Writers
Loving Ruth
Yesterday morning, news reached me that the woman who had picked me from a pile of obscurity had died. 92 year-old Ruth Cavin, the legendary Ruth, who started her career at the age of sixty and overnight seized the heart of the publishing industry; whose eye went to the essence of a book’s strengths—and weaknesses;…
Read MoreBoucherCon revisited (I)
(BoucherCon starts Thursday in San Francisco—you can still register, or get day passes, including for Friday when I am grilled—er, interviewed by Dana Stabenow. I’ll post in the days leading up to BCon with memories about BCons past.) “Are you a writer?” Um, well. This was 1990, in London, and although I had been writing…
Read MoreIn love with Michael
I’m in love with Michael Dirda, damn him. Michael is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a number of dauntingly erudite yet gorgeously readable books about books. He writes equally stunning essays for the New York Times, the Barnes & Noble Review, and, well, pretty much any venue where the printed word is discussed. I’ve met…
Read MoreFour women, one amazing conversation
Next month, on February 16, four women will sit down in an Arizona ballroom and talk books. Of course, women talking books is hardly unusual, but in this case the women might be saying things that others would like to listen in on. Barbara Peters is in charge. Barbara’s the queen bee of Poisoned Pen…
Read MoreI only read it for the articles
Writing is widely regarded, I am often startled to discover, as inherently cool. As a person who spends her days muttering to herself in a book-padded room (although rarely in pajamas) I need reminding of the exotic caché of Being a Writer. Mostly I get those reminders through my friends, such as this weekend in…
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