I’m heading to Carmel, CA, this weekend for the Carmel Authors & Ideas Festival, where I’ll be giving a talk entitled Straddling the Literary Divide: A Southern Writer in the Wild West, as well as conducting a breakout session on inspiration, or the art of finding one’s story. Looking forward to a beautiful dinner on the beach and a room with a view!

The line-up of 35 speakers and authors includes Condoleezza Rice, Roy Blount, Jr, David Brooks, Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Krasny, Tobias Wolff, Kemble Scott, Jane Ganahl, yours truly, and many others.

Tickets are available here. At $550, they’re not cheap, but if you have a mind to patronize the arts and would like to spend a weekend hanging out in a fairly intimate setting with some interesting people, this event might be just your cup of tea.