AltWeeklies Wire
Jason Rapczynski Writes a Novel in Three Days -- and Gets it Publishednew
For 31 years, the 3-Day Novel Contest has provided an outlet for any writer, would-be or otherwise, to pound the keys and get it done. Bonus: The contest winner works with an editor and gets the novel published by 3-Day Books, which organizes the contest.
New Haven Advocate |
David Riedel |
07-07-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Kate Christensen Assesses BFFs in 'Trouble'new
Writing about female friendship appealed to Christensen, whose previous novel The Great Man won a 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award, "because of a very painful misunderstanding I had had with my own best friend."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
07-02-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
William I. Robinson's Latest Outlines a Mad Rush Toward a World Where Cars Consume Cerealnew
In Latin America and Global Capitalism, Robinson uses research from years of on-the-ground work, and sifts through rafts of data to map out how neoliberal trade agreements and other mechanisms for greasing the machine of global commerce have increased profits for global elites while deeply disrupting traditional patterns of life and balance with the natural world.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Ben Terrall |
07-01-2009 |
Nonfiction
Giving Good Gimmick: Granta at 30new
To sustain a good literary magazine over decades it pays to have a gimmick. Thirty-year-old Granta's secret to success: themes, like this issue's "New Fiction Special."
Boston Phoenix |
William Corbett |
06-30-2009 |
Fiction
April Smith's Mystery/Thrillers Delve in Darknessnew
The former Cagney and Lace producer and author reveals the mystery behind her accidental heroine, Ana Grey, and the difference between writing TV scripts and books.
Boston Phoenix |
Clea Simon |
06-30-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'Appetite for Self-Destruction' Looks at the Collapse of the Record Industrynew

If you take one jewel of wisdom away from this book, it is this: The reason many crappy musicians have gotten the limelight, the reason most people turned off their radios and stopped watching the Grammys and instead started downloading music from the internet, is money.
Jackson Free Press |
Andi Agnew |
06-26-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Woods Burner' Explores in Fiction Thoreau's Pivotal Firenew
On April 30, 1844, Henry David Thoreau began the fire that eventually burned 300 acres of forest outside his home in Concord, Mass. Woods Burner is poet and novelist John Pipkin's fictional exploration of that event, which he paints as a turning point for Thoreau.
Jackson Free Press |
Ronni Mott |
06-26-2009 |
Fiction
Aerosmith's Joey Kramer Lets Loosenew

The drummer steps out from behind the kit to talk about his new book, Hit Hard.
Boston Phoenix |
The Sandbox |
06-24-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
In Federal Prison, Quentin Carter Wrote Best-Selling Novelsnew

While serving time for a drug offense, Quentin Carter made a name for himself as a best-selling author of street lit.
The Pitch |
Peter Rugg |
06-23-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'We Did Porn' Peeks Behind the Curtain of the Alt-Porn Industrynew
Oh, pornography. Progressives still get turned around. Does it victimize women? Reinforce impossible sexual expectations? Cheapen intimacy? In his new book, Zak Smith cuts to the crux of the confusion: "The most hideous thing about pornography, of course, is that it works. On you."
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
06-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
Kate Hopkins Creates a Boozy Travelogue with '99 Drams of Whiskey'new
Hopkins is an entertaining storyteller, which works in a book dedicated to a storied beverage. Moors, alchemists, gangsters, and politicians all show up in whiskey's history, and Hopkins' language lends fullness to the characters responsible for its mystique.
The Portland Mercury |
Patrick Alan Coleman |
06-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Milk Teeth' Couldn't Be More Different Than 'Marley and Me'new
By title alone, Milk Teeth: A Memoir of a Woman and Her Dog would seem to fall into the same cutesy genre as John Grogan's bestselling 2005 memoir. Though it does feature a deviantly behaved Lab and a plethora of lessons on life and love, Robbie Pfeufer Kahn's meditative, soul-searching book couldn’t be more different.
Seven Days |
Amy Lilly |
06-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
P.J. O'Rourke Talks Cars, 'Driving'new
Driving like Crazy is travel writing in the classic tradition of Robert Byron.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Kadzis |
06-18-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'The Book of Dads' Elicits Pungent Prose from Nearly All of its Contributorsnew
It seems appropriate that both The Book of Dads and Father's Day arrive at the onset of summer, when dads and kids head for the shore. A handful of these 20 essays take place on the water, and an aquatic vacation might be the best time to give your favorite father this enlightened, enlightening book.
INDY Week |
Adam Sobsey |
06-18-2009 |
Nonfiction
Ali Sethi's Debut Novel is a Hitnew
For anyone wishing to write about Pakistan, a well-developed perspective is essential. Auspiciously, the perspective in The Wish Maker is its great victory.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
06-17-2009 |
Fiction