I am many things: An improvisational cook, a skydiver, a bungee jumper, a hang-glider, a cliff-jumper, a cave explorer, a New Yorker, a reader, a dreamer, a critic, a coffee-lover, a person who can count to ten in four languages and, of course, an agent.

I am not, however, a runner.

But when my best friend and former college roommate, Katie, told me she signed up for an upcoming half marathon in Napa to raise money for Crohn’s Disease research (an often debilitating gastrointestinal disease from which Katie herself suffers), I couldn’t let her do it alone.

“I hope you’re not doing this just for me,” she said.
“I’m doing it for myself,” I said. (Lie).
“Good.”
“I want to get healthy.” (Half-lie).
“You have to get up at 7am Saturday mornings for training.”
“I don’t mind.” (lie so huge I even surprised myself). “But I am also doing it because I’ve seen how sick you can get and I want to support you. (The only truth). We’ll do it together.”

And I promised myself that throughout the training, I wasn’t going to complain. I didn’t complain when I had to wake up at 6am on Saturday mornings, or on the long taxi rides up to Central Park for running practice (yes, in NYC you take taxis to places in order to run), or even when our practice mileage went from 2 to 4 to 8 to 10 miles plus Harlem Hill.

On the day of the race we crossed the starting line at sunrise. Armed with a pocket Powerbar, I huffed my way through beautiful vineyards, up and down rolling hills and past red barns. In the end, it was an amazing experience, and that’s really why I did it. Writers, agents, editors—we’re all “experience addicts.” Every time I read a manuscript I’m looking to try on a new experience to satisfy my curiosity. In this case, I found out what it would be to call myself a runner. Though next time, I might just read a book about running….
-KP

I was honored to be invited to attend my neighborhood book club this month to discuss Lunch in Paris, a memoir by Elizabeth Bard (www.elizabethbard.com). My friend Eileen happened to notice that I was thanked in the acknowledgments (who knew anyone actually read the acknowledgements) and thought it would be fun to have me join in. Twelve smart women gathered on a breezy summer evening at the beach for French wine and home made goodies right out of the book, like stuffed zucchini flowers, tabbouleh, melon in port, and mini almond cakes. What could be bad about that? It felt a bit like getting together to hear your friends talk about your children. Again, what could be bad about that? Interesting to hear how everyone felt about different aspects of Elizabeth’s life story and about the recipes. The comparisons to Eat, Pray, Love and other books make for lively conversation. It was also fun to share some of the behind-the-scenes stories like how I first met Elizabeth and what's gone on in her life since the book came out earlier this year, including the sale of the film rights and how all that happens. The whole night was totally fun, prideful, and, I must admit, strangely narcissistic.

At the end of the evening I offered a quick pitch on some other WSA books. I came prepared with some books (everyone loves a little swag, right?) and am thrilled that Brigid Pasulka's (www.BrigidPasulka.com)stunning debut novel A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True was chosen for next month's selection. Happy reading...
-Wendy

by Mary Sharratt

Thomas Wolfe’s iconic novel You Can’t Go Home Again explores the difficulty of returning to one’s childhood home after experiencing the freedom and sophistication of the wider world.

After the eruption of an Icelandic volcano last week, Wolfe’s words have taken on a completely new meaning as countless travelers find themselves stranded. I am one among many.

On April 3, I set off on my book tour to launch my new novel, Daughters of the Witching Hill. Flying from my adopted home in Lancashire, Northern England, I had a wonderful time doing book events in Boston and Salem before flying on to Minnesota, my childhood home, where I happily reunited with family and friends, old and new, between readings and interviews.

On Sunday April 18, my planned departure date, I was ready to go home to my husband and my pony. However, it was not to be. My flight was canceled due to air traffic restrictions over Europe. The earliest I can fly back to England is Monday, April 26.

Meanwhile I wait in limbo, hoping to book some more author events so I can at least make my extra time here useful. And I’m busily writing posts for my ongoing Virtual Blog Tour.
You truly can’t go home again . . . until flight restrictions are eased and they have a free seat available.

Suggested links:

Click here to purchase book

Blog tour

English author Mary Sharratt has longer book tour, thanks to Iceland ash

I had the honor of attending the PEN/Hemingway awards at the JFK Library Boston last weekend with Brigid Pasulka , winner of this year's prize for her debut novel A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True. I was filled with pride and thrilled to be reacquainted with old publishing friends, and meet many new ones including this year's judges Gail Tsukiyama , Michael Lowenthal and Julia Glass. Dorothy Allison's keynote address was characteristically amusing and who wouldn't be impressed (as I was) to meet Patrick Hemingway, who presented the award.

Being part of this weekend-long festivity was heartwarming (I admit to actually tearing up during Brigid's acceptance speech) and inspiring and an experience I will never forget. At a time when it is increasingly difficult to draw attention to new writers, I hope this award will introduce Brigid's amazing first novel to the large audience it so richly deserves.

(photographs courtesy of the JFK Library)

Congratulations to Brigid Pasulka, who has been awarded the 2010 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for a distinguished first book of fiction for A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

It is with extra special pride that we applaud Brigid and are thrilled to see her amazing novel receive such a distinguished honor.

Click here to view the full press release!

Click here to read the article from the Chicago Tribune

Happy New Year! We hope this finds our readers well rested from a holiday break! We spent our time off catching up on reading and it seems like we received an unusually high volume of memoir submissions. This left us wondering, why is memoir so popular? Is it the transparency of the world we live in today? Is it our collective obsession with celebrity love lives that lends itself to curiosity about how ordinary people overcome extraordinary obstacles? As we caught up on emails sent over the break, we mused; is it the "me" generation's fascination with telling its own individual stories? Or maybe it is just the sheer voyeurism born out of the social networking era. Perhaps we are all just craving the story of the person behind the Facebook page or the Tweet. If Facebook is looking into other peoples' windows, is it possible that memoir is taking it a step further by sitting in other peoples' living rooms?

So what makes a good memoir? Well, we think it's a work that braids a fantastic, original voice and an unforgettable experience. A well-written memoir immerses us in a world so vivid, a place so unusual, and a plot so well-crafted that we are happy to sit in that living room for as long as it takes to truly experience the story. And what a treat when we find that magical combination!

Just about the highest praise for memoir is that is "reads like fiction" (but isn't!) because, in essence, the basic principles of all stories are the same. The unusual plot twists, the rich characters and the meaningful endings all leave us with the same sense of looking at the world through someone else's eyes. So we challenge you to embrace the voracious voyeurism that permeates our new world in 2010 and we dare you to satisfy us, dazzle us with your prose and invite us to sit on your couch with you as we all look out our windows towards a New Year.

-Wendy and Kim

I've been working on a lot of thrillers and mysteries lately, which can be a great thing- recently I've been privy to taxidermy-obsessed serial killers, zombies who become abnormally strong, and drug busts in the beautiful but dangerous city of Charleston, SC. But now it's time for a good cry- that's right, I'm asking specifically for some beautiful, heartbreaking, upmarket women's fiction.

I love anything to do with animals, heartbreaking family secrets, food, lost loves, and destiny. I prefer it when everything ends up happily, but things were lost along the way. I need a hook that gets me interested in the first place, and characters that I will gladly give up my weekend to spend time with them. Unusual is good; I'm a big fan of The Time Traveler's Wife and Dogs of Babel.

So send on the good stuff- no need to include a hankie, I'll be providing my own!

-Michelle Brower

Labels: fiction, submissions