Friday round up
News about recent and upcoming appearances--and a chance to write with Gateless!
I drove to Vermont last weekend to be part of the Brattleboro Literary Festival. I was invited (full disclosure: after someone canceled!) to appear with Allegra Goodman. I’ve been reading Allegra Goodman’s work for years and her recent book Sam is just phenomenal. I was tremendously honored. There were a lot of other wonderful writers there: Diana Whitney, Catherine Newman, Laura Zigman, Angie Kim, Jean Kwok, Mary Beth Keane and more.
Sam is about a girl growing up on the North Shore of Boston. Allegra said she came up with the idea while driving one of her children back and forth to high school in the area. There wasn’t enough time for her to go home after dropping him off, she said, so she spent the day in the area waiting for him and working. I loved this story because that is how so much of my work gets done, in the interstitial moments and almost always while accommodating the needs of others.
It was fun to be back in Vermont. When I was a student at Dartmouth, the drive from New York City took us straight through Brattleboro. The stops were New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Brattleboro, then Hanover. So whenever I got to Brattleboro, I knew I was close and would start to get that nervous feeling of anticipation for whatever was waiting for me on campus.
Speaking of nervous anticipation, I had a great time at a virtual event sponsored by my high school alumni association last week. I was a little nervous no one would show up—very high school of me, I know—but people did! I was in conversation with Kyla Kupferstein Torres and we had a fantastic time. Fun fact: Kyla and I last “performed” in public together back in 1989 (?) when I played Kim McAfee and she played Mama Peterson in our school’s production of Bye, Bye Birdie. She kept suggesting we sing something together and I kept politely declining, which was maybe a mistake. Anyway, we had a great time.
Two opportunities for the aspiring writers out there!
I have been having a great time leading Gateless Writing sessions on Tuesday mornings at 9AM ET. The groups have been incredible, sharing and supporting each other’s work beautifully. If you’d like to join us, you’ll have three sessions a week to choose from: Tuesdays at 9AM ET with me, Wednesdays at 12PM ET with Sarah Montana and Thursdays at 7PM ET with Serena Eastman. You can come to as many sessions as you like for only $97/month (but the price goes up to $197/month on Nov. 1 so act now)! Sign up here and hit me up if you have questions!
For writers with manuscripts in process, applications are about to open for the Gateless Writing Academy, one of the most comprehensive book writing programs in the world led by the incredible Suzanne Kingsbury. This 10-month in-depth program is for writers with manuscripts in process. I was a part of the Academy in its inaugural year, and the program has grown by leaps and bounds since then. I have spoken again and again about how Gateless helped my writing—and helped me find the loveliest and most supportive writing community!—and this is your chance to be a part of its signature program. There is an online info session happening this Monday, October 30 at noon ET. Register for the info session HERE!
Suzanne helping me launch My Last Innocent Year at RJ Julia back in February. FACT: There would be no book without her!
Upcoming events!
On Monday Oct. 30, I will be at appearing at the Ann Katz Festival at the JCC Indianapolis. Click here for tickets and info.
Local folks: I’ll be appearing at the YWCA in Greenwich on Nov. 14 at 10 AM. Click here for tickets and info. This is my last in-person event of the year!
On Thursday, November 2 at 6PM, I will be in conversation with the wonderful Caitlin Shetterly whose novel Pete and Alice in Maine is one of my favorite books of the year! Please join us at Rosie New Canaan in New Canaan, CT. Registration suggested HERE!
Recent reads: In addition to Allegra Goodman’s Sam, I loved The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue, a funny and touching campus/professor love affair novel that is so wonderfully Irish. I listened to the audio book, which was a real treat.
Ooh, how I wish CT wasn't so far from Michigan! :) I would love to be there when you and Caitlin Shetterly are in conversation. Wishful thinking, but this isn't being recorded, is it? Your books are among my most favorites this year.
I also registered for the Gateless info session. Looking forward to learning more!
Is the Greenwich YWCA thing still happening? The website doesn’t seem to be listing it anymore.