Hey, you nonfictionists... TrueStory's got a workshop coming up.

You've seen me rave about the TrueStory! reading series on this site before. Now it's time to rave about a workshop coming up in just a few weeks!

You don't want to miss this one. And I'm not even IN it!

Here's a digital clip from the press release:

As Wednesday, April 13th approaches, we grow ever-more-excited about welcoming LA Times journalist and writer Sam Quinones, who's traveling to the ATL from the left coast and stopping by our stage for True Story's first-ever special event: an evening of storytelling and a nonfiction workshop.

It should rule. Mark your calendars and bring your own nonfiction-in-the-making down to Kavarna at 8:00 pm on Wed. April 13th.

And here's more info!

Because you asked...

Last weekend, a question was posed to a panel I was on. What contemporary works of historical fiction do you recommend reading was the gist of the question; I'd hate to quote since I didn't write it down. (Note the difference here between veracity and verisimilitude?)

Wow, that's a good question. And it's unanswerable in a complete way, but here are some of my faves.

Brookland, by Emily Barton
The Shadowcatcher, by Marianne Wiggins
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
My Antonia, by Willa Cather
Lummox, by Fannie Hurst
Serena, by Ron Rash
The Book of Salt, by Monique Truong
Hell at the Breech, by Tom Franklin...


What am I missing? A lot! Post a comment below and recommend your favorite literary historical novel!

The Triangle Fire

Friday will be the 100th anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, a fire that killed nearly 200 people, almost all women and children, and that sparked - so to speak - the organized labor movement in the United States.

Considering the current backlash against collective bargaining, I think it's crucial to remember the reasons for labor unions; fair wages, safe working conditions, the 40 hour workweek... in other words, a working world where the lives of the individuals who perform the labor are valued.

If you've read Invisible Sisters, you know why the ILGWU - now Workers United - is so important to me, my family, and a particular generation of Americans and their offspring.

Here's a link to the Remember the Triangle Coalition .

Here's a link to an article that says what I'd say if I'd written it.

There are plenty of other resources about it, including my friend Katharine Weber's wonderful novel, Triangle .

Take this time to pay some respect to the lives that were lost a hundred years ago, and the working lives that are being shortchanged today.



Photo fm The New Deal Network

I'm turning it over to my friend Gina today

I'm turning it over to my friend Gina today, and her beautiful essay on art, Japan, and emotion.

Akira Kurosawa, the director, is credited with saying "never avert your eyes."

In the meantime, don't avert your eyes from Libya, from the US battle for health care and unions, and from the crocuses coming up in your yard.

See you Saturday at Bound to Be Read Books?

(The image is Hokusai's "great wave.")

Thrill to the Magnetic Girl, March 19th! Plus, Gullah elders and a look at the Atlanta Child Murders

I lifted this from the Bound to Be Read Books newsletter, but it's okay. They're my friends. And they know where I live.

SPECIAL EVENT!

Women Who Run with Words, Sat., March 19 at 3:00 PM

Local writers Jessica Handler, Althea Sumpter, and Lee Furey will discuss the challenges they face as women writing about history, how stories come to them, what they do when confronted with "black holes" in the evidence, and strategies they use to honor their subjects while avoiding the temptation to over-simplify the stories at hand.

Handler will focus on a new novel she is writing about Lulu Hurst, "the Magnetic Girl"; Sumpter will discuss the daunting process of documenting the oral histories of the Coosawhatchie community elders, in particular that of Lena Chisolm; Furey will discuss her analysis of Toni Cade Bambara's book about the Atlanta Child Murders, Those Bones are Not My Child.

Don't miss this opportunity to meet and learn from three authors at once! Whether you are a writer or not, this workshop-styled event promises to be interesting, entertaining and informative. Best of all, it's free and open to everyone!


Photo fm The New Georgia Encyclopedia.

When good bloggers go bad

Yes, even good bloggers go bad sometimes, when stack of stuff on the desk obscures the view out the window, when airline tickets need to be bought and conference fees need to be paid (and the note to do same rolls over from day to day to day on the 'to do' list), when the blogger in question spends most of her free time - and her not free time - daydreaming about a beach house, or a mountain house, and then realizes that it's all metaphor for getaway.

So, instead, we'll getaway to history!

I'm probably reading from something way before it's ready, but if you're in the mood to discuss women and history, and women writing history, about women, come on over to Bound to Be Read books in East Atlanta village on March 19th and join a conversation about how and why we write history. I'll read from a novel-in-progress about Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder, Lee Furey, author of the chapbook "Little Fish" will talk about Toni Cade Bambara's novel about the Atlanta child murders, and Althea Sumpter will talk about her work collecting the oral histories of Gullah elders of St. Helena Island.


In other news, Invisible Sisters: A Memoir fights for good, not evil! You can bid on a signed copy (and loads of other books and goodies) at the Mysterious Evening event this weekend at the Dekalb Library on Sycamore Street. Karin Slaughter will be there! And you'll be a hero for literacy and libraries!