Meet Laura Anne Gilman & Dexter Palmer

For a while now, I’ve been curating a reading series with the Center for Fiction, and we’ve got a fantastic event lined up for Wednesday, April 7. And I do mean “fantastic,” because one of our readers will be Laura Anne Gilman, who’s up for this year’s “Best Novel” Nebula (awarded by the Science Fiction Writers of America) for Flesh and Fire, the first volume in the Vinearts War trilogy, set in a world where the art of winemaking is literally magical. Laura has been a friend for some time now, so I’m delighted to help celebrate the success of this series and to introduce her to those of you who haven’t met her yet.

She’ll be joined by Dexter Palmer, who makes his literary debut with The Dream of Perpetual Motion, which is officially described as the story of “a greeting card writer who must come to terms with the madness of a genius inventor” while being held prisoner in a zeppelin, and unofficially by some fans as a steampunky version of The Tempest. And, you know, what’s not to love about that? Plus, when Palmer was at Princeton, he organized the first-ever Ivy League conference on video games, so you know he’s cool.

The reading will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7, at the Center for Fiction’s midtown library (17 E. 47th St., just off Madison). Admission is free, you’ll be able to buy books afterwards, and wine will be served. You don’t have to RSVP, but if you’re on Facebook, feel free to check in and see who else might be there!

24 March 2010 | events |

A New York Times Writeup for the Author/Blogger Series!

One recent project I’m really excited about is the launch of a new event series at Brooklyn’s Greenlight Bookstore that pairs up New York City bloggers with writers for reading and thoughtful conversation—Monday night, several of us braved the falling snow (and the half-functioning subway system) to meet Marie Mutsuki Mockett (left), the author of Picking Bones from Ash, and Amanda ReCupido, the creator of The Undomestic Goddess.

The audience included a freelance journalist named Lori Adelman, who took the photo above and wrote about the event for The Local, a neighborhood blog hosted by the New York Times. The article does a great job of capturing the enthusiasm that those of us in attendance had for the discussion that followed a brief scene from Marie’s novel, as we touched upon a variety of literary and feminist themes. I’m hoping the folks to come to see Maud Newton interview Victor LaValle next month can match that intensity.

17 February 2010 | events |