Michael Janairo

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Category: News

  • Events on Wednesday, Jan. 17

    From Christopher D. Ringwald’s A DAY APART press release:

    Ringwald is a journalist (and a former Times Union reporter) and educator based as a visiting scholar at The Sage Colleges in Albany, NY. A DAY APART has been hailed by Asma Gull Hassan as “a solemn, brilliant call to multi-faith commonalities and by Solomon Schimmel as “illuminating and inspiring.”

    (Oxford University Press, Jan. 2007; Aly Mostel, publicist, 212 726-6111)

    Roundtable with author and families portrayed in A Day Apart. Wednesday, January 17. 5:30 pm potluck, 7 pm discussion. Catholic Worker House, 45 Trinity Place, Albany, NY 12207. Contact Fred Boehrer, 518 292-1727.

  • Zadie Smith on reading

    zadie_smith.jpg“Reading, done properly, is every bit as tough as writing,” says one of my favorite novelists, Zadie Smith (“White Teeth” and “On Beauty”), in an extended essay in a recent Guardian out of London.

    Click “more” for more. It’s worth it.

    (more…)

  • Happy Birthday, William Kennedy!

    billkennedy.jpgI’m sure the entire Capital Region and beyond will join me in saying happy birthday to William Kenndy — and many more!

  • Story Prize announces its finalists

    The annual Story Prize, awarded to a collection of short fiction, is in its third year and has recently announced its three finalists: Rick Bass, Mary Gordon (who has appeared at NYSWI) and George Saunders (who teaches at Syracuse).

    (more…)

  • Events on Sunday, Jan. 14

    “Challenges and Rewards of Writing a Memoir About Raising an Adopted, Disabled Son”

    When: Sunday, January 14, 1:15 p.m. Where: Sage College of Albany – Room 224, Campus Center

    Cost: Free

    Contact: 533-2666
    With Donna Miller, president of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. Presented by the Capital District Humanist Society.

  • Events on Saturday, Jan. 13

    0791469115.jpg

    At the Schenectady County Historical Society, Nancy L. Todd, author of New York’s Historic Armories: An Illustrated History, [SUNY Press] will be giving a presentation on armories, their architecture, and their military function. The talk is scheduled for Saturday, January 13 at 2pm. Books will be available for sale and the event is free. The SCHS is located at 32 Washington Avenue (in the Historical Stockade), Schenectady, NY. Please call 518-374-0263 for more information.

    For a detailed description of New York’s Historic Armories, please click this link to the SUNY Press website: http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=61348

    Meanwhile, Francine Prose reads from her latest book “Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them,” followed by a Q&A and book signing, Saturday, January 13, 2 p.m. Route 23A, Hunter NY.

  • Octavia Butler, an appreciation

    kindred-25th_s.jpgThe Baltimore City Paper recently ran a well-written and heartfelt appreciation of the novelist Octavia Butler, perhaps best known for her novel Kindred, in which a woman from the 1970s is transported back to the time of slavery in the United States. Give the article a read at
    http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=13075.

  • Scripter award finalists

    millhauser.jpgUSC Libraries Scripter Award finalists have been named. The Scripter is awarded annually by the University of Southern California Libraries to honor writers for the best achievement in adaptation among English-language films released during the previous year and based on a book, novella or short story. This post could go in my colleagues movies blog, as well, but since it is about literary adaptations, it fits for a books blog, especially since the movie adapted from Saratoga Spring’s own Steven Millhauser’s short story is on the list.
    Here are the finalists:

    This year’s finalists, in alphabetical order by film title, are: screenwriters Alfonso Cuaron & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby for “Children of Men,” based on the book by P.D. James; screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and author Lauren Weisberger for “The Devil Wears Prada”; screenwriter Neil Berger for “The Illusionist,” based on the story “Eisenheim the Illusionist” by Steven Millhauser; screenwriters Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock for “The Last King of Scotland,” based on the book by Giles Foden; and screenwriter Patrick Marber and author Zoe Heller for “Notes on a Scandal.”

    The selection committee voted to determine these five finalists from among the year’s 45 eligible films.

    The full story is available here:
    http://www.usc.edu/libraries/scripter/index.shtml

    The winner will be announced Jan. 12.

  • 10-year-old author inspired by Russell Banks

    From the Adirondack Daily Enterprise:

    At 10 years old, Saranac Lake resident Justus Stewart is fulfilling his aspirations of becoming a writer.

    Stewart published his first novel, “Kyle Oaks: The Fight for the Throne,” in December using an online publishing service, iUniverse.com.

    The Petrova Elementary School fifth grader said he worked on the 52-page book for about year before trying to find a publisher.

    …

    Stewart said he wants to be a writer of some sort when he grows up, especially after having met his favorite author, Russell Banks, of Keene, who inspired him to write a book of his own.

    You can find the full story here.