PO’S ALREADY SUCCESSFUL “NURTURESHOCK” HITS THE AIRWAVES AND SOON, THE BOOKSTORES
If you didn't catch Grotto co-founder Po Bronson talking about his new book, NurtureShock, last Thursday on All Things Considered, he also was on Good Morning America Monday morning (this morning), and will be on CNN with Campbell Brown Monday night (tonight) at 8 pm. NurtureShock has already hit #15 on Amazon and surely will go higher as next week one of his and Ashley's chapters, "Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race," will be on the cover of Newsweek. Next Thursday night he'll be on Nightline and early the following week on Fresh Air. Po's events in the Bay Area don't start until the end up September, when he'll be with Ayelet Waldman ("Bad Mother") at the Commonwealth Club September 30th. Then he's at Book Passage October 4th and then doing a KPFA event with Berkeley Arts & Letters on October 6th. You can follow it all on http://www.nurtureshock.com.
KATHRYN'S AWARD-WINNING "ALL THAT WORK AND STILL NO BOYS" OUT ON SEPTEMBER 1
Grotto dweller Kathryn Ma presents a "stellar collection of shorts" in her book, ALL THAT WORK AND STILL NO BOYS. The book, which won the Iowa Short Fiction Award, was selected by novelist Curtis Sittenfeld as "wonderful stories [with] the resonance of truth." Her book also was just named a "Notable Book" by the San Francisco Chronicle (see note below). Come see Kathryn at InsideStoryTime, West Coast Live, bookstores, and more. September events include:
Sept. 9, 2009
Bookshop West Portal
80 West Portal Ave.
San Francisco
7:00 pm
Sept. 12, 2009
West Coast Live Radio
San Francisco Ferry Building
(broadcast live on KALW 91.7 and other stations)
One Ferry Plaza
San Francisco
10 a.m. - noon
Sept. 17, 2009
InsideStoryTime
Cafe Royale
800 Post St.
San Francisco
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Sept. 22, 2009
Books Inc. Laurel Village
3515 California St.
San Francisco
7:00 pm
For more information and October events, please go to http://www.kathrynma.com
http://www.bookshopwestportal.com/
http://www.wcl.org/
http://www.insidestorytime.com/
http://www.booksinc.net/SFLaurel
ALLISON HOOVER BARTLETT'S THE MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH ABOUT TO BE LAUNCHED
Indiebound just selected Grottoite Allison Hoover Bartlett's “The Man Who Loved Books Too Much” as an IndieNext pick, the SF Chronicle named it a Notable Book for September, and Book Passage announced it as one of "Elaine's Picks." The book will be released September 17, so please come to one of the readings this month. The first is at Booksmith (Haight Street, San Francisco) at 7:30 p.m., with CSPAN there to film the occasion for Book TV. Other Bay Area September readings include Book Passage in Corte Madera (Sept. 22), Kepler's in Menlo Park (Sept 23) and A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland (Sept 24).
Also check out Allison's story on dust jacket fraud in the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-caw-off-the-shelf16-2009aug16,0,4959005.story
For more information visit Allison's website: http://www.allisonhooverbartlett.com.
STEVE’S “ADDERALL DIARIES” GARNERING GREAT REVIEWS – HE’S READING ALONG WITH KATIE AT THE MAKEOUT ROOM ON SEPTEMBER 15
Grotto dweller Stephen Elliott's true crime memoir, out this month, is getting great reviews, including a starred review in Kirkus and Booklist, an “A” from San Francisco Magazine, and five stars (their highest rating) from Time Out New York.
http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/books/77758/stephen-elliott-the-adderall-diaries-book-review
On September 14, at 7pm, Steve hosts The Monthly Rumpus at The Makeout Room, 3225 22nd Street. Featuring D.A. Powell, Robert Mailer Anderson, Minal Hajratwala, Sona Avakian, Ryan Boudinot, comedian Will Durst, and air guitar champion Dan Crane. Purchase tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/78333
On September 15, 7pm Steve reads from his new book, The Adderall Diaries, at Booksmith on Haight Street (and Katie Crouch will be reading too!)
For people outside of San Francisco Stephen Elliott is doing a twenty-five city tour. More information here: http://therumpus.net/2009/08/the-adderall-diaries/
KATHRYN, STEPHEN, ALLISON, AND PO ALL MAKE THE “NOTABLE BOOKS” LIST OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Yes, the new books out by Grottoites Kathryn Ma, Stephen Elliot, Allison Hoover Bartlett, and Po Bronson all made the San Francisco Chronicle’s list of “Notable books, due out in September, by Bay Area authors.” Check out the list at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/28/RVG517O47J.DTL&type=books
Congratulations to all!
MELANIE’S “SLIPPERY YEAR” GARNERS GLOWING REVIEWS, AND SHE’S READING AT THE MAIN LIBRARY ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 AND AT BOOK PASSAGE CORTE MADERA ON SEPTEMBER 10
It’s been an exciting month for Grottoite Melanie Gideon, beginning with her memoir, The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After slipping into the #35 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List! The book continued its run with glowing reviews from the Chronicle, the Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Magazine, the New York Post and Elle, as well as being featured in O Magazine and the Daily Beast. It was chosen as an Amazon Book Club selection and an Indie Next Notable Book for September. Listen to Melanie on NPR’s the Diane Rehm Show.
Melanie will be reading at the San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch, at 7 p.m. this Thursday, 9/3/09 and at Book Passage, Corte Madera, 9/10/09 at 7 p.m.
See http://www.melaniegideon.com for more details on readings and events.
CSM review http://features.csmonitor.com/books/2009/08/13/the-slippery-year/
Chron review http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/31/RVHD18K7II.DTL
SF Mag review http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/snap-judgments-25
Diane Rehm show http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/08/04.php
RACHEL READS AT SAINT MARY’S ON SEPTEMBER 23
Grottoite Rachel Howard will read from her memoir about her father’s unsolved murder, “The Lost Night,” at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga as part of the MFA program’s reading series on September 23. The reading and Q and A is free and open to the public and starts at 7:30 in Albert Hall Library. Saint Mary's College of California is located at 1928 St. Mary's Rd., Moraga. For more information, contact the MFA Program at (925)631-4457 or visit http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/news-and-events/item-event.html?ID=3335. For more about Rachel, visit http://www.rachelhoward.com.
CHECK OUT LAURA’S NEW BLOG “DISPATCHES”
Grotto dweller Laura Fraser has a new blog, "dispatches," about her travels. This month she's in Southern Italy, and then boarding a ship in St. Petersburg, Russia, through the Baltic Sea and all the way down the coast of Europe to Lisbon. You can follow her at http://www.laurafraser.com/notes
FALL GROTTO WRITING CLASSES NOW ACCEPTING ENROLLMENT!
This fall, the Grotto’s ongoing weekly and one-day classes will cover everything from publishing your non-fiction to writing from personal experience, travel writing to historical fiction, memoir to magazines. There are even workshops on the art & craft of fiction and finding your story. Visit http://www.sfgrotto.org/classes.html for more information, or to register. But hurry - classes are filling fast!
MEET THE TEACHER (AND VISIT THE GROTTO) NIGHT - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Join us at the Grotto on SEPTEMBER 9TH for a glass of wine and the finest snacks Trader Joe's can offer. This is a terrific opportunity to check out the Grotto, as well as chat with our teachers (and some of their students) about upcoming classes. 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm. No need to register, just come on by.
CHECK OUT ETHAN’S SEPTEMBER WRITING CLASSES
Grotto co-founder Ethan Watters is offering two classes, which begin next month:
**ONE DAY SEMINAR : How to Get Your Non-Fiction Writing Published**
Number of sessions: 1
Meeting times: This course will be offered September 5th, 2009 10 am to 4 pm.
Course fee: $165. Class will be limited to 12 People.
Full payment in advance is required for a reserved seminar seat. Contact: ethanw1@..., 415-515-5506
This class will put beginning and intermediate writers on a path to getting published. We will focus on how to sell magazine pieces and non-fiction book projects. Topics will include
-Writing effective query letters for magazine
-Crafting book proposals
-Understanding the magazine/book market place
-Establishing and developing relationships with editors and agent
-The five most common mistakes of beginning writers
**EIGHT WEEK CLASS: Non-Fiction Writing**
Number of sessions: 8
Meeting times: Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30, September 17 through November 5, 2009
Course fee: $495.00
Spots reserved with $200 deposit. Full fee due by the second class. Contact: ethanw1@..., 415-515-5506
This class will put beginning and intermediate writers on a path to publishing non-fiction magazine articles, essays and books. An emphasis will be placed on getting students to begin pitching ideas to magazine editors and agents. Students will learn how to:
-Find and develop ideas for non-fiction writing
-Write effective query letters for magazine
-How to craft book proposals and magazine features
-Understand the magazine market place
-Develop relationships with editors and agents
-Critiquing and re-writing first drafts
Students will be expected to draft two magazine projects during the class or one book proposal. These will be work-shopped during class. There will be a reader and short weekly writing assignments both in and out of class. Class size limited to 13 people.
Instructor bio: Ethan Watters has been a freelance writer for 20 years. He has taught non-fiction writing at Berkeley, Stanford and is currently an adjunct professor in the masters writing program at California College of the Arts. He's written for The New York Times Magazine, Men's Journal, Outside, Esquire, Discover, Spin, Mother Jones, GQ, Details, HG, and San Francisco Magazine, among other national and regional publications. He has also created pieces for Public Radio International's This American Life. He has written three books: Making Monsters, Therapy's Delusions and Urban Tribes. Ira Glass has purchased the movie rights to Urban Tribes and is writing a feature film based on the book. In 1994 he co-founded the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. He is currently on a book, Crazy Like Us, about America's influence on mental illness around the world. For more about Ethan visit:
http://web.mac.com/ethanwatters/Writing_coaching_1/Writing_Coach.html
WRITE YOUR CREATIVE NONFICTION BOOK IN RACHEL'S ONLINE CLASS
Grottoite and memoirist Rachel Howard's online creative nonfiction class for Stanford Continuing Studies filled immediately--so the Online Writer's Studio opened a second section, with registration now open. The ten-week course starts September 22:
“Writing the Creative Nonfiction Book: Getting a Full Draft”
So you¹ve written the opening pages of a memoir. Or you¹ve been mulling over ideas for a book of creative nonfiction and a concept has clicked into focus. You¹re over the biggest hurdle - getting started - and you¹re on to the most fulfilling but trickiest part. Maintaining momentum requires keeping your eye on the book’s “big picture” and giving yourself freedom to experiment with the "small picture," then staying flexible as your discoveries inform an evolving plan.
In this course, we will keep you writing toward a full draft, and look at how various creative nonfiction books work on the big-picture and small-picture levels. Weekly writing assignments will help you discover and strengthen the style, tone, and structure of your creative nonfiction book. Each student will complete a new chapter for workshop response.
Rachel Howard is the author of the memoir, “The Lost Night: A Daughter¹s Search for the Truth of Her Father¹s Murder,” one of the San Francisco Chronicle¹s Best Books of 2005. Her personal essays have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and O, The Oprah Magazine. Her advice is quoted extensively in The Autobiographer¹s Handbook: The 826 National Guide to Writing Your Memoir. She received an MFA in fiction writing from Warren Wilson College.
Visit http://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/courses/onlinewriters.php to see the full catalogue, and
http://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/courses/course.php?cid=20082_EGL%20321%20W to view Rachel¹s course.
JD IN “THE BEST OF NEW YORK” EXHIBITION IN NYC THIS MONTH, PLUS SHE’S TEACHING AN ADVANCED FINE ARTIST CLASS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE
If you’re in New York the next few weeks, Grottoite JD Beltran will be exhibiting new work in “The Best of New York” exhibition at the Broadway Gallery, sponsored by the New York Arts Magazine. The opening reception is on September 9th, from 6 – 8 pm, and the show will run from September 1 – 15th. 473 Broadway, 7th Floor, NY, NY 10013. More information at http://www.broadwaygallerynyc.com/2009/08/the-best-of-new-york-part-one/
Plus, JD will be teaching “Advanced Portfolio Preparation and Critique” for fine artists, which will begin on September 8. Engage in advanced art critique sessions, develop your portfolio, and learn about requirements, alternative presentation forms, strategies for applying to gallery exhibitions, alternative and commercial ventures, and other art and non-art venues. Gain skills in applying for grants, fellowships, and residencies, as well as in documenting your work and preparing materials to market yourself. Each session will feature reviewing your work and advising you on directions in which you can improve your presentation and best represent your work and interest in making art. More information at http://activeweb.sfai.edu/academics/community/ace.aspx
This past summer, JD and her collaborator and partner Scott Minneman completed a successful exhibition at Cleveland’s IngenuityFest, where their “Magic Story Table” was one of the most popular pieces of the annual 3-day new media festival. See the write-up on JD’s San Francisco Chronicle blog at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/beltran/detail?entry_id=43727
GROTTOITE AND BIG UGLY REVIEW FOUNDER ELIZABETH BERNSTEIN OPENS UP SHOP WITH EBC BOOKS
Are you stuck in your writing project and want coaching, in-depth feedback and support? Have you finished a draft and need help polishing it before you show it to agents? Or have you sold your book, and want to get it in top shape before sending it to your publisher? No matter where you are in the writing process, Grottoite Elizabeth Bernstein can help you tell your story. She’s opened up shop as a full-service editor, offering comprehensive manuscript feedback, detailed line editing, copyediting and proofing. Visit her new website at http://www.ebc-books.com
DAVID & XANDRA'S "FULL GROWN MEN" HIT THE SMALL SCREEN!
Grottofilms' whimsical road comedy "Full Grown Men" will have its home video release August 25th through Liberation Entertainment. Winner of the 2007 Undiscovered Gems Sundance Channel Audience Award, the film was written by Grotto filmmakers David Munro and Xandra Castleton, directed by David and produced by Xandra. "Full Grown Men" tells the story of a hopelessly nostalgic man who learns the hard way that the best years of his life may still lie ahead. Stars Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander (30 Rock), Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy), Alan Cumming (X-Men 2, Cabaret), and Deborah Harry (Blondie). You can pre-order on Amazon or save on your Netflix queue by clicking links below. If it's not at your neighborhood video store, contact us via our website and we'll make sure it is. You can read about the "making of" in our series of Filmmaker Diaries for the SF Chronicle (see the link below), and there's a new blog about the current state of indie film distribution at Filmmaker Magazine blog. More information at http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Full-Grown-Men-Judah-Friedlander/dp/B002AWM0SG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1248837777&sr=1-1
Netflix - http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Full_Grown_Men/70101351?lnkce=seRtLn&trkid=222336&strkid=179505843_0_0&strackid=169faaa5d813e1b4_0_srl
Filmmaker Diaries - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/qws/columns/fmd?term=full+grown+men&smode=and&Submit=S&dmode=preset&period=all&year=2006&Go.x=30&Go.y=12
Filmmaker Magazine - http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2009/07/david-munro-on-burst-bubble.php#comments
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY JOURNALISM SCHOOL ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE LUKAS AWARDS
Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism is now taking submissions for the 3 categories of 2009 J. Anthony Lukas Awards:
-American Non-Fiction for a 2009 published book-length work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern.
- History for a 2009 published book-length work of narrative history, on any subject.
-Non-fiction Works-In-Progress of a significant work of nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern
For more information and guidelines, please go to:
http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/cs/ContentServer/jrn/1165270069782/page/1175374449484/JRNSimplePage2.htm
THE GROTTO IS NOW ON TWITTER
The Grotto now has a Twitter feed! For late-breaking news about Grotto classes, the SF Bay Area lit scene, and happenings at the Grotto, follow us here:
http://twitter.com/sfgrotto
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JD’S ART PICKS FOR SEPTEMBER
“SEND ME A LINK” EXHIBITION OF CASSANDRA JONES AT BAER RIDGWAY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 5
Jones' process involves collecting thousands of photographs - professional and amateur, new and old, print and digital - from every Web-based source imaginable. She then organizes them in a variety of ways. She creates videos and "snap-motion reanimations" (that is, re-creating a event, such as a sunset or a flying bird, or inventing a "new reality," such as a spinning car fire or floating snowball) that illustrate motion and narrative, and she deconstructs single images by erasing them of context and reducing them to a particular shape. (Nirmala Nataraj)
Through September 5. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, 172 Minna St., S.F. (415) 777-1366. http://www.baerridgway.com
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/30/NS5M18TTFJ.DTL&type=art#ixzz0PmWvDf5t
“TAKING PICTURES” AND “SURVEILLANCE AND NOSTALGIA” AT STEVEN WOLF GALLERY OPENS ON SEPTEMBER 11
In Taking Pictures, Nicholas Knight haunts the galleries of art museums, photographing people in the act of taking pictures. And Jo Babcock could go down in history as the only photographer to successfully crack the competitive field of San Francisco Bay Area assemblage by making pinhole cameras from found objects. September 11 through October 10. Steven Wolf Gallery, 49 Geary Street, Suite 411, San Francisco, CA 94108, more information at http://www.stevenwolffinearts.com/
“WALLWORKS” AT THE YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The artists have taken over the walls at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts! The curatorial debut of Betti-Sue Hertz, YBCA's new Director of Visual Arts. Wallworks celebrates the unique qualities of YBCA's building designed by acclaimed architect Fumihiko Maki, by commissioning artists to create new large-scale works directly on the walls of both its galleries and its public spaces. These local, regional and international artists use the literal aspects of YBCA's architectural space as a starting point for their contribution to the exhibition. Through October 25. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street, San Francisco, 94103-3138, telephone 415.978.2700. More information at http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=9241
See Jesse Hamlin’s review at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/24/PK3318PC17.DTL&type=art
Happy September!
There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.
Christopher Morley
