Free Comic Book Day - THIS WEEKEND

Lucha Libro

Could you write a story in five minutes? In front of a live audience? While wearing a wrestling mask?

Read This Post, Or the Devilish Hoardes Win

The British Library is having a persuasive propaganda exhibit.

From a piece on the Londonist...

The British Library’s new exhibition provides an exploration of the persuasive power of this state tool, looking at examples from ancient Rome to the present day.

Curators at this impressive new show have taken what they describe as a “neutral” definition of the word, embracing all activity by the state to influence behaviour, whether for good or evil. So, alongside troubling posters from Nazi Germany and Northern Ireland in the 1980s are gentler examples of state persuasion about the benefits of drinking milk and adhering to the Green Cross Code. Chairman Mao’s much-reproduced mythology is analysed, as are uses of the Olympic Games (in London and elsewhere) as a method of promoting national identity.

While the main focus of the exhibition is on propaganda since World War I, there are examples from earlier in history: a coin from the third century BC; a huge portrait of Napoleon; and a curious fan from the reign of George III.

O. Henry Pun-Off World Championship

Why Do Literary Readings Always Make Me Want to Kill Myself?

That's the question posed by The Moving Finger.

From the piece...

Because literary readings are subconsciously viewed as the cultural equivalent of bran. They’re good for us and therefore something we dutifully attend, like church or a community college life drawing class. They remind us of school. We associate them with homework, just as we might a visit to the textile museum. Yay, we get a day off school but, boo, we’re still learning about stuff. Whereas activities such as mini-golf, laser tag, electro-stim—we think of these as entertainments, something we do for fun in our leisure time. Literary readings aren’t going to shake their reputation as the added-fibre of our entertainment diet until the people who organize and participate in them snap out of this mentality. Organizers must insist to themselves and their audience that having some shlubby author stand up and grunt into a microphone while holding a book in front of his terrified, sun-deprived face equals one rip-snorter of a Wednesday night.

How do you do this? Here are some very basic strategies.

1—Serve liquor.

Note-Taking’s Past, Deciphered Today

The New York Times was taking notes at a note taking conference.

From the story...

“I thought I’d take my notes in a new way today,” said Judith Davidson, an associate professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, who was using Penultimate software and a stylus to inscribe cursive notes onto her iPad —  when she wasn’t filling every bit of blank space with colorful abstract doodles, that is. 

“I’m a felter, so sometimes I slip into thinking about felting,” she explained. “There are all these other things that go on in your head when you take notes.” 

The far-flung things that go on in scholars’ heads when they think about notes became clear at the daylong gathering. Presentations touched on talking points scribbled on Sarah Palin’s hand during a speech, fliers stapled to telephone poles and Twitter posts about the conference itself that were read from the stage all day (the event was live-streamed), many of which expressed anxieties about listeners’ own note-taking abilities.

Do's and Don'ts at Author Events

Book Riot is here to help.

From the piece...


DON’T: Bring a gigantic, unwieldy armful of books to have signed. It really is poor form, because everyone, including the author, assumes you’re imposing yourself on everyone else’s time just so that you can a make a buck on eBay selling your “more valuable” signed copies. Not cool, man. There’s no shame in bringing a title or two from the author’s backlist, but as a rule of thumb, I’d advocate for no more than three books at any one signing.

DO: Purchase the book you’re about to have signed at the bookstore at which the event is being held, if at all possible. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances (you already own the book, you plan to eread it, you’re broke, etc.), but by helping the bookstore, you can help ensure that they’ll continue to have kick-ass author events. And everyone wins.

I Attend the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair

And then I write about it, here.

All Hallow's Read Coming Soon (10/31)

Star Wars Reading Day

It's today. Celebrate!

From Galley Cat...

Star Wars Reading Day is an international celebration of books about the science fiction series. Readers are invited to dress up in costume and go to participating local bookstores which are hosting Star Wars reading parties.

Lucasfilms and its publishing partners Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK Publishing, Random House Audio, Scholastic, Titan Magazines and Workman teamed up for the event.

Banned Books Week Flash Mob

Banned Books Week is Coming

It's Read Comics in Public Day

Don't be shy. Go out there and enjoy it!

Highlights from the 2012 National Poetry Slam

What Good Are Writer's Conferences?

They do good.

From an interview in the Huffington Post between Andre Dubus III and Gina Barreca...

Why are writing conferences important enough to take us away from writing?

Andre : I'm a big believer in the importance of writers' conferences. Many writers do not enroll in MFA programs, and most people who write know few others who do this strange, eccentric thing we do, which is to go to a quiet room every day and make things up with words.
The central gift of these conferences, it seems to me -- even beyond what is learned about craft -- is that it introduces one writer to another, and they can then keep the conversation going long after the conference is over. Helping to foster these connections is worth whatever time teaching or speaking at a conference demands from the visiting writer, especially now when -- thanks largely to Amazon and its predatory actions on bookstores and publishers -- the book itself seems imperiled.
It's not, of course; live theater has survived for hundreds of years and is still alive and well despite all of its flickering screen competitors. And the book, in one form or another, will live on, too. But each generation must have its passionate writers and readers for this to work, and that's the main reason why I show up at conferences.

Gina: Writing conferences make me nervous and excited in equal measure. I worry about everything from what to say to what to wear, and whether the students will profit from the experience. Like anything important, conferences offer the honor of giving you attention while demanding that you, in turn, give attention to others. I want to make sure I give the students something new and practical.
Finally, I wonder--always--whether I can afford the time to do this when I should be sitting at the desk and writing instead of talking to other people about writing.

Revisiting World Book Night 2012

The Book Fair Boom

While secondhand bookshops are struggling, book fairs are thriving. Why should this be?

From the Guardian...

 Just what is it that's making these fairs so successful, at a time when conventional second-hand bookstores are closing down? Part of the appeal is that book fairs offer up books as tactile objects for leisurely perusal at a time when readers are increasingly doing their reading on e-readers and online. Potential purchasers can feel the heft, the quality of the paper - and in the case of second-hand books, look for intriguing dedications in the back. What's more, they can do this in the presence of knowledgeable publishers and booksellers - which is why books and pamphlets with beautiful illustrations or high production values are often to be found at book fairs.

Of course, this still doesn't explain why fairs should succeed where second-hand bookshops struggle - but perhaps the answer to lies in the sociability of browsing. A book fair is not just a static location - it is an event. More often than not it includes guest speakers, workshops and poetry readings. Visitors can mingle, meet friends and form acquaintances with others who have similar literary or political interests.

AbeBooks Visits the London International Antiquarian Book Fair

Happy Bloomsday, Everyone

What are you doing to celebrate?

Camp NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month has added a month. Traditionally in November, they've added the summer so more people can church out 50K novels in a few weeks.

Some details, here.