Book Notes: Writers might find inspiration from Kenower
Do you feel like your writing life needs a push-start?
You might want to catch William Kenower’s talk at Gonzaga University on Saturday, 1 p.m., “Tuning Your Inner Ear: The Key to a Literary and Artistic Life.”
Kenower is the editor-in-chief of Author magazine and the author of the novel “One Year in Jeopardy.” His talk will focus on how to create the kind of artistic life that will allow you to write the book you’ve always wanted to write.
Admission is $10 at the door, at GU’s College Hall 101. This talk is sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and the university’s English Department.
Get Lit! tickets
Individual tickets are on sale for Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! festival. Here’s a reminder of who is appearing when:
• Sam Kean – April 14, 7 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater.
• Sena Jeter Naslund with Nancy Rawles – April 15, 7 p.m., Lincoln Center.
• Tim O’Brien and Brian Turner – April 16, 8 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater.
• Matthew Dickman – April 17, 11:30 a.m., Lincoln Center.
Tickets for each event are $15 ($10 for military members), through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
If you’re planning on attending all four, you should get a festival pass for $45 (you’ll come out ahead even if you attend only three, because you’ll save on service fees).
High school or college students with ID can get free tickets through college bookstores March 28 through April 8 or at the door as space allows.
Get Lit! is also hosting singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco on April 15, 8 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater. Tickets for that concert are $35, also through TicketsWest.
A festival pass that includes DiFranco tickets will run you $60.
We should also note that Get Lit! will feature many other free author talks and panel readings, including Jack Hamman, Maude Barlow, Margaret Regan, Julie Otsuka, Ben Percy and Jonathan Evison.
‘New Arab Journalist’
Washington State University’s Lawrence Pintak has just written a new book of global relevance, “The New Arab Journalist: Mission and Identity in a Time of Turmoil” (I.B. Tauris/Modern Middle East Library).
Pintak is a former CBS news correspondent and the founding dean of WSU’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. He covered the Middle East for many years.
The book takes a look at what he calls the “dramatic upheaval in Arab media” and the complicated forces that have shaped it. Pintak also makes the point that Arab media today have an impact far beyond the Middle East.
Look for the book soon in local bookstores and online; its official on-sale date is Feb. 1.
A playwright award finalist
Congratulations to University of Idaho MFA candidate Mattie Rydalch, whose play “Strange Attractors” has been chosen as a finalist for the national David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award.
The play explores scientific “chaos theory” as a way to look at human relationships. The UI staged a production of the play last year, then it won the regional competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
Rydalch is the only UI student ever chosen as a finalist for the award. The national winner will be announced this spring.