Category: Book Festival

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The Biggest Little Book Festival in the World

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Last week I visited the 20th edition of a remarkable Book Festival called PordenoneLegge. That translates to “Pordenone Reads. Pordenone is a small city (around 50,000 residents) in northeast Italy, not far from where I live.

It is simply a fantastic event. Over the years, I have met – and by that I mean had a one on one conversation with – superb authors. Included on that list are Margaret Atwood, the late Umberto Eco, John Banville, Jeffery Deaver, Peter Hoeg, Robert Harris and many more.

On any day during the Festival, you’ll see school groups (from little ones to university classes) attending author presentations. You will see hundreds, perhaps thousands of people walking around with a book in their hands, a rare sight indeed. Authors make presentations in majestic historical buildings, modern auditoriums, temporary festival tents, or even outdoors in open squares.

As I said, this was the 20th edition of the Festival, so it was well-hyped in anticipation. Here are a few interesting numbers:

  • 366 author presentation
  • More than 50,000 visitors
  • More than 10,000 books sold
  • 235,743 visitors to the web site (during the 5 days of the festival)
  • 6,000 Instagram followers
  • 30,000 Facebook followers
  • Top Facebook post had 684 “likes”
  • 8,000 Twitter interactions

So, yes. This Book Festival is a big deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it was a big deal for me, as well. Here is what I did.

I attended a press conference with Sara Shepard, author of the “Pretty Little Liars” series (in fact she has written more than 30 books).

Multiple best selling author Sara Shepard shared her experiences.

 

 

 

She talked about how much preparation she puts into her work. She begins with many weeks of research and outlining and planning before she ever begins to write. As an author of Young Adult fiction, she discussed the pressure that young people, not just in the US but all over the world, experience. Everything has become much more competitive to the point kids can’t just be kids anymore. They have to be perfect kids. That is exacerbated by the influence of so much social media, particularly on younger people, who might lack the maturity to be themselves rather than caving to peer pressure.

She believes nobody is perfect and everybody has secrets. Those are the traits she builds into her characters. She recounted a story where her mother once told her the thing she hated most was secrets. That maternal observation filled Shepard with a vivid imagination as to what kind of havoc secrets can cause. We have her 30+ books as a result and are thankful for that.

 

I also had the chance to sit down with international best-selling author Stuart Turton. His book, “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is winning awards at an impressive rate and has been an enormous commercial success. You can read about my interview with him right here.

Stuart Turton in Pordenone Italy to release “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” translated into Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maurizio di Giovanni signing a copy of one of his terrific books

 

 

I sat through a reading by Maurizio de Giovanni (who writes the crime series featuring Detective Commissario Ricciardi (“I Will Have Vengeance,” “Blood Curse” and “Nameless Serenade” to name a few). As he read passages from his latest work, he was accompanied by live music. It was a stirring event.

 

 

 

 

David Grossman signs one of his books

 

 

 

 

Finally, I attended the presentation given by multiple award winning and many times best-selling author David Grossman (“Duel,” “The Zigzag Kid,” “A Horse Walks Into a Bar” and “Life Plays With Me” among many others). I learned Grossman is a serious thinker. His presentation was called “The Sweet Reward for Writing,” a phrase coined by Franz Kafka. Grossman said the reward is writing itself. He elaborated by saying when he is writing, everything he observes fits; everything is interwoven into what he writes, from emotions, anecdotes, facial expressions, news events and on and on. He continued by saying everyone starts with many options for their existence but we narrow it down into – one gender, one language, one set of beliefs and so on.

Here are a few more pearls of Grossman wisdom:

  • There is no greater joy than to escape from doubt.
  • We should each look at our own memory with some suspicion.
  • We yearn to be seen by the understanding eyes of our enemy, the eyes that see our humanity.

 

Of course, this is Italy, so there was food involved, as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As happens each time I attend PordenoneLegge, I left with a renewed appreciation of the genius that is great writing and full of motivation to continue my own journey as a writer.

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An Interview With International Best-Selling Author Stuart Turton

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“We are never more ourselves than when we think people aren’t watching.”
“If this is not Hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”
(from “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle”)

 

 

Stuart Turton in Pordenone Italy to release “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” translated into Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuart Turton, in his debut novel “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,” uses familiar themes from popular fiction and reworks them into something original and memorable.

This science fiction/murder mystery takes place in a decaying 1920’s country house called Blackheath. The story begins as our narrator wakes up with no memory of his own identity or how he came to be at the estate.

His name is Aiden Bishop, and he is here for a reason. A mysterious masked figure informs him a murder will be committed and Bishop has eight chances to solve it. He will relive the same day eight times, but each morning he’ll wake up in a different body, or “host.” He’ll remember his experiences from previous hosts, but if he fails to give the masked man the name of the killer by day eight, Bishop’s memories will be erased and he will start all over again.

Bishop finds he has two rivals, also occupying hosts and also tasked with revealing the murderer. Only one of the three can succeed and thereby be freed from the time loop to return to their real life.

And, just to keep your heartbeat elevated, Turton has Bishop being sought by a psychopath knife-wielding footman who targets each host in turn.

That summary does no justice to the mind-boggling complexity of the plot. There is a twist on nearly every page, and there are 500 pages.

Fortunately, Stuart Turton has done a superb job writing it. In spite of the complexity, the story never fails to be engaging and invigorating. His writing is tight and polished and “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” is a delightful read.

I had the great fortune of a one-on-one interview with Stuart Turton. He was visiting the small city of Pordenone, Italy during the annual book festival there (If you have never been, make an effort to visit this festival. I have met extraordinary authors including Margaret Atwood, (the late) Umberto Eco, John Banville, Jeffery Deaver, Margaret George, Robert Harris, Peter Hoeg and many more.)

Turton and I sat down in Hotel Moderno to discuss “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.”

JS: Tell me about how you kept track of the sophisticated and complicated plot as you wrote. With so many different characters and plenty of time-jumping, it must have been quite a task.

ST: First, I spent three months planning it before I ever wrote a word. I wouldn’t allow myself to get to the dessert before I had my vegetable, so to speak. I had a massive Excel spreadsheet that detailed every two minutes of every character in the house. I started with the murder, for me that was the most important bit. The murder had to feel – not realistic because this is an Agatha Christie style mystery – but it had to be a murder that felt like one someone would want to commit for real reasons. And it had to be not solvable by a time travelling detective.

Once I had that, I did a massive map of the house and grounds in order to be sure an action going on in one place could be witnessed or overheard from another place.

Of course I did have lots of post-it notes and pages and pages of character notes. But then, working so long on it, I internalized it. So that once I had it, it was just in there. I knew every piece of it. I didn’t write chronologically, either. I wrote what excited me from one day to the next. Finally I built it all together.

I had to keep it fair, too. Like an Agatha Christie mystery, I saw it as a game. Everyone gets the same clues at the same time, and the murder gets solved fairly. I thought a few times about putting something else for a more dramatic moment, but had to remember that was not what I set out to do. I set out to be honest.

JS: In television and film, there is a person on the crew called Script Supervisor responsible for continuity in the story. I imagine that was an enormous task with this book. Did you have a team of editors who helped you with that?

ST: Yeah. When I finished the book, as any author does, I felt it was perfect. High fives, slapping myself on the back. Telling myself I am a genius. Well it got bought by my UK publisher and they brought in a timeline editor. So every time of day mentioned in the book, every hour, every minute, she mapped it all out to make sure it could happen the way I said it would happen. The amount of inconsistency she found was horrific. I spent two and half years doing this, I have a massive timeline in my house but she found these things. And of course every time I went back to fix one, another fell apart.

Then I had a copy editor, of course, and we had my brilliant UK editor, Alysson. She read every draft and corrected so much. Then after that, it has been sold in many countries. Each one had an editor and a translator and they all had questions. Finally we reached a point where there aren’t any more errors.

JS: I read that you described the process of writing it as “just awful.” I was going to ask you to explain that, but I think you just did.

ST: Well, not because of the planning bit of it, or the writing. I am not as a personality disposed to sit down in front of a computer all day. It’s just not what I do. I’m relatively active, I like being outside. But once you start writing, after a while you realize all you are doing is waking up at six in the morning and writing until sometimes two o’clock at night. You haven’t done anything else; you haven’t even left your house. And then when you do something else, you realize you’re adding days to the process. It’s getting longer. Every time you’re not working on the book you feel guilty because you’re not working on it. But you don’t want to only work on the book, either. Now that I am working on a second a book and the first one has done well, I have the ability to carve out a more reasonable schedule.

JS: So you don’t have deadlines from your publisher on the second book?

ST: Oh I do. I’ve sailed right by five of those. But I also had a baby. She is wonderful and my publisher has been very understanding. Stupidly, I didn’t think having a baby would impact daily work. “It will be fine, I’ll write at night while she’s asleep, she’ll have a nap during the day.” Honestly this was me two years ago. Incredible.

JS: Well congratulations.

ST: Thank you so much.

JS: The book is written in first person present tense. I have no statistics but it seems most novels are third person past tense. Did you find it difficult to write it that way? And did you even think there was an alternative?

ST: Not for this story, no. It felt like it was the only way this story could be told. With the multiple characters (all of them the narrator) first person present tense works better. I learned many readers don’t like reading first person present because they are not used to it. They don’t like it because it feels uncomfortable.

JS: That’s interesting. The book I am working on now is first person present. I am doing that deliberately because I feel it gives so much more immediacy to the story.

ST: Yeah. I agree. I absolutely agree. I recently did an event with the writer David Mitchell. He had a brilliant line about this. He said when he writes in first person present, he never has writer’s block because as well as he knows his characters, he can write in their perspective. When you write in third there is a distance (from the characters).

JS: The notion of redemption is a significant theme in “Evelyn Hardcastle.” It’s certainly important to the characters in this prison of Blackheath. Do you believe a horrific crime, such as what Annabelle did, can be forgiven? And do you believe a person truly can change?

ST: I think over a long enough period, yes. But I don’t think human life span is at the moment long enough. If you commit a horrific crime and go to prison, you won’t find redemption. That is not the aim of prison. The aim is to punish and destroy, basically. In our heart of hearts, that’s absolutely correct, the way it should be. I think fundamentally that is wrong. I think in terms of humanity what we strive to become, what we hope to become, incarceration should be with more social conscience. But we can’t carry on this way, we can’t keep throwing people into prison, we can’t keep building bigger prisons. It’s unsustainable. We’re going to have to come up with something. We need to get people through the prison system and back into society and not fall back into prison six months later. Recidivism is huge because once punished, always punished. The Annabelle thing was extreme but it had to be for the narrative. Do I believe she could be redeemed? Not in this lifetime not with the system as we have it. If we live longer, and technology is already providing that to some extent, but if we live longer, we can change. I am not the same guy now as I was when I was 20. I easily could have done something incredibly stupid when I was 20. Now I am not the same, but if we live even longer, then I can possibly really truly change. But at some point we have to start forgiving.

JS: I agree, but I am dubious that mankind is ready to have forgiveness become a more important part of our DNA. I don’t know if people are nice enough to do that.

ST: I absolutely agree. If Bin Laden had been captured rather than killed, put away for 60 years and released, it doesn’t matter. He’s still Osama Bin Laden. But I would like us to be that civilization where things can be forgiven. I come from a working class town in the north of England where sadly I know many people in prison. They are not bad people but there are not a lot of options left for them. It’s heartbreaking.

JS: Any thought of making a screenplay of this book?

ST: It’s been bought. A production company has bought it. There might be an announcement in a couple of weeks.

JS: Congratulations. Will you retain any input to that?

ST: No. None whatsoever, I sold the rights and that’s that.

JS: I know you are working on your second book and it is a genre mash-up murder mystery with more horror to it. Not science fiction.

ST: In three weeks is my next (final) deadline. I am having a lot of fun with it.

JS: Who are your favorite writers?

ST: Arundhati Roy is top of that list. “The God of Small Things” is entirely wonderful. What she does with metaphor, rhythm and language is a Master Class in writing. David Mitchell, Franz Kafka and Agatha Christie, obviously.

JS: And what are you reading now?

ST: I am reading “The Dry,” by Jane Harper. A murder mystery set in the Australian Outback in the middle of a heatwave. It’s great.

JS: Well, that’s it. I want to thank you very much for your time.

ST: Thank you.

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Small Town Book Festival Goes Big – Again (Part 2)

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The second part of this blog entry is about the authors I met the final day of the annual Pordenone Legge (“Pordenone Reads”) book festival in northeastern Italy. In my last post I talked about how this festival has grown over the years. This was the 19th festival, so look for the event in September 2019 to be one for the ages!

David Litt is interviewed at a bar. This is Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the authors I met on Sunday.

Lisa Halliday

Ms. Halliday is an American living in Milan, Italy where she works as a writer, editor and translator. She also worked for years in New York – you guessed it – in the publishing business.

Lisa Halliday at her press conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was introducing the Italian translation of her first novel, “Asymmetry.” It is an interesting work, divided into three separate parts. The first two are (at initial glance) completely unrelated, but the third is meant to provide a bridge between the two unrelated (hence the title…) stories. In the press conference, Halliday said the second part of the book was more her normal writing style than the first. I thought that was too bad as the first reminded me quite a bit of Kurt Vonnegut. I put him right up there with the best American writers ever. The second part was not bad, just in a much longer and prosaic style. It reminded me of Phillip Roth.

It turns out similarity to Roth makes sense as the two of them were “very close friends,” according to Halliday. And the first part of the book was kind of an autobiography (a relationship between an aging writer and a young woman in the New York publishing industry). She also mentioned her work was influenced by a writer named Jeff Dyer with his work “Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi.” I had never heard of it, but she confessed the idea of the structure of her “Asymmetry” came from that book. I read some reviews of that work and can definitely see some pretty serious influence.

During her press conference, she discussed some of the asymmetry that appears in the novel; different ages, different genders, different holds on power (in a relationship), different religions, beliefs, experiences, and on and on. She said she  wanted to ask if we can ever escape ourselves. and said she felt we can never really bridge the asymmetry of who we are versus who someone else is.

Me? I feel that is overthinking life way too much. I am much older than her, so maybe in my “wisdom” I have decided to not think so hard. That’s not to say I did not like her book. As I said, the first part reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut, which I mean as very high praise.

Here is a link to a review in New Yorker Magazine which gives her even higher praise.

 

David Litt

The final author I met was David Litt. This young man was one of the team of eight speechwriters for President Obama. He has just published a book titled “Thanks, Obama,” which chronicles his years in the White House.

David Litt answering a question during a press conference. He comes across as a very intelligent and thoughtful guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the press conference, I think he wanted to relate funny or poignant stories about his experiences with the President. Or he wanted to discuss the process the writing team used to translate the President’s world view into words for the masses. He was able to do that a little bit, but (mind you I am the only American in the room, everyone else is Italian) the other journalists wanted to hear if he could write for the President today. He said he did not think  the speechwriter had to agree with everything the President believes, but at least the big things. So, no he could not work in the White House today.

Since he said these days he was working with other candidates, I asked him if he thought there was anything traditional, serious political parties could do to push back against the wave of so-called populism of late. That “populism” is not only in the US, it is here in Italy, also in Poland, Austria, the UK and elsewhere. I identified Turkey and Hungary as perhaps being cautionary tales against too much populism.

He agreed with the last bit of my question but said he did not think populism is the correct way to describe what is happening politically these days. (Neither do I) He thinks the problem is demagogues as leaders, not populists. But then, in a more hopeful note, he talked about how the political landscape (at least in the US) really is changing. He pointed out the number of women and minority candidates who not only have run for office but have won elections. So he feels some push back has already started.

I have not yet read his book, but I found him an interesting and articulate and optimistic young man, so I will read it.

I spent two days at the book festival this year, which was not enough in my mind. In past editions I have visited all five days. But nonetheless, Pordenone Legge 2018 was a terrific success. Mark September 2019 on you calendars now! I know I have.

This all happened, more or less. Kurt Vonnegut in “Slaughterhouse 5”

 

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Small Town Book Festival Goes Big – Again! (Part 1)

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Each year the small town of Pordenone, in northeastern Italy, hosts a book festival. It’s called “Pordenone Legge” (Pordenone Reads). It just ended on September 23rd and and I was fortunate enough to visit on two of the five days of the event. Let me tell you about my experience the first day.

But first, a little bit about this festival. The town of Pordenone has a population of around 50,000. During the festival this year, an estimated 250,000 came to visit. The event is divided into various themes, which include Children’s Books, Travel Books, Art and Architecture, Current Events, Science, Philosophy, History and more. Huge tents are built where thousands of books are for sale, each day tens of thousands of people wander the charming streets in search of their favorite author.

Authors speak to the public from multiple venues ranging in size from a few hundred to a few thousand.

I love it when people wait in line to meet an author!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authors from all over the world come to speak to the public about their latest work (generally they are talking about a book that has just been released in Italy). Those presentation venues range in audience size from 150 to 3,000. In the ten years I have participated in this festival, I have rarely seen a venue that was not completely full. I love it.

And just to give you an idea of how this small town book festival is growing in stature, in 2013 there were 263 authors present. This year there were 600. And I am not talking about authors like me who few have ever heard of. Most of those invited to present here are famous, established, well-respected and successful masters of the craft.

Irish novelist John Banville is interviewed on the streets of Pordenone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of this happens in the historic downtown of Pordenone, sometimes in centuries-old palaces, sometimes right on the street. It is a very cool book festival.

Here are the authors I met on Saturday.

John Banville

Irish born Banville is a novelist, screenwriter and teacher. He was awarded the Booker Prize (UK equivalent to the Puliltzer) for “The Sea” in 2005. This year, he was presenting his latest work called “Isabel” in Italian where the English title is “Mrs. Osmond”. It is a sequel to the Henry James masterpiece “Portrait of a Lady.” I sat at a press conference when Banville was here in 2013 to present his work “Ancient Light” and found him interesting and with his dry wit, very entertaining. I am happy to say my impression has not changed.

John Banville listens as an interpreter translates a question from a journalist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few of the gems he shared with the small group of journalists who sat with him at his press conference this year.

Social phenomenon come and go but the essentials of life remain the same. As a novelist I believe art must be permanent, even if it reflects those current phenomenon.
Writing about current events is for journalists, not novelists.
A happy ending is not how life goes, so books should end with some ambiguity.
I write novels but am not very good at ideas.

You can see he is a serious writer who does not take himself too seriously. A pretty good lesson for all of us, I think.

 

Elizabeth McKenzie

American Elizabeth McKenzie is the senior editor of the Chicago Quarterly Review, a terrific independent literary journal. Her book “The Portable Veblen” published in English in 2016 has been translated to Italian under the title “L’amore nel Tempo degli Scoiattoli” which translates to “Love in the Time of Squirrels.” It is a strange and original story about finding the source of our actions and attitudes while struggling to mesh our beliefs with the world around us.

Elizabeth McKenzie at the start of her press conference. 600 authors participated at the book festival this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had some interesting things to share at her press conference.

We thrive creatively by facing difficulty.
Writing can be a way of getting revenge.
If you have something you are angry about, that’s the start of your novel.

I confess I do not entirely agree with her on any of those observations, but her background and life experiences are clearly very different than mine. Nonetheless, this book is definitely worth reading.

 

Margaret George

Margaret George is an American historical novelist who specializes in epic fictional biographies. Her incredibly well-researched works include “Elizabeth I,” “Mary, Called Magdalene,” “The Autobiography of Henry VIII: WIth Notes By His Fool, Will Somers” and others. Each is a unique look at her protagonist, steeped in detail and written in a style that brings her subject back to life. She was presenting the Italian version of her “Confessions of Young Nero.” The sequel to that will be released in the US on November 6, called “The Splendor Before the Dark.”

Margaret George poses behind the first of her books about Nero, just released in Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is keen to debunk the myths about Nero whom pretty much everyone pictures playing his violin as Rome burned around him. That image is completely false and she presents him as a brilliant and complex figure who has been maligned by history. I believe her as she talked about how thoroughly she researched her subject before writing more than 900 pages (the two books combined) in an effort to tell the story more accurately.

With help from a interpreter (left) and a moderator (right), Margaret George presents her first “Nero” novel to the Italian public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On that note, as I am working on a historical biography, I asked how she avoids becoming paralyzed by too much research. Her answer was that she follows a set rule: the first half of her work is research, the second half is writing. She gave me some tips on how, as research is gathered, to catalog things so the writing part flows more easily. I wish I had met her about five years ago when my research started, but not to worry, I am well on my way writing now!

 

Robert Harris

English novelist Robert Harris was a journalist before taking up novels. Some of his work is pure fiction (I recently finished “Conclave” which was excellent) and others are fictional accounts of historic events. That is the case in the book he was presenting, “Munich.” It is set in the Munich Conference of 1938 in which British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met in secret with Adolph Hitler in what was probably the first example of shuttle diplomacy. As an aside, I met Harris on September 22, the 80th anniversary of that conference.

Novelist Robert Harris, with an interpreter, talks at his press conference. After, he signed my copy of “Conclave.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He had worked for BBC and helped make a documentary on the 40th anniversary of that event, so confesses it has been something of an obsession with him.

Ideas he shared:

History gives you the facts, historical fiction tells you the story.
Do we learn from history? Maybe, maybe not. But unfortunately we do not learn to not make mistakes.
We are clearly living in a revolutionary time today. A full-blown cyber war is going on yet many do not recognize it.

Coming soon is Part 2, where I met novelist Lisa Halliday and former Obama speechwriter David Litt.

 

 

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Geraldine Brooks at the Pordenone Book Fair

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The last entry of my “authors who are better than me” series ends with Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks. She was visiting the Pordenone, Italy Book Fair and I had a chance to talk to her.

She is, of course, well known for such excellent works as “Caleb’s Crossing” and “Year of Wonder.” Her Pulitzer was for “March,” where she took the character of the absent father from Luisa May Alcott’s classic “Little Women.” Brooks follows March as he leaves home to support the cause of the Union in the American Civil War. I guess I don’t have to say much other than Pulitzer.

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She was here announcing the release of the Italian version of her most recent work, “The Secret Chord.” It tells the story of King David of Israel as told by his long-time advisor and seer, Natan.  One of the things that makes her interpretation so fascinating is she peels away the version of a superman and presents David as a normal person with ambition, greed and many vices.

She said she wanted to tell the story from the point of view of the women in David’s life. Batsheva, for example. “She was a victim, not a seductress. In that time, it is not believable that a woman could refuse the advances of the King.” In fact it was her desire to repaint the story of his wives that drew her to write “The Secret Chord.”

Because the novel I am working on now is Historical Fiction, I was anxious to ask her when she knew it was time to stop doing research and start doing the writing. Her answer makes perfect sense to me as a writer. “Let the story tell you what you need to know. Resist stuffing in extra facts whether the story needs them or not. When you are writing it, you will know what is necessary.”

As I said, it makes perfect sense to me, but actually doing that has been the challenge. Having talked to her about it has given me new energy – and writing it has restarted! Thank you, Geraldine Brooks.

By the way, I think “The Secret Chord” is a terrific novel. Plenty of it is uncomfortable to read, but David was a man, and we all have an idea what that means. Read it.

#PoweredByIndie

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Italian Book Fair (Part 3)

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Part three of my series about authors I met at the Pordenone, Italy Book Fair is Peter Hoeg.

A 59-year old novelist from Denmark, Hoeg is probably best known for “Smilla’s Sense of Snow. At the Pordenone Book Fair he was introducing his newest work, “The Effect of Susan.” This is a futuristic thriller that centers on the title character’s unique talent to get others to be completely honest and open with her regarding their deepest, darkest secrets.

Peter Hoeg at a Press Conference. Before long he had us all on our feet and participating!

Peter Hoeg at a Press Conference. Before long he had us all on our feet and participating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, we did not talk too much about that book. In fact the most striking characteristic about him  (to me at least) was his deep spirituality. He talked about his morning meditations being one of the most important parts of his day. At one point, he had us standing and shaking hands with each other. He described the handshake as one of the most intimate and important connections between two humans. The act of physically opening the space between two people (in order to shake hands) exposes the heart. He also described how the collection of nerve bundles in the hand sends signals to our brain, which then elicits emotions of trust and generosity.  OK.

We did discuss his writing processes, but everything he said was driven by his spiritual journey. He talked about the beauty of a book is that one lives in it. The writer lives there for three or four years while making the story. The reader lives there for two weeks while reading it. I had never thought of it that way, but then Hoeg’s world view is more spiritual than mine.

He was asked why so many of his lead characters are women. “I think it is important for men to know women very well. By understanding my fictional women, I can be closer to the real ones in my life; my daughters, my mother.”

After the conference, I asked him what was the longest it had ever taken him to finish a book. “The Quiet Girl” was a ten year journey. That journey included destroying 2,000 pages of hand-written manuscript, and then starting over.

Hearing that give me some comfort as I am in year 5 of my second novel now. Will I throw everything out and start over? Not likely. But then I am not in the same place as the fascinating Peter Hoeg.

#PoweredByIndie

 

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Italian Book Fair Keeps on Giving

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The second installment of my “discussions with writers who are way more accomplished than I am” deals with meeting Colm Toibin.

Born in Ireland in 1955, Toibin is probably best known internationally for “Brooklyn.” This is a gentle tale of a young Irish woman, not overly curious and never scarred by heartbreak. She travels to the United States from post-war Ireland where she will soon experience curiosity, love, tragedy and a host of emotions that make us – and her – completely human.

The Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy is the biggest event of the year for this small city.

The Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy is the biggest event of the year for this small city.

 

Toibin was at the annual Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy to present his newest work, “Nora Webster.” This one allows us to enter the life of a middle aged widow trying to keep her life on track after the premature death of her husband. Set in southern Ireland in the late 60’s, Coibin sticks with what he knows best – his land, in fact his own home town.

The conversation with Toibin was almost exclusively about the craft of writing. To be more specific, Colm Toibin’s craft of writing. During the discussion, he left me with what he considers the three most important points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Show don’t tell,” he said first.  This is something everyone who studies writing hears. But the reality is most of us are not very good at it. Toibin gives a pretty remarkable illustration of it in “Nora Webster,” though. Read it. You won’t find a single overt description of the lead character. No telling us about her “long red hair.” Instead we observe as she combs her hair with slow, deliberate motions, allowing us to see her with our own imagination.

 

Dramatize, dramatize, dramatize.  “Ambiguity in relationships between characters adds a rich tension and opens the door for drama to be introduced later in the story,” Toibin explained to us. I could not have said it better, nor could I write it better than he does in both “Brooklyn” and “Nora Webster.”

 

 

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Here, Toibin is signing my copy of "Brooklyn."

Here, Toibin is signing my copy of “Brooklyn.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, he stated his goal is for a reader to finish his book, put it down and think “I know her.” Having read the two novels mentioned here, I do feel if I met either character, I would know her immediately and be able to have an engaging conversation right away. So, thank you Colm Toibin, for introducing me to such interesting people.

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Annual Italian Book Fair Delivers Again (Part 1)

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Last week, the terrific annual Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy was in full swing. I’ve written about this event in the past, so won’t go into detail other than to mention what makes it really great.

Authors from all over the world are there. They meet the public, present their latest book, answer questions, walk around the charming city, and revel in the culture of reading that is so strong here.

The annual Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy involves the entire city.

The annual Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy involves the entire city.














 

I have been fortunate enough to get into Press Conferences where authors meet the media. These smaller venues lend themselves to a more animated discussion, which is exactly why I enjoy them.

The first author I met was Scottish-born Irvin Welsh who was presenting “The Blade Artist.” He is best known for his brutal but sometimes funny description of drug addiction, “Trainspotting.” When made into a grim and troubling film, movie-goers met Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.

“The Blade Artist” reintroduces us to one of the characters from “Trainspotting.” Begby – played by Carlyle in the film – has (sort of) cleaned up his life, changed his identity and moved to the U.S. The death of the son he hardly knew has him return to Edinburgh where old wounds are reopened.

Welsh talked about taking a former character and changing him so completely from his past. “I just wanted to keep up with the character. His trajectory was prison or death, not very interesting for a writer. I felt the possibility for change in Begby was an interesting idea.”

But you can be sure that some of Begby’s old habits will resurface.

Welsh talked about the phenomenon of what he dubbed white male rage. “We see it all over the world and in politics too; white male rage over the democratization and liberalization that has eroded their influence. Begby is the white male rage poster boy.”

Irvine Welsh talks with (mostly) Italian media.

Irvine Welsh talks with (mostly) Italian media.

 

 

 

Other media folks in the Press Conference were Italian, therefore interested in Brexit. Welsh called it a start, not an end. “It is a debate about who we are in England right now. It is exciting politically but there will be great stress on the society. But in the end, we just can’t have super-national organizations like the International Monetary Fund dictating to democracies. When a group like that protects banks but not states, it is a problem.”

Happily, the discussion went back to writing, or to reading, actually. Welsh said unless we encourage reading in schools, we are shutting the doors on the next generations. He feels doing so will likely increase the stress of white male rage and international disagreements and intolerance across ethnicities.

All in all, Welsh presented himself with an interesting and slightly pessimistic outlook.

Coming up:  Peter Hoeg, Colm Toibin, and Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks.

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Annual Book Fair in Pordenone, Italy Delivers Again

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It’s called “PordenoneLegge” in Italian. It translates to “Pordenone Reads.” Given there were more than 150,000 visitors over the five-day event, there must be many readers here.

From 16-20 September, this small city in Italy’s unexplored northeastern corner hosted the 16th annual Festival of Books With the Authors.  Most literary fairs feature booth after booth of publishers peddling books. There is some of that going on, but PordenoneLegge offers two realities to make this a special event.

Plenty of books are sold at this terrific festival, but the event is really about meeting the authors.

Plenty of books are sold at this terrific festival, but the event is really about meeting the authors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, the authors are here. They sit in bars sipping coffee – or perhaps something more interesting. They wander through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pordenone stopping occasionally to admire the architecture or, as was the case this year, they simply marvel at the near-perfect weather.

Canadian author/actress Ann-Marie MacDonald thrilled the audience by reading the first chapter of her new book in Italian.

Canadian author/actress Ann-Marie MacDonald thrilled the audience by reading the first chapter of her new book in Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second special attraction is the city becomes a character in the story that is this book fair. Authors might present a new book in an elegant old palazzo, or seated outside in a picturesque square surrounded by magnificent buildings. After some introductory remarks, they generally stay to answer questions from the public on any topic that comes to mind. This is followed by autograph and photo opportunities.

Hundreds of readers sit in a nice piazza to listen to an author present his book.

Hundreds of readers sit in a nice piazza to listen to an author present his book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took advantage of the proximity of one writer in particular, the Hungarian philosopher Agnes Heller. I really enjoy talking to people who are smarter than me. Admittedly it is not much of a challenge to find someone who fits that criteria, but Ms. Heller sets a new standard for brain power. For 45 minutes her remarks ranged from the on-going refugee crisis in Europe to the promise of beauty to the need for all of us to learn to think again.

 

Agnes Heller, a Hungarian philosopher, listens to a question during her press conference.

Agnes Heller, a Hungarian philosopher, listens to a question during her press conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had particularly harsh remarks about the actions of her native country in handling the influx of desperate people trying to escape tragic circumstances. In her mind, the false reports that came from Hungary fostered fear and hesitation among western nations who ought to receive the refugees with open arms and open hearts.

Her discussion of beauty started with the premise that beauty is the promise of happiness, being experienced in the moment. This was not about physical beauty, rather beauty in life; great music, nature, art, friendship. You get the idea: the good things in our lives. She said beauty does not necessarily deliver happiness – it does not save us.  Being temporary, it offers an opportunity to get closer to happiness for those who are ready to embrace it.

She tied the topics together by urging us to not take what we read or hear for granted. To grow, to do what is right, to move in the direction of happiness, a person must ask questions and take the time to think. Only then will one achieve growth and direction in their life.  Pretty thoughtful stuff.

What would reading a book be without a glass of wine? At PordenoneLegge, you don't have to find out!

What would reading a book be without a glass of wine? At PordenoneLegge, you don’t have to find out!

 

 

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Final Day of Pordenone Book Festival

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I know I said I would talk about meeting Umberto Eco in this post, but I am not going to say much. He signed three books for me, which is great, and he is an impressive intellect. But my favorite moment was when he sat on the couch in the lobby of a hotel with Margaret Atwood.

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What I will talk about is meeting Hannah Kent. If you have not yet heard of her, you will. Her first novel, “Burial Rites,” has just been translated to German, Spanish, and Italian. Check out her web page to read what some pretty heavy hitters have said about that book.

Hannah Kent (with a traslator) at a Press Conference during PordenoneLegge 2014.

Hannah Kent (with a traslator) at a Press Conference during PordenoneLegge 2014.

I read and really liked it. She is a young writer, not yet 30 years old. But has a mastery of the craft that far exceeds mine and most other authors I have read. If she continues to write, she will be enormously successful.

So go get a copy of “Burial Rites” today. If you are in a book group, add it to your list.

 

I spoke with  her for about 30 minutes. She is quite smart and seems fully committed to becoming a truly great writer. She graciously accepted a copy of my “The Salome Effect.” I will let you know what she says about it (if what she says is good).

Me with soon-to-be-incredibly-famous Hannah Kent

Me with soon-to-be-incredibly-famous Hannah Kent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, go get a copy of “Burial Rites,” and let me know what you think.