The LA Times runs an interesting feature today tracing the journey of Amy Tan’s book, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, from novel to opera libretto.
The story, drawn from Tan’s life, explores an American-born Chinese woman’s relationship with her aging immigrant mother and ghostly Chinese grandmother. Composer Stewart Wallace had to persuade an initially reluctant Tan [...]
Stories in San Francisco:
Someone to see: upcoming author events
Ray Bradbury will discuss “The Future of Libraries and the Importance of Books” at an event in support of the beleaguered Long Beach Library. 2 pm, Saturday, September 6 in the Main Library Auditorium, 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach. [map]
Author Deanne Stillman, photographer Elissa Kline and wild horse conservationist Neda de Mayo will discuss “The [...]
Notebook: Smut, honors, anger, hope and business
Sunday in San Francisco: Dirty Words: Litquake’s Tribute to Smut, “a giddy homage to titillation and obscenity … a fundraiser starring a who’s who of Bay Area writers.” Details.
Congratulations to Heyday Books founder Malcolm Margolin on his San Francisco Foundation’s Community Leadership Award. From the Heyday newsletter: “The Helen Crocker Russell Award recognizes individuals and [...]
Notebook: Beijing reads, indie closing, RWA in SF
Game ready. Catherine Sampson — a crime writer who’s lived in China for fifteen years — shares her top ten books on Beijing. The list includes two novels by Chinese authors living and working in California. Number 3 on the list, Please Don’t Call Me Human by Wang Shuo. Number 6 is The Last [...]
Bravo
Publishers Weekly has named Vroman’s in Pasadena, Southern California’s oldest and biggest bookstore, as Bookseller of the Year. Read more and add your comment at the Vroman’s blog.
In other bookstore news: Cody’s has a new home in downtown Berkeley … The San Francisco State University Bookstore now partners with Eco-Libris and invites customers to plant [...]
Books by the Bay
Frances Dinkelspiel, host of the Ghost Word blog, checks out the new San Francisco Chronicle Book Review and sez “I must pronounce it a success.”
The Chronicle’s editors reduced the size of the section to save printing costs, but it has the unintended consequence of making the review feel more intimate and cohesive. Editor Oscar Villalon [...]
Bucking the megastore trend
A while back, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a terrific profile of Allison Reid and John Evans, owners of Diesel Books in Oakland and Malibu. Ilana DeBare’s story looks at what it takes to survive these days as an indy bookseller, and the piece is such a good read (informative, too) that it’s worth [...]
This week
Litcrawl continues in San Francisco “Our eight days of programming will feature more than 50 events and more authors than you can shake (or throw) a drink at in venues ranging from the swank to the rank — plush theaters, nice bars, dive bars, galleries, retail outlets, libraries, laundromats — and even bookstores.”
Writers workshop…with a view.
Elaine and Bill Petrocelli, owners of the Book Passage, always host great classes and author events at their San Francisco bookstore. And now they’ve come up with a sweet offering overseas: a ten-day writers workshop in Italy next spring. “Your home base will be the charming village of Albisano, where Elaine and Bill have been [...]
A new medium for storytelling
Spraypaint stencil tales on the streets of San Francisco.
Summer collections
The Chron compiles an interesting roundup of new anthologies from Bay Area authors and editors. Browse here.
Hard Times on Valencia Street
San Francisco Chronicle Book Editor Oscar Villalon writes that the indy publisher McSweeney’s is still reeling financially from the December bankruptcy of its distributor. “…McSweeney’s is having something of a fire sale on all their titles,” Villalon says, “and are auctioning on eBay a variety of autographed items and original artwork and proofs.”
via Ghost [...]
Overheard (fairly) recently at the celebrity spelling bee in San Francisco
• “I believe it’s a very poor writer who can’t spell a word more than one way.” — novelist Tobias Wolff
• “I’m here because I’m a publisher and a writer. This is the scene in which I swim in. And, yes, I’m here because there’s free vodka.” — Heyday Books founder Malcolm Margolin
• “It’s [...]
Dark days at California newspapers
Less than a week after the LA Times lost 57 reporters, editors, columnists and photographers, the San Francisco Chronicle makes deep newsroom cuts, including firing ten top editors. Writes departing deputy managing editor John Curley, “It’s a bad time for me, and a bad time for the paper, but most importantly, I think it’s [...]
Tale of two booksellers
Jeffrey Bezos, who launched Amazon.com from his garage in 1994, has just bought a $30 million estate in Beverly Hills … as indie bookstore owner Andy Ross, forced to sell his own home, is closing Cody’s Books in San Francisco this week.
Someone to see: upcoming author events
Ray Bradbury will discuss “The Future of Libraries and the Importance of Books” at an event in support of the beleaguered Long Beach Library. 2 pm, Saturday, September 6 in the Main Library Auditorium, 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach. [map]
Author Deanne Stillman, photographer Elissa Kline and wild horse conservationist Neda de Mayo will discuss “The [...]
Notebook: Smut, honors, anger, hope and business
Sunday in San Francisco: Dirty Words: Litquake’s Tribute to Smut, “a giddy homage to titillation and obscenity … a fundraiser starring a who’s who of Bay Area writers.” Details.
Congratulations to Heyday Books founder Malcolm Margolin on his San Francisco Foundation’s Community Leadership Award. From the Heyday newsletter: “The Helen Crocker Russell Award recognizes individuals and [...]
Notebook: Beijing reads, indie closing, RWA in SF
Game ready. Catherine Sampson — a crime writer who’s lived in China for fifteen years — shares her top ten books on Beijing. The list includes two novels by Chinese authors living and working in California. Number 3 on the list, Please Don’t Call Me Human by Wang Shuo. Number 6 is The Last [...]
Bravo
Publishers Weekly has named Vroman’s in Pasadena, Southern California’s oldest and biggest bookstore, as Bookseller of the Year. Read more and add your comment at the Vroman’s blog.
In other bookstore news: Cody’s has a new home in downtown Berkeley … The San Francisco State University Bookstore now partners with Eco-Libris and invites customers to plant [...]
Books by the Bay
Frances Dinkelspiel, host of the Ghost Word blog, checks out the new San Francisco Chronicle Book Review and sez “I must pronounce it a success.”
The Chronicle’s editors reduced the size of the section to save printing costs, but it has the unintended consequence of making the review feel more intimate and cohesive. Editor Oscar Villalon [...]
Bucking the megastore trend
A while back, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a terrific profile of Allison Reid and John Evans, owners of Diesel Books in Oakland and Malibu. Ilana DeBare’s story looks at what it takes to survive these days as an indy bookseller, and the piece is such a good read (informative, too) that it’s worth [...]
This week
Litcrawl continues in San Francisco “Our eight days of programming will feature more than 50 events and more authors than you can shake (or throw) a drink at in venues ranging from the swank to the rank — plush theaters, nice bars, dive bars, galleries, retail outlets, libraries, laundromats — and even bookstores.”
Writers workshop…with a view.
Elaine and Bill Petrocelli, owners of the Book Passage, always host great classes and author events at their San Francisco bookstore. And now they’ve come up with a sweet offering overseas: a ten-day writers workshop in Italy next spring. “Your home base will be the charming village of Albisano, where Elaine and Bill have been [...]
A new medium for storytelling
Spraypaint stencil tales on the streets of San Francisco.
Summer collections
The Chron compiles an interesting roundup of new anthologies from Bay Area authors and editors. Browse here.
Hard Times on Valencia Street
San Francisco Chronicle Book Editor Oscar Villalon writes that the indy publisher McSweeney’s is still reeling financially from the December bankruptcy of its distributor. “…McSweeney’s is having something of a fire sale on all their titles,” Villalon says, “and are auctioning on eBay a variety of autographed items and original artwork and proofs.”
via Ghost [...]
Overheard (fairly) recently at the celebrity spelling bee in San Francisco
• “I believe it’s a very poor writer who can’t spell a word more than one way.” — novelist Tobias Wolff
• “I’m here because I’m a publisher and a writer. This is the scene in which I swim in. And, yes, I’m here because there’s free vodka.” — Heyday Books founder Malcolm Margolin
• “It’s [...]
Dark days at California newspapers
Less than a week after the LA Times lost 57 reporters, editors, columnists and photographers, the San Francisco Chronicle makes deep newsroom cuts, including firing ten top editors. Writes departing deputy managing editor John Curley, “It’s a bad time for me, and a bad time for the paper, but most importantly, I think it’s [...]
Tale of two booksellers
Jeffrey Bezos, who launched Amazon.com from his garage in 1994, has just bought a $30 million estate in Beverly Hills … as indie bookstore owner Andy Ross, forced to sell his own home, is closing Cody’s Books in San Francisco this week.
Meet the authors of the California Authors Directory. Visit the directory to discover writers like Christina Meldrum, a Bay Area attorney whose book Madapple was just released this month. “In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, 
You can shop online from your local independent booksellers. 
July briefs: censorship, fires, new fiction and a b-day
No room for Freedom in Perry, Indiana. A veteran high school teacher in Perry, Indiana has been suspended without pay for teaching The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. The book by Long Beach, California teacher/author Erin Gruwell and her students [...]
File under: Author profile, Bookbloggery, Booksellers, Commentary, Education/literacy, Fiction, Freedom to read, Interviews, Jobs/labor relations, Libraries, Movies, Museums, New Release 2008, Nonfiction, Politics/government, Sad, San Francisco, Schools, Short stories, Writing