Will Poole’s Island named to Bank Street’s Best Books of the Year
March 23, 2015 § 3 Comments
Very pleased to note that Will Poole’s Island has made the prestigious Bank Street College of Education’s annual list of “The Best Children’s Books of the Year.” Will Poole’s Island was chosen in the “Mystery and Adventure” category, and although the novel was not written exclusively for children, it’s a great honor to make the list—and it increases the likelihood of getting it into the hands of more readers of all ages. The 2015 edition recognizes books published in 2014.
Upcoming talks and appearances
March 20, 2015 § Leave a comment
Looking forward to a busy spring and summer of talks and appearances! If you’re attending any of these events, I look forward to meeting you there. If you can’t make any of them but are interested in similar content, there are still openings in these wonderful, intensive writing seminars at GrubStreet in Boston.
April 24 – 26, 2015: Talks on the Jungian Shadow in YA Fiction and Image Systems in Fiction. New England Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Conference, Springfield, MA
May 1 – 3, 2015: “Voice and Dialog in Historical Fiction.” GrubStreet’s Muse & The Marketplace Conference, Boston, MA 
July 12 – 17, 2015: “Life Stories: Creative Adventurers, Adventurous Creators” (5-part lecture series). All-Star 2 Family Conference. Star Island, Isles of Shoals, NH July
18 – 24, 2015: Guest author, Writing in Prague program (Putney Student Travel)
New Cuba travel article out
March 15, 2015 § 3 Comments
A new article about the changes on the ground in Cuba, based on observations made during my recent National Geographic Expeditions trip to the island, is up at TravelPulse. Take a look.
Spring novel writing classes at GrubStreet
March 13, 2015 § Leave a comment
It’s been a great experience working with seven talented aspiring novelists in my 10 week Novel in Progress course this winter. I find that focusing in on particular aspects of craft of fiction is immediately beneficial in terms of one’s own work, and even more so in the long term, because it leads to greater fluency and range as a writer.
For these reasons, and because I very much enjoy teaching, I’ve agreed to offer yet another 10 week Novel in Progress course on Thursday evenings beginning April 9th. If you’re near Boston and working on a novel, join us! We have a lot of fun. And if my current students are any indication, you will make great strides on your project.
If you’re interested but can’t commit to 10 weeks, your can join one these intensive, one-off classes:
Voice and Dialog in Historical Fiction (Saturday, March 28, 10-5)
Crafting the Killer Novel Opening (Saturday, April 11, 10-5)
The Lost World: Harnessing the Power of Descriptive Prose in the Novel (Wednesday, June 17, 6-9 PM)
Click here for the full details on all my GrubStreet courses.
A Return to the New Cuba
February 14, 2015 § Leave a comment
The Capitolio swathed in scaffolding. Interested to see the progress . . .
After an eight month absence, I’m heading back to Havana. Much has happened in the intervening time, and it will be fascinating to see how these events are reflected in the reality on the ground. Whatever the case, Cuba is always an engaging and exciting place to be, so I’m looking forward to the trip.
I’ll be accompanying a National Geographic group, where my duties include, among other things, delivering a three-part lecture series: on Spanish colonial Cuba and the historic roots of the U.S.-Cuba relationship; on 20th century Cuba and the triumph of Fidel Castro’s Revolution; and on Hemingway’s three decades in Cuba. The group will spend time in Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, and various interesting points in between, meeting with scores of wonderful Cubans, including many new friends and some old friends and contacts!
With a friendly and engaging Nat Geo group last year
If you’re reading this and find yourself yearning to travel to Cuba to see what all the fuss is about, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’ve got several affordable private trips in the works for the fall of 2015 and the late winter/spring of 2016, and the chances are there is still an opening!
The Historical Novel Society reviews Will Poole’s Island
February 11, 2015 § Leave a comment
The Historical Novel Society is an organization I respect, so I am quite honored that they have deemed Will Poole’s Island important enough to feature. Their reviewer made some interesting points about the book, and I think that in the final analysis he “got” it. What more can a first-time novelist ask?
Here’s the quote the reviewer references regarding my approach to mythic thinking within the novel:
“Unless we can find some way to understand the reality of mythic thinking we remain prisoners of our own language, our own thoughtworld. In our world one story is real, the other, fantasy. In the Indian way of thinking both stories are true because they describe personal experience . . . Historical events happened once and are gone forever. Mythic events return like the swans of spring . . . They are essential truths, not contingent ones.” – Robin Ridington
Read the full review here.
Novel Excerpt in The Island Review
February 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
Nice to see this excerpt from Will Poole’s Island published today in The Island Review. My thanks to Malachy Tallack and the rest of the TIR staff – it’s a great publication to subscribe to if you love islands and good writing!
Shortlisted for the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards
January 20, 2015 § 2 Comments
I won’t be able to attend because of other commitments, but it’s an honor to have been chosen as a finalist for Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards. The selected story, provisionally titled “The Dragons of Conchagua,” has yet to be published.
Winter writing courses at GrubStreet
December 8, 2014 § Leave a comment
Well, I must say I had fun this fall teaching several day-long classes on the writing craft at GrubStreet. It’s nice to have an excuse to spend more time in Boston, and GrubStreet students tend to be well educated, well read, open-minded, serious about writing, and eager to learn their craft. In this environment the learning experience definitely runs both ways. There’s something wonderfully inspiring about spending a stretch of time geeking out about craft with a bunch of other literary-minded introverts, and I believe it’s essential for a practicing novelist to keep educating himself in the analytical aspects of the craft. That’s exactly what teaching these classes does for me — and if I can help other aspiring writers get closer to their goals in the process, that’s certainly an excellent bonus.
I’m very much looking to teaching two more GrubStreet classes this winter. The first is a ten-week novel-writing class, in which we’ll be discussing many different aspects of the craft, including structure, scenes, dialog, characters, language, voice, point of view, image systems, backstory, the opening, and more, in addition to generating quite a bit of in-class work of either the first draft or the revised variety. The second class is a day-long affair focused on voice and dialog in historical fiction. So, Boston area writers, if any of this intrigues you, I urge you to take the leap! (And feel free to contact me if you have questions or doubts.)
Two new articles out for Thanksgiving
November 26, 2014 § Leave a comment
Some reading material, and a bit of food for thought as you’re digesting your bird . . .
“It’s Long Past Time to Update the Thanksgiving Myth,” Talking Points Memo. New perspectives on the early origins of America, based in part on personal revelations from the research for Will Poole’s Island.
“A Taste of History,” Nantucket Magazine. Notes on the history of early English settlement on Nantucket and interactions with the resident Wampanoags. Includes a speculative menu of an imagined first Thanksgiving on the island.
