Dispatch 14: Chris Cander and The Weight of a Piano go to Stillwater, MN

March 8, 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 14, from Stillwater, Minnesota.

February 21, 2019

Pamela Klinger-Horn is an angel among booksellers. She founded and has, for years, run something called Literature Lovers’ Night Out™, a ticketed event that draws usually a hundred readers to hear 3-4 writers talk about their latest novels. She was a big fan of my last novel, Whisper Hollow, and offered early endorsement of The Weight of a Piano, and I was so delighted that she invited me to be part of her literary tradition. Continue reading

Dispatch 3: Chris Cander and The Weight of a Piano go to Dallas

January 28, 2019, by

Last week AnOpenBookBlog kicked off a blog series by Houston author Chris Cander, “Dispatches from Book Tour,” a multi-week series of reflections and updates by Chris along her 17-city U.S. book tour for her new novel The Weight of a Piano published by Knopf. Here is Dispatch 3 from Dallas:

Thursday, January 24, 2019

One of the best things about being on book tour is reconnecting with old friends. I met Nancy Allen when we were in the same workshop at Sewanee Writers’ Conference in 2016, and when she found out I’d be in Dallas, she invited me to stay with her. Not only that, but I had dinner with members of her book club, who’ve been together for 46 years.  Continue reading

Get away this summer to write

March 6, 2017, by

At the Association of Writers and Writing Programs’ annual conference last month, I was amazed by how many summer intensives and workshops for writers were represented on the conference floor. I’ve been lucky to attend a couple in the past, and not only were they transformative to my writing, but each was a great experience overall. (And now that I’m a Houstonian, I realize a summer workshop might also offer a break from the heat…) Since late winter and early spring are when most application deadlines roll around, Inprint suggested I gather the postcards and flyers I collected and share what I found:

napawriters_headerimageNapa Valley Writer’s Conference in St. Helena, CA – July 23rd to July 28th

I have to start here because, full disclosure, I work for this one. I was a participant more than once before they took me on, and each time was not only great for my writing, but the highlight of my summer. You can apply until March 31st for a spot in fiction or poetry, and financial aid is available. Who doesn’t want to write in gorgeous California wine country? Learn more about the faculty, applications process, and deadlines here.

The Breadloaf Writer’s Conference in Ripton, VT

Middlebury College in Vermont has hosted the renowned Breadloaf Writer’s Workshop since 1926. Unfortunately, their application deadline was February 15th  (maybe next year!). Breadloaf now offers an Environmental Writing Workshop (in conjunction with the magazine Orion) and a Translator’s Conference that takes applications until March 1st. They also have a workshop in Sicily that offers rolling admissions til mid-April. You can learn about the individual conferences and their deadlines, faculties, and admissions processes here. Continue reading