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Our dear friend Min Jin Lee, author of one of our favorite books last year, Free Food for Millionaires, will be reading at Olsson's tonight in Dupont Circle at 7pm. Today is also the last day of Olsson's storewide Spring sale—all books, dvds, cds and gifts have been marked down 25% (excluding sale item). Stop by Olsson's after work and catch Min Jin and the sale!
Don't miss our favorite poet, writer and local publishing impresario Richard Peabody reading tonight at Busboys and Poets, 8pm at the Shirlington location.
After producing three volumes of the definitive work of DC women writers, Richard is now editing Stress City: A Big Fat Book of Fiction by Fifty DC Guys featuring works by such local wonders as R. R. Angell, Scott W. Berg, SChristopher Colston, Richard Currey, Kevin Downs, David Everett, Mark Farrington, Juan H. Gaddis, William E. Garrison, Brian Gilmore, John Guernsey, James Harper, Dave Housley, Bill Jackson, Dennis Jones, Matthew Kirkpatrick, Alex MacLennan, Richard McCann, Kermit Moyer, Andrew Nachison, David Nicholson, Tim Wendel, Jim Williamson, Terence Winch, and James Zug.
Don't miss author Liam Callanan read tonight at George Mason University. The Mason alum will read in Research I, Room 163, at 7:30 p.m. And yes, there really is talk of free beer, though it may be green.
Oh, what a busy, busy week we've had. First we dragged our Book Group out to see the Book Group Play—catch our thoughts here in the Washington Post. Then there was the wonderful WIW conference at American University. For those Washington, D.C.-based writers out there who are not members of WIW, we encourage you to investigate further.
At the conference I was asked to speak about blogging— though I am a truly negligent blogger these days!— and I appeared on a panel with the marvelous C.M. Mayo, the delightful Deborah Ager, the always well-prepared Leslie Pietryzk and the provocative Shawn Westfall, DC-ist writer and teacher of comedic improv.
The conference was blast, and although I was only able to spend a brief time there I was able to catch up with some of my favorite local literati including Mary Kay Zuravleff, Susan Richards Shreve, Louis Bayard and Alex MacLennan.
Other highlights this week include 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother at Theatre J, an amazing one-woman show by Judy Gold. I attended this show with 5 close friends, Jewish mothers all, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Gold is a gifted writer as well as actress and her comic timing is impeccable. I have seen several productions at Theatre J lately and I am beginning to think creative director Ari Roth is a visionary, always filled with surprises. The show I am most interested in seeing opens next week. More info here.
As we're on the topic of Jewish Mothers, I am happy to report that Leora Skolkin-Smith's small beautiful novel "Edges" (edited by the late Grace Paley) is being adapted to film. A sneak peek at the film's website here.
So, there were Post deadlines, teaching, a conference, theatre outings, and my 2 Johns Hopkins M.A. thesis students on my agenda this week. Not to mention family, parenting, Valentine's Day baking for a children's party, and so much more… I assume everyone's week probably feels just as demanding, though I suspect most people are better at juggling.
Quick reminder: This is the last weekend to shop at Candida's World of Books. There are still plenty of books on sale (storewide 20% off & special sale items) and we encourage you to make one last foray into the shop and help them clear out as much stock as possible.
Before you head off for the 3-day weekend, stop for a moment to smell the flowers and read the poetry. Or if you prefer, you can take a listen to Reb, one of our favorite poets, here.
[blog image from here ]
Mr. William T. Vollmann, author of seven novels and winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Europe Central, is in town tonight. We don’t know if he'll be packing heat, but he will be attracting attention reading from his latest book, Riding Toward Everywhere, about his experiences as a train-hopping hobo.
Catch Vollmann tonight at Politics and Prose , 7pm.
(Vollman in town makes us think of Ed. You can catch up on all the Bat's latest podcasts here. )
Candida's World of Books, one of our favorite small indie book shops in DC, is closing its doors. We're sad that after only 4 years old, this bookstore with its great selection of travel and international titles, couldn't make a go of it.
All Candida's stock is now 20% off, if not discounted even more heavily — some books on sale at $3.00, $5.00, $10.00. So stop by and help them empty the shelves. Everything, including bookshelves, kiddie reading house, rolling ladders, must go!
Don't forget while you're there to say goodbye to Candida Mannozzi, the heart and soul of the store, and the rest of its hardworking staff.
"Coffee and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Reflections from the Field"
Thursday, January 31 at 6:30pm
at Candida's World of Books
Join Kimberly Easson and Dr. Steven Livingston, two internationally recognized experts on coffee and politics respectively, for a discussion about Rwanda – a country once divided by ethnic strife and violence that has since become an inspiring story of renewal and collaboration.
Ms. Easson and Dr. Livingston will share images and reflections from a recent tour that they lead to Rwanda which focused on the history and political context of the country, and an in-depth look at the struggle and hope created through the burgeoning coffee industry that has lead to the heroic transformation of this small African nation.
From travel writer Janice Booth, “I’ve seen the whole country transform itself from a shell-shocked ruin, site of appalling horrors, into a vibrant, prosperous, safe and energetic nation, well able to tackle the demands of the 21st century and to welcome tourists. Its progress, in only nine years, has been astonishing.”
The awe-inspiring images Easson and Livingston collected of the landscape, the people, the coffee and of course, amazing Mountain Gorillas; and their reflections on their experience will be insightful and thought provoking.
Join us! Event is free and open to the public
Politics & Prose Bookstore presents Carole Burns with Marie Arana, Alice McDermott, Carolyn Parkhurst and Mary Kay Zuravleff for
Off the Page:Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings, and Everything In Between
Friday, January 25, 7 p.m.
Confidential to all our DC-based author friends out there, here's one event you do not want to miss:
Indie publicist Lauren Cerand hits town for one night only to discuss book "Promotion and Publicity." The fabulous Ms. Cerand will be appearing this evening at 6:30pm, courtesy of the Women's National Book Association (DC chapter). If you've got questions on how to best publicize your book, here's your chance to get real answers…
The event this weekend we were most sorry to miss was James Zug at Politics and Prose. The Guardian, Zug's latest on an anti-apartheid newspaper in South Africa, is getting a lot of well-deserved buzz here in D.C. and is absolutely worth picking up.
