Will Poole’s Island is Nantucket Bookworks’ Pick of the Month
July 28, 2014 § Leave a comment
Great news this morning from one of the world’s greatest independent bookstores: Will Poole’s Island has been selected as Nantucket Bookworks‘ Teen Pick of the Month!
If you’ve been lucky enough to visit the mysterious and evocative isle of Nantucket then you know that this bookstore and its partner store, Mitchell’s Books, are essential landmarks for readers and must-do stops in historic downtown. It’s a great honor to receive this nod from what has long been a rainy day refuge for me and countless others — all the sweeter because the historical and physical landscapes of the island were so important to the writing of the novel.
Order the book directly from the bookstore here.
New historical fiction article up at The Grub Daily
July 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
My two part writing craft article, “Narrative as Time Machine: Five Tools for World Building in Historical Fiction” is now up at The Grub Daily.
The article grew out of a talk I gave at Grub Street’s fantastic Muse and the Marketplace conference in May, 2014, and analyzes key excerpts from great historical fiction novels such as The Age of Innocence, The English Patient, Cold Mountain, The King Must Die, and more. If this sounds interesting to you, click here. Hope you enjoy it!
Writing in Ireland Program
July 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
This week I am once again privileged to joining a group of young American writers on Putney Student Travel’s Writing in Ireland program. We’ll be spending time in Dublin and on the stunning, mystical isle of Inishbofin off the Connemara coast. Very excited!
As anyone who’s been following this blog knows, in my day job I travel a great deal — mostly to Spanish-speaking countries with wonderful organizations like National Geographic Expeditions and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center — but I have to say this is a special trip, one of my favorites. There’s nothing like working and adventuring with a group of passionate young writers who are up for anything and enjoy spending all day and night geeking out about literature and craft.
We’ll do field exercises to generate new work, have some feedback sessions leading to revision, and of course mount a final reading, which will take place this year on July 12th, 2014, from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., at the Irish Writer’s Centre, located at 19 Parnell Square, Dublin.
If you’re interested to see what we’re up to and what an international travel program for young writers looks like, take a look at the program blog.
Kirkus Reviews!
June 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Immersive, like the best of historical fiction . . . This riveting portrayal of early Colonial New England shines a speculative but compelling light on the time and place.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Read the full review here. 
Early Reviews: Will Poole’s Island
June 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
Ron Samul of the New London Patch has written a thoughtful advance review of Will Poole’s Island. Here’s an excerpt:
“Will Poole’s Island is more than a coming of age story . . . the reader is left with a longing to find that place, that moment when everything is right and the everything is possible. It is a longing we all search for spiritually, geographically, and emotionally. This book proves that oppression, obstacles, fate, and the world we live in should not stop us from seeking that place. If we can’t find it right now, walk in the shoes of Will Poole and rediscover that lost island in your life. It will inspire you.” Click here to read the full review.
Author and blogger Patrick Joyce has also written eloquently about the book:
“Will Poole put me in mind of other boys in other places who ran away into the great wide world, searching for their place in it, also casting their lots with a social or cultural Other: Huck Finn, Jim Hawkins, and, most of all, Kim. Their stories had equally strong senses of place, with a similar innocence; Kipling’s Kim combined those with a spiritual element. And like Kim, Will Poole’s Island ends with a satisfying, ethereal quality.” Click here to read the full review.
The official launch date of the paperback is August 15, but books are already available to order from Nantucket Book Partners, Amazon, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, or through your own favorite independent bookstore. For occasional news and updates, “like” the Will Poole’s Island page on Facebook.
“Tower Eight” wins Grand Prize in Outrider Press anthology
May 22, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Tower Eight” is one of my favorite short stories, first published in Gulf Coast way back in 2005. So I was very pleased to hear that an extended excerpt of that story will be appearing in Outrider Press’s forthcoming anthology, The Mountain. Even happier to learn that “Tower Eight” has been selected as the anthology’s Grand Prize winner, which comes with a nice cash award.
Since 1996, Outrider has produced the renowned “Black and White” anthology series, so named because of their unique signature covers, each different but all designed solely in black and white. For now, you can pre-order the anthology by emailing outriderpress@sbcglobal.net. I’ll post a notice when the book comes out about other buying options.
Historical Fiction talk at Grub Street’s Muse and the Marketplace 2014
May 1, 2014 § 2 Comments
Very excited to be heading down to Boston tomorrow morning for Grub Street’s annual Muse & The Marketplace conference. I don’t attend many writing conferences, but I’ve been lucky enough to have participated in this one for the last two years and it’s very, very good. Grub Street is somehow able to attract such a smart and friendly crowd of writers, agents, editors, and various others associated with this business of putting words on paper to enrich and enliven our world.
Also exciting: this year will be my first as a presenter, or “Special Guest,” in the official parlance. I’ll be giving a talk called “Narrative as Time Machine: The Art of World-Building in Historical Fiction.” The talk will feature excerpts from some of my favorite works of historical fiction, including Edith Wharton’s classic The Age of Innocence, Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, James Welch’s Fool’s Crow, Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Very much looking forward to it!
While there, I’ll have a chance to run a couple of works-in-progress by a few agents and editors, and, perhaps most exciting of all, I’ll be bringing along (and giving away) several advance readers’ copies of my new novel, Will Poole’s Island, which has an official release date of August 15, 2014, and which, ahem, can now be pre-ordered on Amazon. Wish me luck!
Short fiction collection a finalist for the New Rivers Press Many Voices Project
April 24, 2014 § Leave a comment
I actually got a call about this a few days ago, but I didn’t want to post it here until it was “official,” i.e., until the public announcement had been made. Anyway, now that is is official, I am honored to report that my short fiction collection, provisionally titled Crime and Fly Fishing, has been selected as one of ten finalists for this year’s Many Voices Project prize! New Rivers Press is a wonderful Minnesota-based organization whose mission, in part is to “publish and promote enduring contemporary literature.” The Many Voices Project (MVP) is an annual competition the press has run since 1981 for “new and emerging” writers, meaning writers that have not published more than two books of creative writing. MVP is the oldest competition of its kind and has a prestigious reputation, and I couldn’t be more excited to be among the finalists. Please keep your fingers crossed!
Back into the time capsule
March 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
Excited to be heading back to Cuba with National Geographic Expeditions from March 30 to April 7! I’ve done this particular itinerary a good number of times now, and there are almost always surprises — most of them pleasant, all of them fascinating.
Then again, it’s impossible to be in Cuba on any given day and NOT have a fascinating experience of one kind or another. This is particularly true because the island is undergoing such a rapid period of change; every time I return there are changes, most of them subtle, some of them not. Don’t worry, I’m taking notes!
If anyone is looking for an opportunity to experience for yourself what I’m talking about, here’s an upcoming program I particularly recommend.
Tim Weed 