Apply Now for a Residency in a City of Literature!

Sharpen your pencils! FOUR (!) Cities of Literature currently are accepting applications for their residency programs. Which one will you apply for?

Tartu City of Literature Fall Residency (Tartu, Estonia)

Tartu, Estonia

Tartu City of Literature Office announces the second 2019 call for applications of Tartu City of Literature International Residency Program for writers and translators.

The call for applications is now open. The residency period is October-November 2019.

Deadline for application submission is August 15, 2019.

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Prague City of Literature Creative Two Month Residency (Prague, Czech Republic)

Prague, Czech Republic

Do you have a breathtaking project you would like to work on during your residency in Prague?
Prague City of Literature offers residency stays for foreign writers and translators.

There are six residencies available for 2020; each lasts for two months.

Deadline for application submission is August 31, 2019.

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Dilsberg Writer in Residence Program (Heidelberg, Germany)

Dilsberg, Germany

Produced in cooperation with the UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg for authors from UNESCO Cities of Literature, this residency runs for three months, and takes place in the “Commandant’s House Dilsberg”, at Dilsberg Fortress, in Neckargemünd (approximately 14 km from Heidelberg).

The call for applications is now open. Residency period runs from February 1-April 30, 2020.

Deadline for application submission is September 16, 2019.

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Granada Writers in Residence Programme (Granada, Spain)

Corrala de Santiago, Granada

Granada UNESCO City of Literature and the University of Granada are setting up this programme to foster contacts and forge bonds between writers from Granada and those from other cities and countries all over the world, to extend the international reach of Granada-based writers, to build international awareness of the cultural fabric of the city of Granada, and to promote Granada as a city of the arts that welcomes talent from abroad with open arms.

The residency period is November 1-December 1 2019.

Deadline for application submission is September 20, 2019.

Learn More.

Fall Books Preview Part Two!

Our second preview comes from Caitlin Baker, adult book buyer at University Book Store. Catilin, a seasoned bookseller who tweets about books at @Cait_onthe_Luce, highlights some titles that might have evaded the national press.  Eve Out of Her Ruins, by Ananda Devi and translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman September 2016 Deep Vellum Publishing 

Narrated by four teens living in the Troumaron neighborhood on the tiny resort island of Mauritius, Eve Out of Her Ruins captures the harsh reality of life in a part of the island tourists never see. Devi's powerful novel has stuck with me weeks after finishing and  Zuckerman's lively translation captures the intensity of the daily struggle for life the teens face.

The Revolutionaries Try Again, by Mauro Javier Cardenas September 2016 Coffee House Press

In this debut novel, three childhood friends reunite after a decade apart to run against the corrupt President El Loco. Cardenas' playful language and wit make this one of the best books of the year.

 The Subsidiary, by Matias Celedon August 30, 2016 Melville House

Designed by the author using a set of rubber stamps he purchased at the Santiago library, The Subsidiary is set in an office building in which the employees are trapped during a power outage. Through mounting terror, and with only a few words per page, this slim book will haunt you long after you have finished reading it.

A Greater Music, by Bae Suah and translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith October 2016 Open Letter  

Early in A Greater Music the narrator slips into an icy river outside Berlin where she is house sitting for an ex-boyfriend. As the reader we slip into her memories in this gorgeously written book.

Thanks to Caitlin and University Book Store for these picks! And stay tuned for more recommendations from other booksellers in our community!

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Fall Books Preview!

Summer is winding down, and while we may be a little sad that the days are getting shorter, our bookish hearts are eagerly anticipating the turning of the season. Fall is the time when publishers put out their “big” books. And to help whet your appetite for what’s coming out, we talked with our friends at University Book Store about the books that they are most looking forward to this fall season. The first preview comes from Rene' Kirkpatrick. Rene' is a long-time northwest bookseller, having worked at All For Kids, Third Place Books and Eagle Harbor Book Company, before becoming the Children's Book Buyer at University Book Store.  

Looking for Betty MacDonald, by Paula Becker. September, 2016. University of Washington Press.

Paula Becker (staff historian at HistoryLink and author of two books of Seattle/Northwest history) has written what will be the definitive biography of Betty MacDonald. Paula has been given full access to the MacDonald archives including some things never seen by any other researcher. The book will be filled with local history, maybe a little gossip, and, knowing how much Paula loved Betty M., a warm look at an amazing woman and her family. University of Washington Press is reissuing the other editions of Betty’s other books at the same time.

Leave Me, by Gayle Forman. September 13, 2016. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Haven’t we always wondered what we could do or be if we could start our lives over? Like The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett and Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg, Leave Me is about a woman who decides to leave everything she knows and thinks she loves. Maribeth Klein is so busy and overwhelmed by family and work she doesn’t realize she has had a heart attack until she ends up in the hospital. While she is recovering from the surgery, already besieged with family and work, feeling as if her illness is an imposition on everyone, she packs a bag and leaves. I know I have had moments where my exit is upcoming and it would be easy to just drive on. Gayle Forman is also the author of If I Stay, a young adult novel about deciding to stay or go.

The Kids of Appetite, by David Arnold. September 20, 2016. Viking.

This is the next book by the author of Mosquitoland, one of my all-time favorite young adult road trip novels. The Kids of Appetite is filled with unforgettable and relatable characters and the story is told in alternating voices: Vic, a boy with Moebius syndrome (a neurological disorder causing facial paralysis), and Mad, a homeless girl making a family of her own. Vic needs to scatter his dad’s ashes and he and Mad’s crew of misfit kids go on a journey together to get beyond their various incarnations of grief and loss. This will be a good chance to revisit S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders! I love books that include other books. For ages 14 and up.

News of the World, Paulette Giles. October 4, 2016. Morrow.

There’s something utterly compelling about reading stories about very different people undertaking a road trip together. In News of the World, the road-trippers are in a wagon with one broken wheel surrounded by unforgiving landscape and the most brutal of outlaws. Our heroes, a 70-year old newsreader in post-Civil War Texas, and his companion, a 10-year old girl recently returned by the Kiowa four years after being kidnapped, are on a 400-mile trip to take her back home. The book itself is a beautiful package,  and it is poignant, bighearted, and, at times spit-takingly funny.

Thanks to Rene' and University Book Store for their recommendations! Stay tuned for more Fall Book Previews in the next few weeks!

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You're Invited to Participate: Racial Equity and the Literary Arts

Seattle City of Literature and the Office of Arts and Culture are pleased to present the first in a series of workshops on ‘Racial Equity and the Literary Arts.’ Working with facilitator, Dr. Caprice Hollins, this program will provide a framework on how to address issues of equity and race in our community, and help to create a common language for entering into discourse.

Participants will begin to appreciate their role in becoming culturally competent by deepening their awareness of self--moving from color blindness to racial cognizance; increasing their knowledge of others and their experiences of racism and oppression; developing skills to work effectively across cultures; and advocating and taking action to initiate change.

The first workshop will take place on Thursday, June 2 from 1:30pm to 5:00pm at the Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle’s City Hall. There is no cost to attend, but space is limited, so please email rsvp@seattlecityoflit to reserve your spot by May 31.

After the initial workshop, Seattle City of Literature will convene an advisory committee from the community to help shape our goals for the remaining workshops.

If you are not able to attend the first workshop but are interested in hearing about subsequent meetings, or participating in the advisory committee, let us know! Email Stesha Brandon [executive@seattlecityoflit.org] for more information.

About the facilitator:

Dr. Caprice Hollins, co-founder of Cultures Connecting, LLC, received her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Multicultural and Community Psychology in 1998. She became licensed in Washington State in 2000 and has over 20 years of experience teaching graduate courses, working with historically marginalized populations, researching, studying, and facilitating race related conversations. Her experience includes opening and directing the Department of Equity & Race Relations for Seattle Public Schools, developing and implementing district-wide and school-based training, while utilizing her background in psychology to assist district leaders and staff institutionalize change to promote equity and social justice. Dr. Hollins also works as a part-time core faculty in the department of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.