, I was entrusted with camera duty so I was, again, able to hear and see what was happening onstage.

And it. was. bon.

Larkin Grimm has a voice like no other, and she sells records with CDs INSIDE. How cool is that? I don't own a record player, and I haven't bought a cd in a year or two. I am, however, thinking about buying her record/cd for the insanely cool boys down the hall who actually listen to records in their free time. Like, without doing anything else. It completely blows my mind. Anyway, Larkin sings like an ethereal forest goddess, and makes me want to run right out, buy a record player, and chill. For the finale, she sang a cover of The Beatles' "Because" that gave me (and everyone else) chills.

Then Amanda came out and spoke French like it was her job (That would be a fun job, non?), and that was the best thing ever. Then Tanguy Viel and his brilliant translator read from Beyond Suspicion and completely mezmerized all of us with the power of the French language and beautiful, suspenseful prose. Watch out for Tanguy, though, he rates his friends using some kind of New Math, that even an iPhone app couldn't help me solve. C'est magnifique!

Finalement, Stephen Elliot read from The Adderall Diaries, and then fully made out with a random audience member onstage. I'm not gonna lie--it was hot.

Bon.

I'm a Nurse!

That's what Google Alert tells me and I'm sticking to it!


PHOTO
Three-year-old Clayton Mathiason, of Omaha, Neb., receives a dose of H1N1 vaccine via nasal spray from nurse Amanda Stern at Physician's Clinic, affiliated with Omaha's Methodist Health System, in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Speed on over to Joe's Pub tonight at 7pm!

Take your adderall, commit a crime and come on over to Happy Ending @ Joe's Pub tonight to confess it!

ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT FOR TONIGHT'S SHOW -- "Crime, Confession & Adderall." Starring: Stephen Elliott, Tanguy Viel (with a french translator). With music from Larkin Grimm! Get them while they last!

Mark Hagidepressants

Go check out my friend, Mark Hage's show! He gave me a small painting a year ago that I keep on my front hall table and it makes me happy every time I walk through my door. So, if you're depressed, go see some Mark Hage art and prepare to perk the hell up.


"Alteration"
Sculpture by Mark Hage
FxFowle Gallery
11th floor
22 West 19th street

Through October 30th

M - F 9:00 - 5:30

David Small's comment and I are engaged to be married!

Okay, now things are really heating up over here.

Yesterday, I was engaged to marry "Stitches," a phenomenal graphic memoir drawn and written by David Small. Then, David left the loveliest comment under my blog post about my engagement that I have cancelled my wedding to "Stitches," and have become fianced to his comment. David Small's comment and I will be getting married as soon as he leaves me enough comments to print out so I can wear a paper wedding dress made of his comments to show my commitment to his words.

MY EX-FIANCE (but we remain really good friends)



MY NEW FIANCE!



(On a side note, I really need to read Time Out NY more because as I was casually flipping through it yesterday, I noticed that I missed the pairing of the century! David Small and Jules Feiffer (who took me to lunch about a year ago and who I lost touch with because I was so intimidated by him) at MacNally Jackson!)

The London Office!

Some of my favorite friends I've made outside of New York's literary community, I've made at Yaddo & MacDowell (except you - Katie & Paul). Two of these people are Jon and Ali aka Thomson and Craighead. They run the London branch of Happy Ending, which doesn't exist, except for when we pretend it does. They never come to New York. Or, they come to New York all the time, but don't tell me. Not sure which, really. Anyway, I adore Jon and Ali. My first stay at MacDowell, I was besties with them and Leah Garnett who runs the New Brunswick branch of Happy Ending, which also doesn't exist. Anyway, Jon and Ali make digital art and they have a new show up called, "Several Interruptions." This new video work has been commissioned by Arts Council England especially for their rebranding of the arts council website, which went live today!

Several_Interruptions, which collages together online videos in which people are seen holding their breath underwater, is both interruption (as its name suggests) as well as documentary, in which the seemingly mundane and numerous has been made back into something unique and original.

Thomson & Craighead have personally chosen, from some 61,000 possible files on YouTube, videos which they have edited together into brief vignettes which interrupt each other sequentially (in time) and laterally (on-screen). Through the artists’ mediation, these amateur videos have been transformed into professional pocket- sized triptychs which make reference to the large-scale, three-screen projection installations of internationally-known video artists.

After you've checked out "Several Interruptions," come back and study these pictures and tell me you wouldn't try and bust your way into the London offices of Happy Ending just trying to be friends with these guys. (I took these photos during Leah's presentation in Firth at MacDowell. Firth is the name of a studio there.)

Stitches and I are engaged to marry!

Yes, that is correct! I am marrying a book. That's how much I loved it.

YOU MUST BUY STITCHES by David Small, but you may not marry it, because Stitches is MY fiance!

I will tell you a little story that will make me look a lot nicer than I actually am. Yesterday, I was on the subway totally absorbed in the book when a class of school kids got on. Normally, this would have irritated me. I love children. I just don't love them in decuplicates. A little girl slammed herself into the available space next to me and started to look at the book.

"That a cartoon?" she asked.
"Yep. For grownups," I told her.
"They got cartoons for grownups?"
"Yep. Do you know what a memoir is?" I asked her.
She shook her head, no.
"Do you know what an autobiography is?" She nodded, yes.
"A memoir is just a small part of an autobiography."
"hnnuhnuh?"
"How old are you?" I asked her.
"Eight."
"Where are you from?"
"The Bronx."
"What's the best thing that happened to you?"
"Mint chocolate chip Ice cream."
"What's the worst thing that ever happened to you?"
"My aunt died."
"Sorry to hear about that."
"I know you are," she said (I thought this was particularly cute.)
"Your memoir would be your story about your aunt dying. It's a small portion of your life that had a lot of meaning for you. An autobiography would be the story of your whole life."
Her eyes went totally wide, "You're reading a story about my aunt dying???"
I almost laughed, but didn't. "No, I'm reading someone else's memoir about something bad that happened to him. He made his with drawings and we call that a graphic memoir. Graphic is the drawing part."

Then she leaned her head against my arm and we started to read the story together until I had to get off.

I always have sort of amazing moments with children on subways. This was one of the best. Thank you, David Small.

American Pie

“I think I make it up as I go along and so does America,” he said. “So that’s why it makes sense. You started it, but I wanted to be part of it.” -- Craig Ferguson

And that, ladies and men, is why I love him. Now go buy his book so you can love him, too.