Second novel sold to Viking

Yesterday I signed my second book contract -- again with editor Pamela Dorman at Viking. The new novel, as yet untitled, is also set in the Midwest. I'm ecstatic and honored  to be working with Pam  again, and even though my Kitchens tour hasn't even started yet, I already can't wait to be back home with  the new book.

Literary Death Match: Tuesday, May 5th, at the Ace Hotel in London

From the Literary Death Match website:

Want your May to be life-changing? Us, too, which is why we're teaming with  Quercus Books    to bring you the first in a run of May brilliance, starting with a Pulitzer Prize winner all the way from America with our first-ever show at  The Ace Hotel  in Shoreditch! 

What is Literary Death Match?  Four writers read their own work for seven minutes or less, and are then judged by three all-star judges. Two finalists are chosen to compete in the Literary Death Match finale, a vaguely-literary game to decide the ultimate winner. 

JUDGES: 
Literary Merit:  Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of  A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
Performance:  Elizabeth Day, award-winning journalist and author of    Home Fires
Intangibles:  Anthony Davis, writer, Smooth Radio drivetime host, aviation journalist

READERS:
J. Ryan Stradal, author of  Kitchens of the Great Midwest
Jessica Cornwell, author of  The Serpent Papers 
Tom Moran, author of  Dinosaurs and Prime Numbers,  first recipient of the  Guardian  Legend Self Published Book of the Month
Lucy Foley, author of  The Book of Lost and Found

Hosted by LDM Creator  Adrian Todd Zuniga  & LDM Executive Producer  Suzanne Azzopardi

Where:  Ace Hotel (Miranda),  100 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JQ  (map)
When:  Show at 8.15pm sharp; doors at 7pm; 
Cost:  £6 early bird, £8 preorder, £10 at the door.

"Writing Niche Topics" panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

I'm moderating a panel this Saturday 4/18 at the  Los Angeles Times Festival of Books  on "Writing Niche Topics" with four diverse and impressive writers: Amy Alkon (The Advice Goddess), Joshua Davis (Wired, Epic Magazine), Michael Jaime-Becerra (author of Every Night Is Ladies' Night), and Mary Norris (New Yorker copy editor, author of Between You & Me). Conversation #1112, noon at the Annenberg Auditorium. If you're already at the  Festival, I hope you can come on by.

More info and ticket reservations at the LATFOB website.

HOT DISH Brunch Party at 826LA, Sunday March 29th

Hot Dish Reading Series returns to 826LA for its third annual brunch party on Sunday, March 29th.

Featuring playwright Dorothy Fortenberry (Status Update), novelist James Hannaham (Delicious Foods), journalist Ana Kasparian (The Young Turks), non-fiction author JJ Keith (Motherhood Smotherhood), writer Samantha Powell (The Toast) and writer Lilliam Rivera (PEN Center USA), plus a full brunch spread and beverages.

Admission for all of this is only $10, one hundred percent of which goes to support the student programs at 826LA. 

Doors are at 12:00 noon -- please enter through the Echo Park Time Travel Mart storefront on 1714 Sunset Blvd, and proceed to the back. We'll get started around 12:30 pm, or once everyone has had a chance to get a mimosa and something to eat. Hope to see you there -- and until then, watch  the    826LA  page for updates.

Reading at AWP for The Rumpus on April 11th

The Rumpus and Fence proudly present GUTTER TALK, an AWP offsite event.

With readings by Antonia Crane, Nick Flynn, Ottessa Moshfegh, J. Ryan Stradal, and Amber Tamblyn!

Saturday, April 11th
Doors open at 6 p.m., readings from 7–8:30 p.m.

Bryant Lake Bowl Theater
810 W. Lake St.

Tickets $7/$5 with AWP badge.  Reservations:  www.bryantlakebowl.com  or (fee free!) 612-825-8949. Please call box office to receive AWP discount.

Space is limited, so reserve your spot now! Hope to see you there!

More info on the Facebook invite page.

Nick Hornby interview for Goodreads

English author and screenwriter Nick Hornby, perhaps best known for his autobiography  Fever Pitch    and his novels  High Fidelity  and  About a Boy, returns to bookstores this month with  Funny Girl, his first novel in over five years. 

Just before departing on his book tour, Hornby spoke with Goodreads Author  J. Ryan Stradal    about  Funny Girl's manifold influences, the challenge of writing a novel with no antihero, and his film projects, including his recent screen adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's  Wild

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Feature on Kitchens of the Great Midwest in the Hastings Star Gazette

Seems appropriate that my first interview for Kitchens of the Great Midwest is with my hometown newspaper. It was a forty-five minute conversation and a total blast to catch up and talk about the past & present with editor Chad Richardson.  

For now, their feature is available here, but it may go up behind a paywall before long.

Thanks for reading, as always.

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California Prose Directory Fiction Night to support 826LA

Please join us for the second and final California Prose Directory event in Los Angeles, featuring an all-star lineup of LA fiction writers:  Carribean Fragoza,  Jim Gavin, Dana Johnson,  Lou Mathews, and  Rob Roberge.

WHEN: Saturday, January 31st at 826LA Mar Vista, 12515 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. Doors at 5:30 pm, event begins at 6:00 pm.

WHAT ELSE: There will be wine (and non-alcoholic beverages).

TO GET IN: $10 at the door (100% goes to 826LA) or free with  purchase of the anthology. Reserving your seat  in advance is highly recommended; both the advance tickets and the anthology are available now at the  826LA online store.

 

Interview with Dinah Lenney at Los Angeles Review of Books

“Whether you’re a resident, visitor, or future resident, whether you’re drawn to Joshua Tree, Silicon Valley, or the would-be breakaway counties on the Oregon border, you’ll find California plentiful with stories of reinvention and risk-taking […].” 

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California Prose Directory event to benefit 826LA

On Saturday, November 1st at 6:30 pm, the California Prose Directory is having its first Los Angeles event, featuring five of the anthology's non-fiction contributors: Ann Friedman, Rico Gagliano, Amelia Gray, David Ulin, and Deborah Vankin. The evening is a benefit for 826LA and will be held at its Echo Park location on 1714 W. Sunset Blvd.

For more information, including advance ticket sales, please visit 826LA's website.

California Prose Directory for sale now

The anthology I edited of California writers and writing -- featuring fiction and non-fiction from established authors like Aimee Bender, Dana Goodyear, Amelia Gray, and Jerry Stahl alongside emerging writers like Carribean Fragoza, Benj Hewitt, and Zoe Ruiz -- is now available for sale everywhere.  

Very proud of this collection. Huge thanks in particular to Jon Roemer, Charles McLeod, Sarah LaBrie, Lindsay Merbaum Sinclair, and Amanda Karkoutly.

 

 

 

 

Dinner Party Hot Dish at LitCrawl: Noho -- Wednesday, October 22nd

American Public Media's "Dinner Party Download" and LA's Hot Dish Reading Series team up with Art Institute: Los Angeles in a one-night only event, featuring dinner party-appropriate stories, anecdotes, and amusing asides from:

Rico Gagliano (public radio's "The Dinner Party")
Summer Block Kumar (McSweeney's, Hot Dish Reading Series)
Lou Mathews (writer of the novel "L.A. Breakdown" and award-winning short story writer)
Davy Rothbart (Found Magazine; My Heart Is An Idiot)
Kent Woodyard (Non-Essential Mnemonics, featured in McSweeney's, forthcoming on Prospect Park Books)

Also, Chef Mauro Rossi and his culinary students at the Art Institute will be creating small plates themed to the content in some of the stories. Bring an appetite.

Wednesday, October 22nd / 9:00 PM / 5250 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601

Hosted by Rico Gagliano & myself. Hope to see you there.

Two Readings in August

Sunday, August 24th at 6:00 pm at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, I'm reading with the excellent Jim Ruland and Dinah Lenney, among others, as part of Conrad Romo's long-running Tongue & Groove series. 

Tuesday, August 26th, at 8:00 pm, I'm joining fellow Rumpus contributors Antonia Crane, Lauren Eggert-Crowe, Seth Fischer, and Ashley Perez at Union Station's TRAXX Bar in a show called "Rumpus Rebels: A Night of Hilarity." This is part of WritLarge Press' wonderfully ambitious #90for90 series, where they're hosting a literary event in Los Angeles for 90 consecutive nights. 

 

Reading tonight at Union Station

Tonight: I'm joining local writers reading their latest works at WILL WRIGHT READS with Peter Darchuk, Chip Godwin, Linda Immediato, Alissa Walker, Margaret Wappler, and myself.

Monday, July 28 (7pm)
DTLAB @ TRAXX
800 North Alameda Street, #122
Los Angeles, CA 90012

"A Picture is Worth 500 Words" in Hollywood

For one night, a pop-up entitled ‘A Picture is Worth 500 Words’, will feature seven architects and six writers who will read in a space near Hollywood. 

Conceived and produced by Martina Dolesjova, each writer received an image from a participating architect, with an assignment of interpreting it in no more than 500 words. The information of the title, artist, and any historic nature was left out on purpose in order for them to bring their own understandings to the image. With the rapidity of visual representation in today’s world, quick understandings or misunderstandings are a part of the narratives that deepen the meaning of an image. As we are all exposed to interpretation, this is to be celebrated. 

Each story will inspire the artist and audience to rethink visual context and relationships. It is a dialogue between art, space and storytelling. The w
riters include: Taleen Kali, Gabrielle Lim, Matt MacFarland, Anthony Miller, Theresa Sotto, and myself. There will also be music by John Isaac Watters.

6:30 pm on Friday, July 25th at 5544 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. Free.


2014 California Prose Directory available for pre-sale

I edited this collection of California writing & writers, featuring stories from Aimee Bender, Ann Friedman, Rico Gagliano, Jim Gavin, Dana Goodyear, Dana Johnson, Eyad Karkoutly, Lou Mathews, Joshua Mohr, Wendy C. Ortiz, Rob Roberge, Jim Ruland, Jerry Stahl, Deborah Vankin and more. Additional details, and pre-order information, here.