This month, news from Peter
Gumbel, Irene Babinet, Douglas Kennedy, Julian Corkle, Susan Loomis, Ghyslain Martin, Ken
Mackenzie, Terrance Gelenter, Jake Lamar, Ruth Yunker, Anne Marsella, Lizzie
Harwood, Elizabeth Murray, Valentine de Ganay, Lauren Grodstein, Charles Glass, Penelope Fletcher, Wordmeadow
Writing Workshops, Festival America and the Paris Short Story Contest!
New Books!
On achève bien les écoliers by Peter Gumbel
Under the provocative title (literally :They shoot schoolchildren, don’t they?) this French essay which Nouvel Observateur called a “must read for all parents” argues that it is NOT NORMAL to produce French schoolchildren that are anxious, afflicted by low self-esteem and afraid to speak up. It is time, senior journalist and Science Po professor Peter Gumbel suggests, to put an end to cruel and unnecessary classroom practices in
Those of you who know me will understand how crucial I think this topic is. I will be posting an interview with Peter Gumbel in the coming week. Watch this space—or the Sorbonne Confidential blog--for more…
Not for the likes of us by Irene Babinet
“Told with humour this largely autobiographical book charts the author's working-class but unconventional life. Starting with the adoption of her son Luke in
Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar by Diane Connell
"... the ultimate feel-good novel, a book that will have the reader laughing out loud on the back of a bus as it follows Julian's bumpy journey through adolescence, fibbing his way through school and a series of dead-end jobs, to find his ultimate calling as creator of 'The Hog'. It's as if Crocodile Dundee has crashed Muriel's wedding and run off into the desert with Priscilla."
Me, Myself and Paris by Ruth Yunker
"Me, Myself & Paris is what Paris looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like, to an American woman, free and unfettered, sense of humor and bonhomie alive and well, alone and loving it, in the most beautiful and temperamental city in the world."
Paris Writers News is delighted to announce the distinguished EDITORIAL COMMITTEE FOR the SHORT STORY CONTEST ABOUT
The Editorial Committee selects the shortlist of stories that go to the finalist judges and votes on the $200 Editorial Committee prize. We are extremely pleased to have united a talented group of writers and editors specialized in different areas (short story, novels, non-fiction, journalism, travel, humor, blogging, academia)--all passionate and discerning readers.
Many thanks to our Editorial Committee team:
Jennifer K. Dick : Author of Fluorescence and Patina, co-founder of
Ivy writers series and associate professor of American Literature
Kristin Espinasse : Author of Words in a French Life and the extremely popular
blog, French Word A Day
Karen Fawcett : Publisher and editor of the widely-read Bonjour Paris, journalist
Rosalia Gitau : Short story writer and journalist for Paris Writers
News, Transparency International and Huffpost
Hilary Kaiser : Author of French War Brides and Veteran Recall, former tenured associate professor at the University of Paris
Dimitri Keramitas : Short story writer, reviewer and teacher
Marcia Lebre : Director of the
Meredith Mullins: Internationally exhibited photographer and writer,
author of In a Paris Moment
Thirza Valois : Author of the acclaimed Around and About
Christopher Vanier : Author of Caribbean Chemistry
Eve Zuckerman : Editor in chief of L'Inébranlable
Laurel Zuckerman: author of Sorbonne Confidential and Editor of Paris Writers News
(PARIS WRITERS NEWS SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline: 30 November 2010 !)
FESTIVAL
Adam HASLETT, Amanda BOYDEN, Barry GIFFORD, Benjamin PERCY, Bret Easton ELLIS, Claire MESSUD, Colin HARRISON, Colum McCANN, Craig JOHNSON, Dan FANTE, Dany LAFERRIERE, Don WINSLOW, Douglas KENNEDY, Eduardo MANET, Enrique SERNA, Ethan CANIN, Gil ADAMSON, Guadalupe NETTEL, Guillermo ARRIAGA, Harlyn GERONIMO, J. M. SERVÍN, Jake LAMAR, James FREY, James GRADY, James NOËL, Jay McINERNEY, Jayne Anne PHILLIPS, John BIGUENET, Jon RAYMOND, Joseph BOYDEN, Karla SUAREZ, Kim THÚY, Lauren GROFF, Leonardo PADURA, Louise ERDRICH, Lydia LUNCH, Lyonel TROUILLOT, Mauricio SEGURA, Monique PROULX, Nadine BISMUTH, Nancy LEE, Nathan SELLYN, Nick FLYNN, Pierre SZALOWSKI, Richard LANGE, Richard PRICE, Richard RUSSO, Richard VAN CAMP, Ron RASH, Sergio GONZÁLEZ RODRÍGUEZ, Steve ERICKSON, Stuart DYBEK, Tania JAMES, Wendy GUERRA, Yanick LAHENS, Ying CHEN AT: various locations in Vincennes and around, Festival America, www.festival-america.org
Events, readings and writer
meetups !
6 September 7:00 P.M. Mingmei Yip will read from her latest novel Petals from the Sky, a Buddhist, interracial love story set in Hong Kong, Manhattan and Paris. She will also talk about Chinese Geisha culture, lover stories of Buddhist nuns and sing to the accompaniment of a qin, the geisha's instrument. http://www.mingmeiyip.comAT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/
12 September 7:30 P.M. Ken Mackenzie, Abraham (in English). The play is about a young man obsessed by the Biblical Abraham-Isaac story and worried about his father, who is having an affair with a younger woman, struggling to expose government corruption – and suffering from a stroke. A South African-born writer and journalist, Mackenziehas published two novels, short stories and poetry and worked for The Times, The Economist and West Africa magazine before coming to Paris in 1989 to work for the International Herald Tribune. AT Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001, Metro Tuileries 06 14 67 18 58 Moving Parts www.stefcampion.com/Movpart/MPhome.html
13 September 7:00 P.M. One of the most original and impressive novelists working in the English language today, Richard Flanagan, will read from Wanting. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/
15 September 7:00 P.M. Douglas Kennedy, author of twelve books -- three travel books and nine novels -- he has been described by Le Monde as the best known American writer in France. AT: the American Library 10, rue Général Camou 75007, RER-M° Alma-Marceau. www.americanlibraryinparis.org
19 September 7:00 P.M. Barbara Hammond Eva the Chaste, a new monologue play. A special performance just outside Shakespeare and Company (please note the play will be cancelled if there is rain). AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel.
20 September from 9:00 P.M. to LATE: SpokenWord! Share your work on any theme or work on the theme of the night. Join SpokenWord Paris’ meetup group or see their blog at : http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/ AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix Metro Belleville/Pyrénées 75020 Paris
21 September 19h30 Writings on Writing: Susan Loomis on cookbook writing and the sociology of food--At the American Library
23 September
23 September
27 September 7:00 P.M. Anne
Marsella will read from The Baby of Belleville, her delightful new novel filled
with intrigue, eccentric characters and many surprises. . Her previous books are an
acclaimed collection of stories, The Lost and Found and Other Stories (NYU
Press), Patsy Boone (Editions de la Différence) and the novel Remedy
(Portobello, 2007). AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie,
29 September 19h30 Valenine de Ganay, co-author, with Laurent Le Bon of Courances,discusses one of the great gardens of France, the first in the Library's four part series on gardens--at The American Library
30 September
New Interviews:
Lauren Grodstein (with Pamela Leavy)
Terrance Gelenter (with Laurel Zuckerman)
Charles Glass (with Laurel Zuckerman)
Mary Duncan (filmed by Amanda Walsh)
Also, Richard Nahem conducted an excellent interview with Penelope Fletcher on Eye Prefer Paris!
Workshops
WORDMEADOW WRITING WORKSHOPS in the French Alps: 24 - 28 OCTOBER 2010 - JAY GRIFFITHS & PAUL HENRY for information: www.wordmeadow.com
NEW BLOG:
Lizzie Harwood, writer and editor living in Paris, launches a blog about writing (www.lizzieharwood.com) talking about finding and keeping grip on that Holy Grail called inspiration -"when parenting, life's dramas and writing fear conspire against you."
