Dispatch 11: Chris Cander and The Weight of A Piano come back home

February 22, 2019, by

Houston author Chris Cander’s “Dispatches from Book Tour,” a multi-week blog series of reflections and updates along her 17-city U.S. book tour for her new novel The Weight of a Piano (published by Knopf), continues with Dispatch 11, back in Houston.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

As much as I’ve enjoyed being on the road, it’s been great being back home the past few days. And while my family is proud of me and supportive of my work, they also like it when I return to my usual post in the kitchen. And laundry room. And driver’s seat… Continue reading

Dispatch 10: Chris Cander and The Weight of a Piano go to New York City

February 15, 2019, by

Houston author Chris Cander’s “Dispatches from Book Tour,” a multi-week blog series of reflections and updates along her 17-city U.S. book tour for her new novel The Weight of a Piano (published by Knopf), continues with Dispatch 10 from New York City.

February 7, 2019

Not only because I dedicated the book to her, but because I love being with my daughter, Sasha, I invited her to join me in NYC for my event at the gorgeous McNally-Jackson Books. She originally said she couldn’t miss school that week, but on Monday, she called and said her schedule was light and she really wanted to be there. So on Wednesday, she flew up from Houston—by herself, clever girl!—and was able to be with us last night for a truly memorable event. Continue reading

On the road with Inprint

June 19, 2015, by

BEA logoLike physicians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and fans of anime, those in the literary world have their own conventions—that is, annual conference where those in the field share new ideas. (Here, I do not mean “convention” as in a distinct protocol of behavior, although that argument can, of course, be made….).

AWP is the bad boy of literary conventions, where thousands upon thousands of creative writers descend upon a hip city, ostensibly to attend professional development panels and hawk their books. In reality, carousing, quaffing, cavorting, capering, and kvelling are top priorities on the itinerary.

BEA (BookExpo America) is AWP’s sophisticated, practical cousin. From a creative writer’s perspective, this conference has a 401K and knowledge about fine wines. It’s less about hysterical events in a writer’s life that result in a book, and more about packaging and marketing that book once it’s written—the business and politics of publishing.

As a creative writer entrenched in the former convention, I spoke with Rich Levy, Inprint’s Executive Director, about his recent travels to BEA in New York, to see how the other half (of the book world) lives.

Erika: Why does Inprint visit BEA?

BEA gives us the opportunity to connect personally with publicists at major publishing houses.

Rich: BookExpo America is the publishing industry’s national trade show, which primarily serves independent book sellers, always held in May. Although we are somewhat fish out of water there, BEA gives us the opportunity to connect personally with publicists at major publishing houses. We meet with them (1) to tell them about the Inprint Margarett Root Continue reading