The Fox Cities Book Festival is April 20-26 in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kaukauna, Little Chute, and Kimberly, Wisconsin. This book festival aims to connect writers with their readers and readers with those who write the books they read. During my first week of residency in Wisconsin, I plan to partake in this celebration of books. Throughout the week authors share their works through readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, school programs, and public conversations. Readers can participate in a sing-along, poetry slam, cooking demonstration, art exhibition, mini-ComiCon, and Earth Day events. Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train is the 2015 Fox Cities Reads selection. Interesting that my Brooktondale book club had read it recently so I feel as though I can participate in the community conversations about the book. Kline will appear at a half dozen public events scheduled between Monday April 20th and Sunday the 26th, 2015. Between 1854 and 1929, more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children – many of them first-generation immigrants from Italy, Ireland, and Poland– were transported by train from coastal cities of the eastern U.S. to the Midwest for “adoption” (often indentured servitude). Kline’s historical novel creates interesting public conversations around history, family, ethnicity, and adoption. Kline is one of many authors – national, regional, and local – who represent their work directly to readers at the Fox Cities Book Festival. Fiction and nonfiction, Young Adult and humor, self-help and poetry. Even an asphalt cowboy poet, Doc Mehl. On Friday evening at 6:45 pm Doc…
Since my last blog post on Tuesday, I’ve had very limited access to the internet due to travel. The illusion of free wi-fi in public places is, well, illusory. In Wisconsin this past week, my search for internet access brought me back into the libraries of my youth. New buildings and outstanding collections have replaced what stood bolted down in the 1970s section of my… [Read More]
Filed Under: Amy E. Anderson, Books in a Box, Little Free Library, Lutie Stearns, Madison, Neenah, public circulation of books, Stuart Stotts, Wisconsin
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While some folks like to read about the lives of celebrities, athletes, and politicians, and how they put their pants on just like you and me. I don’t. Apparently I am not alone. The new trend in small farm memoirs began in earnest when Storey Publishing, known for its how-to guidebooks for small animal farmers, released its first memoir in 2008. Jenna Woginrich began as… [Read More]
Too often I hear an author say their social media efforts will come after the book is out. Too late. Authors, especially if they are working on their first book, need an audience platform built before they can interest an agent or an acquisition editor in their book concept. If you are a talk show host, national sports figure, political candidate, or star on stage or… [Read More]
Last month, I reviewed a graphic novel/interactive documentary called KENK: A Graphic Portrait. This journalistic comic was the first release for Toronto-based multimedia production and publishing company Pop Sandbox, and it was met with a hoard of accolades and reviews within its first three months of release. I was lucky enough to snag an interview with Alex Jansen, the owner and operator of Pop Sandbox,… [Read More]
Filed Under: apps, documentary, e-books, Eastgate, graphic novels and comic books, Home Entertainment and Distribution, hypertext fiction, interactive documentary, Kenk: A graphic portrait, Mongrel Media, narrative experience, National Film Board (CAN), Pop Sandbox Productions and Publishing, Sparrow Song, surviving suicide, The Next Day, Toronto Film Festival, visual storytelling
What’s the buzz about? It’s just another social network and another way to waste time on the Internet, right? Not quite. A few weeks ago, GalleyCat shared a post on how writers can use Pinterest. Then they followed up last week by collecting several fun reader-themed boards, proving the speed of the network’s growth as publishers like Vintage Scholastic and Chronicle Books hop on board and… [Read More]