Decatur Book Festival 2013

This morning I headed for the Decatur Book Festival to see my graduate school professor Author Elaine Neil Orr, whose fiction debut, A Different Sun, I reviewed a couple months ago. She was paired with Margaret Wrinkle, whose book Wash I purchased (as well as several other things).

The pair discussed writing about slavery and spirituality, as both of their books include these two themes. I can't wait to read Wash and feel already that I need to reread A Different Sun afterward.

 

The Wren's Nest and KIPP Strive Academy debuted their latest collection, Into Bright Tomorrows, this morning at the Festival, and I picked up a copy.

So it appears the summer is over since it's Labor Day weekend. Here's to lots of happy reading this fall!

Reading and Reflections on 9/11

I was lucky that on September 11, 2001, I did not personally know anyone who was aboard a plane that crashed, inside the Pentagon or one of the World Trade Center towers in New York. So though the story of where I was and what I was doing when I heard the terrible news is personally important to me and the people I was with that day, but probably not to many others. Many people are like I am, and though we can all be thankful, we were still all affected nonetheless.

The tenth anniversary of that awful day that changed the world has come and gone and I've been thinking a lot about what that anniversary has meant, both to me and those directly impacted, and I've done some reading, of course, to aid me in that.

On September 11, 2011, I spent a couple pf continuous hours alone in my car and tuned in to my local NPR station to see how they were marking the day. I wasn't disappointed. In the time after 9/11/01, NPR dedicated a voice mail line to those who felt compelled to call and leave a message describing their reactions to and reflections upon that day. They were deeply personal even though many of these messages were no longer than a voice mail any of us might leave for someone or receive. I was moved and fascinated by how those with direct connections to these disasters could sum up their relationship to that day and how they were moving forward in such a concise yet eloquent way.

After listening to those voice mails being played back I soon read a book I'd been intending to read for quite some time: Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project, edited and introduced by Dave Isay. StoryCorps is an NPR effort where regular Americans can record their life's recollections, usually by answering questions from a friend or family member. At the end of the interview, they receive a CD recording of it and the other CD is sent to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. There are permanent or semi-permanent StoryCorp booths in New York City, Atlanta and San Francisco. A traveling recording studio in an Airstream trailer is currently taking reservations for stops in Denver and Los Angeles.

In Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project, Isay has compiled edited transcriptions of stories recorded in these booths. Some stories are funny and some are sad, but all are incredibly touching. The stories are grouped in the book according to theme, but the last section of the book, "Fire and Water," is comprised of recordings specifically on the topic of September 11, 2001, and they were captured in a permanent recording booth established at the World Trade Center site in 2005. These recordings are some of what has been placed at the Memorial Museum that has recently opened.

Also part of this section are stories from survivors of Hurricane Katrina. If the stories in this book don't draw all kinds of emotions out of you, you just simply aren't human. It is those personal stories from everyday people that has impacted me the most it turns out. I think those are the most important voices to be heard.

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Another set of important voices I've just heard are in The Whole Fiasco, the book written by writing students at Atlanta's KIPP Strive Academy partnered with The Wren's Nest and numerous writing volunteers. I thoroughly enjoyed my second year working with a student to properly capture the voice of a family member and do it justice by writing it down. A few students from the program got the opportunity to record their family interviews through StoryCorps and have these interviews archived. This collection is full of stories from very talented fifth and sixth graders, and I'm convinced that these students are on their way to accomplishing great things.

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A friend and fellow Atlanta-area freelancer, Photographer David Batley just had a show of his work to commemorate the tenth anniversary of September 11. Batley happened to be visiting the World Trade Center to photograph it just one week before that day in 2001. He told me he spent 10 years trying to decide what to do with those photos. Then, 10 years later he revisited the spot and shot photos again. He compiled the two series in an exhibit called "Towering Views: Images Remembering the World Trade Center Ten Years After 9/11." It's at the Art Station at Big Shanty in Kennesaw through October 28 before it moves elsewhere. To find out more about Batley and his work, visit http://dlbatley.zenfolio.com/.

Decatur Book Festival

This weekend I spent two days at the Write Choice Services booth during the Decatur Book Festival having lots of fun. On Saturday, WCS owner Tim Morrison broadcast his Internet radio show, Write Here Write Now, all day interviewing authors in 15-minute slots. The rest of us talked with the new authors, seasoned authors, book business professionals and avid readers that stopped by the booth over the two days.

Besides chatting about the books our visitors had written or plan to write one day, we sold several of Tim's fourth and latest book, Writing Secrets: Essential Steps to Discover How to Start. I've recently read the book for myself and I like that it assumes one knows s/he has a book to write but doesn't yet know what to write about. It suggests ways to narrow in on that topic and begin writing.

Things were so busy at our table that I didn't attend any author events, but I did manage to pick up some new reading material.

First, I attended the book launch party for The Whole Fiasco, the compilation of tall tales written by fifth and sixth graders at KIPP Strive Academy in Atlanta (the program is in partnership with The Wren's Nest, the home of Joel Chandler Harris, in West End). Two students did a reading and all of the students autographed books. Such fun! Though I'm familiar with many of the stories I'm still looking forward to reading them all again.

The Wren's Nest was selling its other book as well. Midnight Consumption is the literary journal produced this year by high schoolers.

From the Emerging Writers tent at the Festival, I picked up The Crackers: Early Days of Atlanta Baseball by Tim Darnell. Maybe I'll read it during the playoffs.

And, finally, I'll pretend to be a Decatur resident as I participate in Decatur's 2011 On the Same Page program by reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I haven't read this book since elementary school and I'm so excited to read it again. Several events are part of this program.

I'm glad that this year instead of hearing about the largest independent book festival in the nation second-hand, I experienced it for myself. I'm already looking forward to next year's.

Decatur Book Festival

If you're going to be in Atlanta for Labor Day Weekend and you're not planning to come to the Decatur Book Festival, change your plans. It's going to be the place to be Saturday and Sunday. From 10-6 on Saturday and noon to 6 on Sunday, you can attend performances, cooking demonstrations, poetry readings, author talks and book signings. Plus, there will be a street fair and that's where I'll be most of the time. I'll be sitting with Write Choice Services. Mainly we'll be there because we love writing and love writers, and one of the things we do best is help writers write (and a host of other things). If you're there stop by and see me.

I'm also planning to see a couple of my favorite authors speak. In addition, I'm really excited to attend the book launch party for The Whole Fiasco, the book produced through the writing program at KIPP Strive Academy and The Wren's Nest that I've been lucky to be a part of for the past two years. I can only speak for the fabulousness of my own student's story, but if that's any indication, the entire book should be a very impressive story collection, especially considering the age group of the authors (fifth and sixth graders).

Overall, the Decatur Book Festival is sure to be a good time.

Better World Books

I frequent my libraries and I'm pretty frugal when it comes to buying books. I try to buy used and never purchase a brand new hardcover. Since moving to Atlanta, I've yet to find a bookstore that I love as much as Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books (my favorite!), so I've taken to ordering books online rather than purchasing them at a big retailer. Amazon is great, but my very, very favorite is a lesser-known but similar company called Better World Books. They have eco-friendly shipping, fund literacy programs worldwide and are just all-around do-gooders. I love them.

Can you imagine how excited I was to get an email from one of their employees asking me if I'd be willing to participate in market research and usability testing for their website? Until then I didn't even realize they had an office in the Atlanta area. Last week I sat with one of their product usability specialists and we went through their website, talking about the pros and cons, and the ease of finding and ordering books from their site.

I love when someone asks for my opinion on something, because I almost always have one! Then, to sweeten it just that much more, the books I searched for as part of the usability test are in the process of being shipped to my home. And even better, they stayed true to their dedication to literacy by donating to the cause of my choosing, which was my spring 2010 pet project, KIPP Scribes (which has just started for 2011 - more on that in a later post).

A great company is Better World Books. You should order from them. I'll make it easy for you. If you comment on any of my 2011 blog posts before the end of February, I'll send you a discount code to use on your first order.

Happy book shopping!

KIPP Scribes

One of the things I love the most about being my own boss is setting my own schedule, making a work/life balance an easier thing than it might otherwise be. One of my favorite things I've gotten to do this year as a result of this is volunteering with KIPP Strive Academy and The Wren's Nest. If you're a recent reader, this program paired an Atlanta writing professional with a fifth grader to work together to write down a family story from each student. Then the stories were published in a collection and sold at the Decatur Book Festival. The program was enough of a success that it's going to happen again in 2011. If you want to check out this year's book, you can purchase a copy through The Wren's Nest website.

KIPP Scribes and the Decatur Book Festival

I've mentioned before about the great experience I've been having with The Wren's Nest and KIPP Strive Academy on the collaboration newly named KIPP Scribes. Well, the book cover has been unveiled and the students get to hog the spotlight at The Decatur Book Festival Labor Day weekend. I can't wait to get my hands on the final version and see my student's story in print. He's been such a great, talented guy to work with. It's really amazing how focused he is on including good detail and dialogue. That's something all writers struggle with, so I'm so impressed and proud of my student who is only 11.

If you're headed to the Decatur Book Festival, stop by and visit The Wren's Nest booth, as well as the Write Choice Services one. There will be a brand-new book for sale there written by my colleague, Tim Morrison, called Writing Secrets: Essential Steps to Discover How to Start.

KIPP Scribes

I read a variety of blogs each week, and one of my favorites is The Wren's Nest Blog from Atlanta's Joel Chandler Harris House Museum, which I visited last summer (you can read about that here). In February, I saw a call to volunteers on Twitter for a project The Wren's Nest and nearby charter middle school Kipp Strive Academy were teaming up to do.

The gist of it is that writers from the Atlanta area are paired with fifth graders to help him or her write a narrative of a story told to him or her by a family member. It's about several things: teaching interviewing skills, transforming interview notes into a story, preserving family history, and involving the community at seriously, the coolest school I've ever gotten to check out.

Really, it didn't take any time at all for this to be the thing I spend all week looking forward to. This week was my third meeting with my student. He is smart, funny, animated, excited, energetic, and just a fun person to spend some time with. I'm so excited about the story he is working on, and I can't wait to see it in print this fall at the Decatur Book Festival, where the students' stories will be unveiled in a published book.

The Wren's Nest Blog is continuing to talk about this program. You can read their take on it here. And, fellow volunteer Jamie Allen is writing about it on his blog, too. Check it out here and here.

More to come on this, I'm sure!