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NEWS ON WRITING, BOOKS, AND THE WORLD OF PUBLISHING Text by Diane Slocum
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n February, we celebrate two of America’s most admired presidents. Abraham Lincoln continues to be a popular subject for books, and George Washington not quite as much, but he is also well represented. “Mr. President”: George Washington and the Making of the Nation’s Highest Office by Harlow Giles Unger (Da Capo Press, Feb. 10), shows how Washington created the office of president. With only the bare bones of the office outlined in the Constitution, Washington put flesh and blood into the position, creating a powerful branch of the new government. Unger is an award-winning journalist, educator, and historian, and a former Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at Mount Vernon. Untrodden Ground: How Presidents Interpret the Constitution by Harold H. Bruff (University of Chicago Press, March 8), demonstrates that Washington wasn’t the only president to interpret the office and the Constitution. From Thomas Jefferson sealing the Louisiana Purchase to modern days, presidents continue to refine their role in the executive branch. Bruff is the Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School. In Mourning Lincoln (Yale University Press, Feb. 24), Martha Hodes delves deeply into the diaries and letters of ordinary folks who were devastated or gleeful at the death of the man who led the nation through its greatest upheaval. Comments come from North and South, black and white, freedmen and soldiers, men and women. Hodes is an historian of the Civil War era.
Valley Writers Janet Nichols Lynch, Visalia author of Peace is a Four-Letter Word, Chest Pains, and eight other books, is leading a Teen Fiction Writers’ Workshop for the Tulare County Office of Education. The current eight-week session is underway and not open to more applicants, but other sessions are planned for later in the year. The workshop is open to Tulare County students in 7-12 grades and limited to 16 writers. “Teen writers often show their work to friends and family members who say it’s great, but they may not get comments to grow on,” said Lynch. “All writers need an objective view of their work to understand how to improve it, and that’s just what this workshop offers teens.” To learn more about the workshops, send an email to janetl@ersconnect.org. Lynch’s latest books are Racing California and My Beautiful Hippie. She has been published in The New Yorker and Seventeen. She holds a master of fine arts in creative writing and has taught at College of the Sequoias, El Diamante High School, and Divisadero Middle School. Michael J. Semas of Hanford and John Reynolds of Fresno collaborated on one of the Arcadia Publishing books in the Postcard History series. Their book, Fresno, shows postcard images of historic Fresno. Semas has been collecting images of central California for over 15 years and has also published another book in the series on Kings County. Reynolds has collected images of valley scenes for over 50 years. 10
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Hanford native David Oliveira has good company in Silver Birch Press (silverbirchpress.wordpress. com/2014/04/28/elephantpoem-by-david-oliveira/). His 2014 poem “Elephant” is published between Rachel Field’s “The Animal Store” (1926) and William Blake’s “The Tiger” (1794), which has been called the most anthologized poem in the English language. Writers’ Conferences Writing the Breakout Novel v2.0 is a week-long conference held April 6-12 in Hood River, OR. The workshop is taught by author and literary agent David Maas. Lessons include story discovery, strong voice, standout characters, the inner journey, beautiful writing, and more. The schedule includes morning classes and a private session with Maas. Lodging and all meals are included in the $2,095 registration fee. Details at: free-expressions.com/ breakout-novel/. Writing Contests The Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction honors Colorado State University graduate Liza Nelligan by awarding the annual prize to the author of an outstanding story. The winner receives $2,000 and publication in the Colorado Review. Stories can have any theme but must be under 50 pages and unpublished. Deadline is March 14. Entry fee is $15. Details at: coloradoreview.colostate.edu/nelliganprize/. Online Classes Writer’s Digest University offers classes such as “Creative Writing 101,” “Freelance Writing," and “12 Weeks to a First Draft.” Among the more than 150 Writer’s Digest Tutorials are “World Building: the Art of Including Era and Place in Your Writing” and “Querying 101: Putting Your Best Book Forward.” Among mediabistro’s offerings are “Nonfiction Book Proposal,” “Food Blogging,” and “Copywriting for Social Media.” Mediabistro also offers online bootcamps, in-person courses, and self-paced courses. Celebrity Readers Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has followed Oprah Winfrey as a promoter of books. Sales for The End of Power by Moises Naim skyrocketed when Zuckerberg announced it as his choice of a book to read. The Last Word “There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” – George Washington (1732 – 1799).