Whoa. Kitchens has been named the 2016 "INDIES CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD – ADULT DEBUT WINNER" by the American Booksellers Association. I honestly can't believe it.
Immense gratitude to the independent booksellers I've met over the last year who helped support an unknown (and kind of weird) Minnesota native and his unusual book. I don't need an award to let you know how much you've meant to me. I hope to see you again and again in the years to come.
This month, I'm back in the Midwest, doing talks, readings, panels, and book signings at the annual Writers' Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Saturday 4/16 & Sunday 4/17) and the Fox Cities Book Festival in Neenah, Wisconsin and Kaukauna, Wisconsin (Monday 4/18).
Check the links above for more details, and if you're nearby, I hope to see you there.
My strange little book about the people and food I experienced while growing up Minnesota is a finalist for a 2016 ABA Indies Choice Book Award, in the category of "Book of the Year -- Adult Debut." I'm overflowing with gratitude for the independent booksellers who supported my book and took a chance on an unknown Midwestern native's first novel. Their hard work--from the hand sales to the promotional materials to the plates of bars--has meant so much to me. A huge thank you to all of them, from Minnesota to California and beyond.
Saturday, March 19th: Dirty Laundry Lit in Los Angeles, CA. Reading with Karolina Waclawiak, Ashley Perez, Lisa Mecham, and others. Produced by Natashia Deon. 7:00 pm at the Virgil in Los Feliz. $7 at the door.
Friday, April 1st: The Rumpus and Rare Bird Lit host Pick Your Poison: an AWP Off-site event in downtown LA. Hosted by Antonia Crane. 7:00 pm at Lethal Amounts, 1226 W. 7th St. $5.00.
Saturday, April 2nd: Welcome & Morning Keynote Address at Literary Orange. 8:45 am at The Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA. $65.00.
Saturday, April 2nd: AWP panel "No Facts, Only Interpretations: An Examination of the Multiple POV Novel," with Rebecca Makkai, Julia Fierro, Anna North, Eric Sasson, and myself, from 3pm-4:15pm in the Gold Salon 4 at the Marriott, Los Angeles, CA. Free w/AWP registration.
Sunday, April 10th: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Panel: Pushing Boundaries w/ Aimee Bender, Tara Ison, Dylan Landis, myself, and moderator David Francis. 4:00 pm at Seeley G Mudd #123, USC Campus, Los Angeles, CA. Nominal reservation fee; check the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books HQ for details.
Updated links! Please access the Kitchens of the Great Midwest Spotify playlists through the links below. Thank you for listening, and please let me know if you have any issues!
Kitchens of the Great Midwest has been nominated for a 2016 Audie Award for best fiction audiobook of 2016. Huge congratulations and massive gratitude to actors Amy Ryan and Michael Stuhlbarg and producer Karen Dziekonski.
See the final six finalists here: http://www.audible.com/mt/AA16_Fic
Kitchens of the Great Midwest is, somehow:
1. One of the top 10 books of the year, voted by librarians across the US
2. One of the top 10 books of the year (Chicago Public Libraries)
3. One of 2015's top 15 novels (Daily Mail)
4. A top 100 book of the year (Amazon.com)
5. A top 20 book of the year in Literature & Fiction (Amazon.com)
6. One of 2015's Great Reads, and a "Staff Pick" (NPR.org)
7. A top 12 Fiction book of the year in the Goodreads Choice Awards
8. A top 12 book of the year (Los Angeles Magazine)
9. One of 2015's top books by Minnesotans (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
10. A top 30 book of the year (Book Page)
11. A "Best Fiction of 2015" pick (Kansas City Star)
12. A top book of 2015 (Detroit Free Press)
13. One of the 20 best fiction books of 2015 (Business Insider)
14. A "Best book of 2015" at WBUR-FM (Boston's NPR affiliate)
15. A featured book of 2015 (San Diego CityBeat)
16. One of the 12 books chosen by Entertainment Weekly for their holiday gift guide
17. One of the 10 books chosen as holiday picks at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY
18. One of Inforum's (Fargo, ND - Moorhead, MN) 10 Christmas gift book selections
19. A pick to "finish out 2015" (Muskogee Phoenix)
20. One of the "12 books for Christmas" chosen by the Newport (R. I.) Mercury
I'm extremely grateful to be on any lists at all, so a huge thank you to the writers, readers, and book enthusiasts who do these things at the end of the year, and thought of an unknown Minnesota native's weird debut novel -- I truly appreciate it.
I can't believe it. Kitchens of the Great Midwest made it on to the New York Times best seller list during its third week of release. Never in a million years did I think I'd ever be a "New York Times Bestselling author." Never, never. I am grateful for the hundreds of people who had the patience and kindness to help me on the way, and who continue helping me. I cannot do it without you. I can't wait to see you and thank you in person.
"Yet despite a life pockmarked by poverty and other adversities, Eva has an equally outsize heart. A warring mass of desires, talents and imperfections, she’s an attractively flawed, completely likable demigoddess."
"Part foodie fantasy, part family drama and all heart."
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
> more
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.
> more
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.
“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 […].”
> more
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.