Hawthorne Books publisher Rhonda Hughes and author David Rocklin tabling at this year's Wordstock festival.

After the smashing success of Wordstock 2011, it’s hard not to feel inspired by the power of the written word. We start reaching for the laptop, journal, or even cocktail napkin to scribble down the ideas that abounded at the annual literary festival. Readers, writers, publishers and bibliophiles of all genres convened to celebrate the world of books through readings, panel discussions, workshops and book signings. Several of our own authors here at Hawthorne—including David Rocklin, Scott Nadelson, Lidia Yuknavitch, Peter H. Fogtdal, Monica Drake—made appearances to share excerpts from their books and participate in some thought-provoking discussions.

So if you’ve got the itch of inspiration but are still facing the white menace of the blank page, we thought we’d offer some local resources to help get the creative ball rolling…

The Attic Institute:
For more than 10 years,The Attic Institute has been offering a creative haven for writers with workshops, classes and consultation groups with a diverse staff of published writers, journalists and educators. Check out some of their upcoming classes covering everything from poetry and fairy tales to crafting dialogue and the details of getting published. Duration and fees vary. See www.atticwritersworkshop.com or call 503-236-0615.

Write Around Portland:
Write Around Portland strives to make writing a community activity through public readings, published anthologies and offering workshops free of charge to veterans, survivors of abuse, people living below the poverty line and other communities in need. Check out their upcoming spring workshops, or volunteer to help other aspiring writers. Call 503-796-9224 or see www.writearound.org.

PDX Writers and Portland Women Writers:
Unleash your inner author in a nurturing environment with a workshop at PDX Writers or the Portland Women Writers, which both offer workshops based on the Amherst Writers and Artists Method aiming to draw out each writer’s unique voice. Check out their workshops, one-day events and weekend retreats at www.pdxwriters.com or www.pdxwomenwriters.com.

Writers’ Dojo:
Looking for a relaxing space that’s more conducive to literary creation than your living room with squabbling children or equally obnoxious roommates? The Writers’ Dojo is a membership organization that offers writers of all sorts just such a sanctuary, along with group readings, special events and an online publication. Core membership is $120 per month. Get all the details at www.writersdojo.org.

Whether you’re a writing novice or a published author, everyone could use a little support and inspiration. So check out one of the local workshops to get started, have a little fun and maybe even uncover some deeper truths about yourself. As our author Scott Nadelson recently posted on our blog about his new short story collection Aftermath:

“Our resilience in the face of suffering, our stubbornness in the face of failure, our stupidity and blindness in the face of repeated mistakes: all of these things continue to amaze and baffle me, but in writing these stories I have come to see them not as an exception or aberration but as the essence of our being, our very lifeblood.”

Wordstock 2011!

One of our fall 2011 Hawthorne interns, Emily Shannon, shares a few thoughts on her weekend at Wordstock…

In my excitement after the superb literary madness that is Wordstock, I hurried home, eager to scribble down all that I had heard, seen, and experienced. I felt motivated and inspired by the readings and conversations. My day seemed complete, especially after an accomplished morning: I finally started writing after weeks of tinkering with an idea.

The act of writing can be a painful process. “We trudge along,” as Anne Enright said at her reading of The Forgotten Waltz. “Editing is what makes the work seem flawless, as if the words magically flowed out of us in a steady stream.” Occasionally that may be the case. Hawthorne Books author Scott Nadelson demonstrated such ability at his reading from his most recent publication, Aftermath. Scott has a strong presence on stage. He has a sharp and concise manner of reading each sentence, and his tone is eager and thoughtful. It compliments the story itself, showing a concern for the narrative, for the character. This is one of my favorite parts from the story Dolph Schayes’s Broken Arm:

“We were just kids, and our relationship was brief and trivial and fumbling, and I’m sure she’s forgotten me long since. I might have forgotten her, too, if not for the suffering she caused me, which didn’t feel trivial at all, not then. Not now, either, in part because I’ve experienced similar suffering since, and its accumulation, I have to believe, accounts at least somewhat for the way I’ve lived my life, with the expectation that joy will always be tempered by deprivation or longing or loss.”

Before Nadelson’s reading, I went to the conversation My Censor, My Self. On panel was Lynn Connor, author of The Stones and the Poet, a creative nonfiction tale for children based off of the poem The Stones by Chinese poet Bai Juyi; Kerry Cohen, author of Loose Girl and Dirty Little Secrets; and Hawthorne Books author Lidia Yuknavitch, author of the memoir The Chronology of Water.

The focus of the panel was on memoir writing and the authors began by speaking about self-censorship in writing, how it hinders a writer and prevents them from writing the truth. Yuknavitch mentioned that it’s a matter of finding a way to write all the way through the fear and the shame and the judgment. It’s not just about that personal struggle; it’s a crucible. While reflection during the process may be taxing, it is important to remember that we are not alone in our experiences. We are writing on behalf of others knowing they will benefit.

Yuknavitch also expressed the struggle to talk bout the truth of a story. She doesn’t believe that it’s truth with a capital “T,” but many truths coming from a myriad of people who are involved in the story. This layered effect of truths makes the story more complex. While we try to write our own truth, we must be mindful of how others might interpret our words. “Good writing only happens when you have compassion for people,” Cohen said. In our compassion, we show an understanding and an admission to our own flaws.

Yuknavitch also brought to light the fact that a woman writer trying to write explicitly about sex/sexuality (two separate things, she stressed) is going to be dismissed by most publishers and the media. They don’t want such things put in the public sphere, holding to the assumption that readers will be offended or find it distasteful. Little do they know how much readers want to hear the truth, even if it may make us uncomfortable. Yuknavitch prefers to call her memoir a body story. A woman’s sexuality is with her from the day she is born until the day she dies. A body story is about the authenticity and the truth and beauty in a single life, all that a person has endured.

I had my own literary hang-up recently. Trouble writing, for various reasons, or probably most simply out of fear and laziness (thank you Kicking and Screaming), but Yuknavitch accurately defined that delay as a threshold facing the white page. We must “get back to the joy of being inside the story, the rhythm, the language, the passion of writing.” One thing to think about, if there weren’t anyone around to read your writing, would you still create? I believe I would still write. Writing is a form of expression, a way for me to articulate how I perceive things, how I understand life and what it’s made of, with all it’s joys, fears, challenges, contradictions, and possibilities.

When it comes to facing the blank white page, Lynn Connor reminded me of how I usually see things when I begin to tell a story, but which frequently escapes me. I see things in pictures. So, if you can’t write it, think about what you can see or are going to see when you tell the story. Can you see your character? What’s s/he doing? What’s s/he thinking? What’s s/he feeling? And I reiterate, trust the language and let it lead the way.

The Wordstock hot seat from the 2010 festival.

Only a few weeks away!

We love Wordstock here at Hawthorne Books. We have all sorts of events slated for this year’s festival and I’ve laid them all out for you here. Every year we have a booth at the Book Fair in the main hall and that’s where you’ll find publisher Rhonda Hughes, senior editor Adam O’Connor Rodriguez and myself for a large part of the weekend. Hawthorne Books authors will also be joining us at different times on Saturday and Sunday to chat with folks and sign books too so please come by and say “hello.” See you at Wordstock!

Wordstock readings and workshops with Hawthorne Books authors:

David Rocklin — 2pm Sunday reading with Anna Solomon; 4:30pm Sunday writing workshop the How and Where: On Setting as Character in Fiction.
Scott Nadelson — 1pm Saturday reading with Rahul Mehta; 3pm Saturday workshop In the Beginning: Crafting Compelling Story Openings.
Lidia Yuknavitch — 12pm Saturday panel My Censor Myself with Ben Moorad, Kerry Cohen and Lynn Connor; 11am Sunday panel What’s with America’s Sexual/Literary Hang-up with Steve Almond, Cheryl Strayed and Viva Las Vegas; 4pm Sunday reading with Lisa Wells.
Monica Drake — 1pm Sunday screening and talk about Georgie’s Big Break with Andy Mingo, Brian Lindstrom.
&
Rhonda Hughes, Hawthorne Books publisher — 11am Saturday panel How to Win Over Agents and Editors.
Liz Crain, Hawthorne Books editor — 2pm Saturday panel Every Book is a Start Up.

Wordstock blog posts with Hawthorne Books authors:

Scott Nadelson’s guest blog post and Q&A.
David Rocklin’s guest blog post and Q&A.

Wordstock 2011
October 6-8 at the Oregon Convention Center
www.wordstockfestival.com

Now's the time to lend a hand to Wordstock 2011, 2012 and beyond.

We’re so sorry that we’ve been negligent here with the blog. It’s been a busy summer and we had to focus on our authors, books and book tours. Now that it’s officially fall we’ll do our best to stick to the weekly blog schedule. Please remind us scold us if we don’t.

This year’s Wordstock was filled to the brim with fantastic workshops, readings, panels and more and between all of us here at Hawthorne we managed to play a part in just about every type of event Wordstock offered.

We really liked where we were in the book fair this year — sandwiched between the Attic and Tin House — great company. We also liked the fact that our authors did some great panels and readings.

Here’s a bit of what we saw and did last weekend at the 6th annual Wordstock. Cheers to everyone who volunteered for and helped organize this year’s Portland literary extravaganza aka Wordstock. You rock.

Kate and Adam at the booth looking lovely despite Convention Center fluorescence.

Rhonda on her Brave New World panel hosted by Richard Meeker with Lauren Kessler and Kevin Smokler.

Our lovely friend who stopped by and refused a tote for her magnificent stash of bought books.

The Wordstock hot seat.

See you at Wordstock next year!

Wordstock
www.wordstockfestival.com

Better late than never...

Ok so it was a couple months ago but we didn’t have a blog at the time and now we do so time to give a little love to Wordstock. Rhonda Hughes – Hawthorne Books co-publisher — has been on the Wordstock Board of Directors for four years so she knows the ins and outs of this very Portland celebration of all things books.

If you haven’t been to Wordstock I highly recommend that you check it out next fall. The gist: Portland Oregon’s annual festival of books and writers was founded in 2005 and features a book fair, readings, workshops and more. Book fair exhibitors range from McSweeney’s and Fantagraphics to Hawthorne Books, Dark Horse, Ooligan Press and Timber Press.

I’ve been the past three years and every year I come across an author, or two, or three and a publishing house, or two, or three and a publication, or two, or three that joins my favorites. If you love books then you’ll love Wordstock.

Think of it this way – where else do you get the chance to walk up to a table and talk to a publisher, editor and senior editor from one of your favorite publishing houses? You could have done that at our table. In fact many people did. Just don’t try to pitch us your manuscript. You can find our submission guidelines here.

Good times at Wordstock 2009

Wordstock — Portland’s Book & Literary Festival
www.wordstockfestival.com