Dispatches from Spain: Libroviedo

I’ll start by confessing to my almost complete ignorance of contemporary Spanish literature. Besides Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Javier Marías, I can barely name a Spanish writer who hasn’t been dead for eighty years (Garcia Lorca, Unamuno, Machado). So what a pleasure it was to attend Libroviedo 2019 and to try to update myself. The…

“Reading Under the Stars” – brilliance in Silver City, New Mexico

On August 18, 2018, the book-loving community of Silver City, New Mexico, came together to listen to Philip Connors, Sharman Apt Russell, Beate Sigriddaughter and Jack Crocker reading recent work. The event was entitled “Reading Under the Stars” and a few duly came out and lit up the sky although the brightest stars were the…

Tucson Festival of Books: Happy 10th Birthday!

And a very happy one it was. Despite some unseasonal rain (what?! In Tucson?! In March?!), the 10th Tucson Festival of Books shone its usual ray of light on everything literary. Old perennial Luis Urrea starred in his tenth Tucson Festival while launching his new novel House of Broken Angels. In cahoots with the inspiring…

Brooklyn Book Festival, September 18, 2016

What a great festival! It was my first time. At the opening party for authors, Jacqueline Woodson was honored with an award and she made an excellent speech: humble, articulate and funny. My session was a reading for debut novelists and I was privileged to share a stage with Natashia Deón, R.J. Hernandez, Matt Gallagher,…

L.A. Times Festival of Books – brilliant and illuminating

The L.A. Times Festival of Books on April 9-10 was outstanding. A huge thank you to the organizers for inviting me and for the superb organization. The awards ceremony was a highlight. Although it went on nearly as long as the Oscars, it was great to see Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Chicano Poet Laureate…