I love the title of Laura van den Berg’s story collection, What the World Will Look Like When the Water Leaves Us, which will be published by Dzanc Books in 2009. Dzanc has already proved to be a publisher worth getting excited about, with a slew of good offerings on the slate for the future: Yannick Murphy’s quirkily delectable new story collection, In a Bear’s Eye (2008) and Michael Czyzniejewski’s Elephants in Our Bedroom (2009). See all of the forthcoming Dzanc Books titles here. Meanwhile, disturbing news out of my old neighborhood, San Francisco’s Castro district.
San Francisco Life
Mavericks Today!
Officials are asking people not to descend upon Montara State Beach to watch the annual Mavericks big-wave surfing competition today, as the cliffs along the beach are fragile due to recent weather conditions. I’m guessing it will be a tough ride from the city today along the tiny two-lane coast road, especially rounding the bend at the notoriously hairy Devil’s Slide. But you can watch the live webcast of the competition here. Read about the history of Mavericks here. What’s Mavericks, you ask? “Supremely harsh conditions and the giant, unpredictable waves both contribute to the Contest’s allure. So do...
San Francisco Zoo Investigation
This from CNN today, in reference to allegations that Tatiana–the Siberan tiger who escaped her enclosure–may have been taunted prior to the attack: A source close to the investigation said the rock found in the habitat measured 9 inches, and a tree branch and pine cones were found that came from trees that were not near the tiger’s enclosure. Singer said zoo employees also alerted police to an empty vodka bottle in the car in which the young men came to the zoo. The two brothers who were injured in the attack have a police record, and have been...
National Book Critics Circle in San Francisco
Saturday, January 12, 2008, 6 pm City Lights, 261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway, San Francisco. Join the NBCC board, in collaboration with Litquake, book group expo,Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights, Amy Tan, Dave Eggers, Daniel Alarcon, AWP board president Catherine Brady, Maxine Chernoff, W. S. Di Piero, Jane Ganahl, Kathi Goldmark, Paul Hoover, Ann Kent, Wendy Lesser, Yiyun Li, Susanne Pari, Michelle Richmond, Elizabeth Tallent, and friends to celebrate the finalists for the NBCC awards in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, criticism, biography, autobiography, lifetime achievement and book reviewing. Former NBCC finalists and awardees Frederick Crews, Dave Eggers, Troy Jollimore, Maxine...
If You’re Lucky, You Just Might…
call a cab and end up with Vera, a.k.a. the costume cabbie. View her swell get-ups here. Read all about her life as a taxi-gal in San Francisco on her blog, Day Cabbie. I met Vera last night at a book club meeting for The Year of Fog. This is the beginning of a new feature for this blog, If You’re Lucky…
The international bestseller about one woman’s search for a missing child…
"Mesmerizing." ~Library Journal, starred review.
Stop dreaming, start writing!
