Miami Book Fair Giveaway!

As regular readers know, I love, love, love the Miami Book Fair! This year the fair runs from November 13 - 20. The complete schedule is now available online.

You can read about what a fabulous time I've had there the past several years in the archives. This year, the fair looks to be truly outstanding, with almost 500 authors participating.

I am really excited to be able to offer books from a few of the participating authors at this year's fair. There is something for everyone, from the literary to crime fiction to a graphic novel and great gift books.


















Go the F**k to Sleep by Ricardo Cortes
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Dewey Decimal System by Nathan Larson
Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life by Michael Moore
Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
Chanukah Lights by Robert Sabuda
Habibi by Craig Thompson

If you would like to win one (or more!) of these books, send an email to
contest@gmail.com with the title (or author) of the book in the subject line. Send a separate email for each title you want to win. Make sure to include your name and mailing address in the US only. The books will be sent directly from each publisher. This contest is only going to run for a couple of weeks, so your odds of winning are really great - if you enter by November 10, 2011!

Tell your friends and invite your book group to go meet your favorite authors at the fair. Trust me, the Miami Book Fair is a reader's paradise, not to be missed.

The Center For Fiction Announces New Crime Fiction Academy

New York, October 14, 2011 -- The Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, has announced the February 2012 debut of The Crime Fiction Academy, the first ongoing, rigorous program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms. Students accepted into the program will be taught by successful practitioners of the genre, including workshop leaders and master teachers Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Lee Child, Thomas H. Cook, Linda Fairstein, Susan Isaacs, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, Joyce Carol Oates, SJ Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, Karin Slaughter and more.

Crime fiction writer and CFA workshop leader Megan Abbott says, "Crime fiction doesn't just engage and entertain. It tells us volumes about the world we live in, and has helped form the foundation of American literature and storytelling. I am honored to be a part of a program that celebrates crime fiction and, more importantly, will serve as a launching pad for the next generation of crime writers and a vital incubator for hundreds of rich and exciting novels to come."

Classes will take place in The Center’s 8-story building at 17 E. 47th Street in Manhattan.

CFA’s challenging and thoroughly engaging curriculum will include:
• a 14-week writing workshop
• a monthly Master Class
• a crime fiction reading seminar
• special lectures and discussions with editors, agents and distinguished persons from the world of crime fiction and publishing
• 24-hour access to the Center for Fiction’s Writers Studio
• Use of the extensive circulating collection (the Center for Fiction recently won a Raven Award for their amazing in-depth crime fiction collection)
• Free admission to all Center for Fiction events.

CFA Program Director and crime fiction writer Jonathan Santlofer says, “It was time for someone, someplace to take crime fiction seriously enough to create an in-depth, ongoing program devoted exclusively to the genre. And what better place then New York’s own Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, an institution that has been dedicated to writers and readers for almost 200 years. A chance to hone one’s writing skills with successfully published crime fiction authors, to shape that novel or story you’ve been thinking about, working on, but just couldn’t finish, in one of New York City’s most intimate and nurturing environments — what more could any writer ask for?”

All classes, workshops, and lectures will take place in the evening. Students may enroll for one term, but a year-long commitment is suggested to take full advantage of the program. Admission is limited and competitive and is based on work samples. CFA will be accepting applications, beginning in November 2011 for the term beginning in February 2012. Visit http://www.centerforfiction.org/crimefiction for details.

If you would like to interview any of the writers involved, please call or email Noreen Tomassi, Noreen@centerforfiction.org or (212) 755-6710.


About The Center for Fiction

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction, and works every day to connect readers and writers. Time Out called The Center one of the top three reasons to stay in Manhattan for literary events, citing the innovative panels, lectures and conversations that take place in its beautiful building on East 47th Street. The Center provides workspace, grants, and classes to support emerging writers, reading groups on classic and contemporary authors, programs to help get kids reading, and centerforfiction.org to connect readers and writers around the country. The Center recognizes the best in the world of fiction through its annual awards, publishes fiction by emerging and established authors in its online magazine The Literarian, and operates one of the few independent fiction book shops in the country. The Center for Fiction is also an important piece of New York City history, continuing to build its renowned circulating library collection of 85,000 fiction titles, begun in 1820 by New York City merchants before the advent of the public library system.