A few weeks ago, Girls Write Now held its first-ever annual benefit and awards.  It was a perfect evening--as authentic, inspirational and moving as the organization, and worthy of the girls and the wonderful…

Have any of you read P.G. Wodehouse?  I am devouring the Jeeves books right now (on "The Inimitable Jeeves" and just finished "Right Ho, Jeeves"), and one of the most delicious things about these books, which are like crack if you are a fan of British humor, is the names.  Gussie Fink Nottle.  Bingo Little.  G. D'Arcy…

Back in January, I had a bad fall.  I broke my collar bone so badly, in fact, that it was smashed into three pieces, and when the orthopedist looked at it, he walked out of the room, whistled to the x-ray technician and said, "Wooh, that's a nasty injury!"  Surgery, right away, was the only way to fix it.…

Last night I attended a cocktail party (an event designed to raise the profile of the charity I chair, Girls Write Now, with women in publishing), and fell into conversation with one of my favorite leaders, innovators and prognosticators in the publishing…

It wasn't easy getting there.  A blizzard hit Boston the day I flew in, and it took me five hours to get from New York to New England when it should only have taken me one.  I landed in a whiteout on a runway covered in snow, and thought, "Oh AWP, when will we meet in Miami?"  It was an exhausting journey, but boy, the destination was worth every minute it took me to get there.

Entering the cavernous, windowless exhibition hall at last, I admit I was feeling pretty flat.  But seeing…

Hi everyone -- this will be brief as I had a bad fall a few weeks ago and had to have surgery, so typing is a struggle, but after the lively debate over the past few days we thought we (Brooke Warner and Kamy Wicoff) would sponsor a brainstorming session tomorrow to generate ideas for making exciting and creative projects happen on She Writes Press! Please join us tomorrow at 4PM EST by using this link: …

Maybe I ate too much turkey Thanksgiving week.  (Or, more likely, had too many helpings of sweet potatoes topped with streusel.)  Maybe I have hit a wall.  But after eight weeks of furious activity and thrilling inspiration, during which I produced five full chapters of my…

If you want to know what kind of book "What's Your Book: A Step-By-Step Guide to Get You From Inspiration to…

When I was a nonfiction writer, I remember being a little nonplussed by the obsession emerging writers had with established writers' processes.  In interview after interview, successful writers were asked, "What time of day do you work? For how many hours?" and inevitably, "Do you work from an outline, or not?"…

Since I started blogging a few months ago about my experiences as a first-time novelist (at age forty, no less, but hurrah for that!), I have been very thorough on the topic of The Struggle.  You know the struggle I mean.  …

This past weekend, I took my two little boys home for a trip to see my family in Texas.  About a month before, I did something that one writer friend, at least, thought was crazy: I sent the first third of my novel to my parents.  Why would I do such a thing?  I guess I just wanted some encouragement and…

Well,two weeks ago, I was all fired up to shed my bad summer habits (and perhaps even a few pounds) and kick off this fall with a renewed…

For me, summer is a season of indulgences.  

I don't put on extra pounds at the holidays; I do it in August, July and June.  In the hot summer months, I never say no to a hotdog at the baseball game, a donut for breakfast at the beach, or smores after dinner.  (I don't always look great in my bathing…

About a year ago, my son, who was seven  at the time, announced, "Mommy!  I'm going to write a book!"  This wasn't surprising given what I do for a living, and considering that he is a New York kid. 

I suppose I also should not have been surprised by what came next.

"This is so cool!" he said…

First of all, I am at Hedgebrook, and I am very very (very!) lucky to be here.  Twenty-five years ago, Seattle philanthropist Nancy Nordhoff and writer Sheryl Feldman founded this place…

In these posts, which will run every other Friday until I finish the darn thing (months? years?), I plan to share questions that come up for me as I write my first novel.  Please take a minute to share your experiences and your answers, since I can use all the help I can get!

As…

Today I am thrilled, proud and downright giddy to announce the launch of a new venture: She Writes Press.

About six months ago, Brooke Warner, formerly the Executive Editor of Seal Press (one of my favorite presses, by the way), came to me with an idea.  What if, she asked, we started a press for authors who want to try their hand at publishing outside the…

Hi everybody!  I am proud to announce that this Friday, June 29th, will mark the official third birthday of She Writes.  In keeping with the spirit of my sabbatical, we haven't attempted anything too ambitious on the organizing front (though please, do…

A note from Kamy...

If you are based in New York City, and want to change your life, and somebody else's, please, consider becoming a mentor for Girls Write Now.  Applications are due May 15th.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.  From what I've heard, the secret of Girls Write Now is that the mentors get as much out of it -- as writers, as women, as human beings -- as the girls do.…

In the spirit of my renewed commitment to my own writing this spring, and in the hopes of giving other She Writers more tools and sources of inspiration to invest in their own writing projects, too, today I want to share a special offer made by the women writers' colony of…