Monday, July 28, 2008

Writer's Center Success Stories

Hello, everyone. I'm back from my brief trip. Got caught in a tent in the rain, a whopper of a storm, actually. Our poor dog--who doesn't like storms one iota--kept us awake a lot more than the rain and thunder and lightning did. Anyway.

I spent a lot of time today catching up. Got good news while I was gone that a Writer's Center member published a book review in the Washington Post Book World recently. (Incidentally, it appears that yet another bastion of of book reviewing in the biz, the LA Times Book review, is folding--or at least being absorbed into the larger newspaper. A sad commentary on the state of books? Literature? One thing is certain: these are NOT easy times for newspapers, and it's an even uneasier time for book reviewers. All the MORE reason to celebrate this publication--a book review in one of the last great American book review locations: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071002330.html

Book reviewing does seem headed down a wrong way street, but it IS an art one, and one that challenges how readers and writers think. There is no better way, in my opinion, to learn about how to read and write books (other than reading and writing them) than reading book reviews. Good book reviews. Writing book reviews is a challenge, too, and yet a helluva a fine one. Did you know that the Writer's Center is offering a workshop this fall with Book World's own Dennis Drabelle? Learn how to write great, selling reviews from a master at one of the few remaining stand-alone book review sections in the country. For more information, click here: https://www.writer.org/workshops/results.asp

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