Literary Bombing

On March 5, 2007, a car bomb exploded on Mutanabbi Street, the lively center of Baghdad bookselling, filled with bookstores, cafes, and book stalls. 30 people were killed; more than 100 were wounded. Join poets and writers to memorialize this wounding of Baghdad's literary and intellectual heart.

Mon, Nov 19, 7 PM
“Memorial Reading for Mutanabbi Street”
Chris Abani, Beau Beausoleil, Laila Lalami, Suzanne Lummis, Majid Naficy, Marisela Norte, Sholeh Wolpé,and Terry Wolverton with a special musical performance by the Saadoun Al-Bayati Ensemble, music of Iraq.

Go to the Los Angeles Central Library and show your support. I'll be there.

Literary Mailer

Norman Mailer passed away today. He was a brilliant writer and a crochety old guy. He said things that only Mailer could get away with (like bashing Pulitzer Prize winning critic Michiko Kakutani for not reveiwing enough books by straight white men in the New York Times). I saw him speak at a bookstore many years ago. He seemed like he'd live forever. With his writing, he certainly will. Click here.

Literary Men of Mystery

Last Saturday, I participated in Men of Mystery, a whole day event in Orange County. There were roughly 50 authors there. 500 people attended to have lunch and interact with authors working in the Mystery, Crime, Thriller genre. My second novel "Talking to the Moon" was about the aftermath of a hate crime. This was enough to warrant an invitation to this amazing day. (Well, support from masters of the genre like James Ellroy, Eddie Muller, and Naomi Hirahara didn't hurt either)

I didn't know what to expect, but I had never been so "on" at a literary event. From the moment I got there (8:30am) till I left (4:30pm) I was constantly interacting with people. There was a bit of of a please-buy-my-book-please-please-please feel to the event. I have to say that these mystery writers are a different brood from those working in literary fiction. First of all, the mystery writers are the most outgoing bunch of people you'll ever wanna meet. It seems that this genre is just as much personality as it is writing. And second, they all seemed to have a great sense of humor. Unlike sullen literary writers that I know, these guys were having a good ole time. And I got caught up in it.

New York Times Bestselling writer Vince Flynn (pictured) gave a talk. He discussed how he self-published his first book, hand sold it until it became number one in the twin cities. From there, he's been flying ever since. Thus far, both presidents Clinton and Dubya Bush have read his work and are apparently quite impressed with his attention to detail--perhaps too much detail on how America spies on others.

What made me laugh was that Flynn talked about "The Secret." He is not the type the person who believes that good things will happen just becuase he thinks it. Indeed, he usually thinks the worst things will happen and hopes that it won't. Here's to negative thinking and hoping for the best--uh, which sounds closer to the way I think.

Literary First Names

Terry

Don

M.E.

Carlos
Find out these people's last names and what the hell they'll be doing this November 7 at 7:30:

http://adleventsweho.blogspot.com/

It's usually packed, so come EARLY.

Literary Witch and Hook

Some of you requested a pic of me in costume. That's me as Hook, posing with my friend Nancy. Those of you familiar with Los Angeles pop history, may know the witch as Atomic Nancy. She used to run Little Tokyo's Atomic Cafe, which was a gathering place for the punk scene back in the day. Nancy has had the pleasure of serving noodles to people like David Bowie and Debra Harry. She used to have a dish on the menu called Go-go chicken. She said that's how the band The Go-Go's got their name, from eating at her restaurant.


The Atomic Cafe had been mentioned in several literary works documenting life in LA in the 70's and early 80's. Recently, Atomic Cafe was described in Janet Fitch's latest novel "Paint it Black."

Literary Hook

For Halloween, I chose to be a literary villain. I will be Captain Hook from JM Barrie's classic tale "Peter Pan." I began to think about what Hook means to me and why I chose this persona. In Peter Pan, also known as "The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up," Captain Hook lost his hand because of Pan. Hook replaced his missing appendage with a hook; thus, his name. An alligator ate the hand and found it delicious, so tasty, in fact, that the alligator followed Hook hoping to eat more of him. Fortunately, for Hook, the alligator also swallowed a clock and Hook knows that the alligator is approaching when he hears ticking.

I'm nearing forty. I wondered if my need to be Hook is my inner most self experiencing aggression toward youth, symbolized by Peter Pan. The tick-tock of the alligator is a constant reminder of my eventual demise. By being Hook this Halloween, I wondered if I'm becoming that crochety old fellow who mutters cliches like, youth is wasted on the young? Is my psyche telling me that I am aging, left battled-scarred, parts of me eaten by time and left with a sharp left hook to show for it?

Or did I choose to be Hook this Halloween because Pirates are really big this season and I got caught up in the hype? Maybe I chose to be Hook so I have an excuse to wear a wig, ruffles and a big hat!

Literary Peony

Some time ago, I mentioned that I was up for a literary award with the Southern California Independent Book Association. The nominees included TC Boyle, Salvador Placencia, Lisa See, me, and the legendary Ray Bradbury.

The awards dinner was on Saturday. The award went to...Lisa See for her novel Peony in Love. Congrats!

It was a most enjoyable evening. It was at the Biltmore in downtown. Many authors were gathered for dinner at 6pm., then we were asked to mingle with the booksellers, then table hop while the booksellers had thier dinner.

We were ordered to be nice to the booksellers. We were told one story of an author who yelled at a bookseller from Booksoup in West Hollywood. The store pulled the author's work from their shelves. Alas, I'd heard this story in different forms. I heard of one store pulling a rude author's book and telling customers that her work was no longer in print. Ouch! Always be nice to the bookseller.

Literary Outing

I couldn't help but post this. Guess what? Dumbledore is gay, gay, gay!

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/10/20/dumbledore-is-gay-says-rowling/

Literary Spaciousness

Last night we celebrated our 20th anniversary at work. It was a joyful, sucessful evening. I woke up this morning feeling absolute relief. The writing of my novel had been difficult the last few weeks. My mind mostly focused on the anniversary gala. Squeezing in 20 minutes to work on the novel was hard. This morning, I got up and wrote on the new book for a good hour. I felt a part of my brain had been released, spaciousness grew and I was able to imagine again.

Literary Lessing

The big literary news of the day is that Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize in Literature. At 88, she is the oldest person to do so. Congrats, Ms. Lessing!

Literary Scripting

I'm tossing and turning on how to make my third novel work. I'm not freaked out about it. I just know that this is part of the novel writing process. I get frustrated about what happens next, then suddenly in the midst of rush hour traffic it all becomes clear.

I'm also heavily involved in planning the 20th anniversary gala for the nonprofit I've been with for 14 years. Here's a sample of other writing that I'm doing. It's part of the script for the eveing. The following is what our host Amy Hill will say at some point in the evening:

"Before we serve dinner, I want you to know that we have an evening of dance and laughs in store for you. An amazing dance company will be performing for you soon and so will Dat Phan, Winner of Last Comic Standing. Enjoy dinner!"

Not exactly art, I know, but it's keeping the writing muscle very much alive.

Literary Gulp

I spent Sunday at the West Hollywood Book Fair. Always fun. I enjoy running into people I don't run into except for a literary gathering like this one. Some writers that I hadn't seen in awhile include Meghan Daum, Jenoyne Addams, Michael Datcher, Eduardo Santiago, and Frederick Smith.


Some observations:


1. There was a green room for authors. At one point Gore Vidal entered. It was a bit of a shock to see him in a wheel chair. I know he's over 80, but I was still taken aback. I smiled thinking that I'm in the same room as Mr. Vidal.


(Several years ago, I was selling books on behalf of Skylight Bookstore. It was for a Gore Vidal event and I sat next to him while he signed books. I heard a low, gravelly voice say, "Shurley. Shurley, don't forget this." I thought: I KNOW that voice! I looked up and it was Faye Dunaway.)


2. I noticed that on some panels Authors would hog the time talking about their own books, instead of discuss the overall topic presented to the panel. I'd think, Geez, shaddup already!


3. I would have to say the most memorable time was when Actress Eva Marie Saint (below) sat at my table in the Greenroom. I gulped. I couldn't move. She starred in the movie Raintree County, along with my muse Montgomery Clift. I don't get gaga over actors, but when they shared a screen with Monty--whoa! Before I could say something, I was shuttled off to my first panel. Having a brush with one of Monty's leading ladies will have to be enough for me.

Literary Slate

Congratulations to the new Macarthur "Genius" Fellows, individuals who'll be getting lots of cash for the work that they do in science, art, etc. Among the recipients this year were several writers. I often wonder how the heck do I get one of those things? They don't have an application process. They just find people and give it to them. I've known some of fellows--brilliant guys--but there are lots of brilliant people who don't get them. So, how does one get a coveted $50,000 grant out of nowhere? Well, Slate.com did some comparisons. Um, it appears my chances of getting one doesn't look good.

http://www.slate.com/id/2174676/

Literary Weho

The West Hollywood Book Fair is this Sunday, September 30. Go! Go! Go!



I'll be on two panels at 1pm and 3pm.



www.westhollywoodbookfair.com

Literary Open Door

My former editor Don Weise is doing this project. Spread the word. As you may know, we lost generations to AIDS, the gay community was particularly hit hard. We lost tons of artists, including writers. The Open Door Project is an attempt to make up for lost words.

The Open Door Project 

A five-day publishing introduction intensive in New York City-- including a series of lunches with literary agents, book editors, and other publishing figures, a public reading, and a private cocktail reception with New York's writing community will be awarded to the winner of the first Open Door Project fiction competition. The contest is open to gay men writing fiction with queer content who have not yet published a book of fiction. Accommodations and transportation will be provided to an out of town winner. Judges include Christopher Bram, Alexander Chee, Samuel R. Delany, Dennis Cooper, Robert Gluck, E. Lynn Harris, Scott Heim, Andrew Holleran, David Leavitt, Stephen McCauley, Dale Peck, and John Weir.

Submit stories or stand-alone novel excerpts of up to 8,000 words by March 1, 2008.

The winner will be announced June 08. There is no entry fee.

Submissions should be mailed to: Don Weise, Open Door Projectc/o Oscar Wilde Bookshop15 Christopher StNew York, NY 10014

Literary Hero

In the latest issue of IN Los Angeles, there's an article that I wrote on movie producer Perry Moore. Moore recently penned a young adult novel featuring the first gay teen super hero. Check it out:

http://www.inlamag.com/1015/features/1015_hero.html

Literary Postcard

Don't forget. This Wednesday, September 12 at 7:30pm. A Different Light Bookstore in West Hollywood. Thanks to Steven Reigns for putting together this postcard. Good looking bunch, don't cha think?

Literary Wrinkle

Author Madeleine L'Engle passed today at 88. She wrote many books, including "A Wrinkle in Time."

"Our truest responsibility to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find the truth." -Madeleine L'Engle

Literary Lamott

Armistead Maupin said Anne Lamott is the only Christian he liked. I heard Ms. Lamott speak years ago. She was simply brilliant. Her book on writing, Bird by Bird, is one of those books you simply must read.

If you have the chance to catch this woman speak, do!



There was a fuss over an appearance she was going to make on September 19th. Read on:


Fans of Anne Lamott in Omaha have rallied to secure an appearance by the author in the wake of an abrupt cancellation by local Jesuit institution Creighton University. The school had invited Lamott long ago for a paid appearance on September 19 as part of their annual Women and Health Lecture Series, and an overflow crowd of 1,200 had already signed up to attend.But a group of local Catholics "deluged" the Omaha Archdiocese with phone calls and e-mails earlier this month in protest over Lamott's personal views on assisted suicide and abortion.

Creighton officials had already asked Lamott if she would "stay on topic" with the theme of lecture series, according to her lecture agent Steven Barclay, and she had reassured them that she "didn't need to be a spokesperson on [the controversial] topics." (Lamott indicated the same directly to the Omaha World-Record.)

Nonetheless, Creighton decided to cancel the engagement--after first asking if Lamott would back out, but Barclay indicated that she never cancels a booking. Lamott also declined to keep the lecture fee that was owed to her. Creighton spokesperson Kathryn Clark told the local newspaper, "We have decided that the key points she makes are in opposition to Catholic teaching. That makes her an inappropriate choice."

Despite whatever local pressure was brought to bear on Creighton, there was equal if not greater support for having Lamott appear. As Barclay notes, "She's a real galvanizing force in the progressive Christian movement. Those people were outraged and I think rightfully so." Rev. Nancy Brink of Omaha's North Side Christian Church quickly organized a coalition of six local churches, which has secured a larger 2,000-seat venue where Lamott will now speak on the same day.

Literary Codger

I spent part of the weekend in San Diego with the National Gay and Lesbian Journalist Association's (NGLJA) National Conference. I sat on a panel on how to get a book published. My panel was filled with lively characters like Agent Dan O'Connell at the Strothman Agency, Comedian Bob Smith, writers Trebor Healey and Elizabeth Weise. I forgot how popular "How To" panels can be, particularly in trying to get a book published.

At the conference, was activist and author Larry Kramer. I went to see him speak. He's an asshole to some and a tough saint to others. This was the man who started AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP). He's a self professed "old codger." Love him or hate him, he moved AIDS education and treatment forward ("AIDS is not a disease, it's a plague!) and fiercely advocated for gay and lesbians ("We're not a community; we're a population). He maligned sacred gay instituions like the Human Rights Campaign for not doing enough. He even bit the hand that fed him. A representative from the NGLJA thanked him for coming--Larry Kramer said, "How dare you not pay for my plane ticket!"