After a Friday ice-breaking discussion and cocktail party, which gave everyone the opportunity to meet each other, Saturday was devoted to smaller group discussions with the authors who graciously attended the retreat. I attended these discussions:
- With Matthew Dicks on the decisions he made on the road to becoming a writer and to get his work published
- With Susan Gregg Gilmore on the significance of place in fiction
- With Chris Bohjalian on general topics
Saturday evening was the Celebration of Authors, where each of the authors attending the event spoke for a few minutes. This event was recorded and will likely be posted as this week's Books on the Nightstand podcast (available on their site or through iTunes) and I encourage you to check it out because it was extremely interesting. Those participating were:
Jon Clinch (Finn and Kings of the Earth)
Elizabeth Stuckey-French (The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady)
Ellen Meeropol (House Arrest)
Matthew Dicks (Something Missing and Unexpectedly, Milo)
John Milliken Thompson (The Reservoir, coming in June)
Wendy Clinch (Double Black and Fade to White)
Chris Bohjalian (most recently Secrets of Eden)
Steve Himmer (The Bee-Loud Glade)
Susan Gregg Gilmore (Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen and The Improper Life of Bezelia Grove)
I learned so much from all of the discussions and from all of the other attendees and my to-read list has expanded exponentially. I also made many new friends - some of whom I already knew "virtually", and it was great to put faces to names.
Oh yeah, and I purchased some books:
(plus a few more that I had to have shipped home -- don't tell my husband!)
The weekend was a tremendous success and it sounds like it will be repeated; if it is I cannot recommend it enough.
Sue that's a wonderful description of the weekend. I have to agree it was fantastic. I feel privileged to have been a part of it and I feel in awe of Ann and Michael for putting together such a great event. I also loved having the opportunity to meet with all of the authors in such an intimate setting. Well Done.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fabulous weekend! Author and bookish events are some of the most fun I've ever had -- and it's wonderful meeting other readers and bloggers. Makes you really feel like a part of the community!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I am so jealous! This sounds like such a fantastic event!
ReplyDeleteA weekend full of books and authors! It sounds absolutely wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd buy books! That Radioactive Lady book sounds great (the title, I don't know anything about it).
So glad you had a good time and even met some people you already "knew".
Sounds amazing! Theres nothing moer satsifying than spending a weekend immersed in books. Glad you had fun
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun time for you! I'd love to do the same with my favorite authors, but Wilkie Collins and Dostoevsky have been gone already for a while...
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