Central Ohio Author Events

In Standing at Water’s Edge: Moving Past Fear, Blocks, and Pitfalls to Discover The Power of Creative Immersion, Dr. Anne Paris draws on extensive experience working with artists to explore the deep psychological fears that thwart creativity. Arguing that creative blocks and procrastination are actually the artist’s attempts at self-preservation when facing the psychological issues that creativity brings up, Dr. Paris suggests that success comes from understanding the deep hopes and fears that profoundly influence creative capacity. Rather than presenting art as a lonely, solitary endeavor, she shows how relationships with others are actually crucial. Through her unique model of “mirrors, heroes, and twins,” she describes the kinds of relationships that support artistry, the important role of childhood experience, and how to psychologically navigate every aspect of a project. Throughout the book, Paris focuses on the hardest part: entering a creative state. Standing at Water’s Edge helps creative people take that crucial step into immersion and start — and finish — their greatest projects.

Easton Town Center
4005 Townsfair Way
Columbus, OH 43219
614-476-8480

1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Hts, OH 44118 is the address.


Some of you may remember writer Scott Raab---he left Cleveland in the mid 1980's and became a journalist for publications like GQ and The New York Times.

He has been Esquire's Writer-at-Large since 1997 and will be at Mac's to sign copies of Real Hollywood Stories: Inside the Minds of 20 Celebrities, with One A-List Writer, a collection of articles about celebrities originally published in Esquire.

Scott seems to be from the Hunter Thompson school of Gonzo journalism. The stories are irreverant, insightful, and amusing. He's walked the dog with Cleveland favorite Paul Newman, gone to the zoo with Ian McGregor and bowled with another Cleveland favorite, Drew Carey. Bill Murray, Sean Penn, Will Ferrell and many others are included in this very entertaining collection. Bring it to the beach!

This Saturday, June 7, at 7p.m.
The Barnes & Noble at Lennox Town Center
in Columbus, Ohio
on the corner of Olentangy and Kinnear
right off 315

Featuring...

Sarah Prineas
author of The Magic Thief
"I couldn't put it down. Wonderful, exciting stuff."
—Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle
Come to Sarah's major book release!

Sarah is also appearing Saturday morning 11:00-12:30
at Cover to Cover books in Clintonville.
Catch her there if you can't make it Saturday night.

Tobias Buckell – Caribbean flavored adventure SF

Paul Melko – living in a post-human world

Sandra McDonald – former US Navy officer
...romance, adventure, and really big space ships!

with Charles Coleman Finlay
raised by wolves, now he writes for them

and Paolo Bacigalupi
the world without oil: cutting edge environmental science fiction
– interviewed by Wired Science

One of the most eclectic talents in comics, Ohio State alumnus Paul Pope works in such diverse genres and styles as superheros, erotica, and manga.

He’ll offer insightful comments about his own practice and an overview of his remarkable career, which includes the sci-fi book THB, Heavy Liquid, and Batman: Year 100. The collection Pulphope: The Art of Paul Pope was published in 2007.

The talk will be in the Film/Video Theater at the Wexner Center for the Arts. It is free and there is a book signing afterwards.

Amy Bloom is the author of two novels, two collections of short stories, and a nominee for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and numerous anthologies here and abroad. She has written for the New Yorker, and the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, Slate, and Salon among many other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award. Her first book of nonfiction, Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops, and Hermaphrodites with Attitude, is an exploration of the varieties of gender. A practicing psychotherapist, she lives in Connecticut and teaches at Yale University.

Amy Bloom will read from her work on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm in the Wexner Film/Video Theatre at Wexner Center For the Arts. The reading is free and open to the public.

Join us at the State Library of Ohio on Saturday May 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as the Ohioana Library presents the 2nd annual Ohioana Book Festival: Celebrating Ohio’s Authors.

Opening ceremony with Ohio First Lady and Festival Honorary Chair Frances Strickland • Presentation of the Ohioana Robert Fox Awards for Young Writers • Presentation of the Ohio Center for the Book’s “Letters About Literature” Awards • Panel discussions • Readings • Meet authors and book signings • Book Fair with 10 Featured Authors and 40 additional Ohio authors • Activities for children • Barnes & Noble book store • Live entertainment • Food vendors

Festival Book Fair Authors
Ian Adams • Michelangelo Altiére • David Baker • Christopher Barzak • Kellie Bean • Tim Bowers • Gary Braunbeck • Andrea Cheng • Robin Davis • Zee Edgell • D. G. Fulford • Brian Groh • Ann Hagedorn • Gary Harwood • Nikki Jenkins • Ken Keller • Rosemary Laurey • Gene Logsdon • Mary Alice Mairose • Lee Martin • Craig McDonald • Dianne McElwain • Paula McLain • Asma Mobin-Uddin • Pat Mullen • Robert Olmstead • Donald Ray Pollock • Jerry Roscoe • Kaira Sturdivant Rouda • Nathan Singer • Lucy Snyder • Linda Stanek • Vickie M. Stringer • M.B. Szonert • Ann Townsend • Catherynne M. Valente • Richard Wirick • William Zink

This is free and there should be free parking at the State Library.

This is at Mershon Auditorium at Ohio State University. Book signing follows.

Join Bone-creator Jeff Smith and comic book artist and theorist Scott McCloud for a lively conversation about Smith’s career and each artist’s view of the practice and future of comic book art. McCloud is the author of Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics and the creator of the comic Zot!

The exhibition Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond, on view May 10 through August 3, features original comic book drawings by the Columbus-based artist and some of the comics artists who have inspired him.

Bone and Beyond and related events are presented in collaboration with Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library.

Saturday, May 10, the Bone and Beyond exhibition is open from 11 AM until 8 PM. Jeff Smith: Before Bone, a related exhibition on view nearby at the Cartoon Research Library, is open from 1 to 5 PM. (The Cartoon Research Library is not typically open on Saturdays and is right there between The Wexner Center and Mershon Auditorium.)

Filmmaker Etgar Keret is also an acclaimed author. He’ll read from The Nimrod Flip-Out, his recent collection of offbeat, fragmentary short stories. A book signing follows in the Wexner Center Store. Jellyfish, an acclaimed film Keret codirected, screens at 7 PM on May 6 (with an introduction by the director) and May 7.

These events are part of an occasional yearlong series marking and commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

The reading is in the Film/Video Theater inside The Wexner Center and is free. I'm sure the bookstore will have copies of his books (one of his short stories was adapted into the movie Wristcutters: A Love Story) and graphic novels for purchase.

Movie starts at 7pm and ticket prices vary from $5 to $7.

You can find out if any nearby stores are participating with this link.

I knew today was coming up but didn't find a link listing participating stores until this evening. If you don't get your comic today there is next year!

I promise - my last post to this community today. It's happening right now until 8pm tonight - it began yesterday and I missed the post to the Columbus Community.

As part of the First Year Experience program at OSU Morgan Spurlock will be there on April 10th.

Most information is taken directly from their site at http://fye.osu.edu/speaker.html

Tickets are free but required! Seating is limited - Tickets can be picked up in 120 Enarson Hall.

The event will be held at Weigel Hall Auditorium on April 10, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.

About Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock's career spans film, non-fiction literature, television, and theatre. He is the Academy Award-nominated director of Super Size Me, creator and producer of the reality television series 30 Days, and author of Don’t Eat This Book. His current film project is What Would Jesus Buy?

30 Days
In each episode of FX’s critically acclaimed series 30 Days, a person (sometimes Spurlock himself) immerses themselves for a month in a lifestyle opposite to their experience.

The series tackles current social issues such as college binge drinking, immigration, outsourcing, and abortion. The first episode of 30 Days, where Morgan Spurlock tries to survive for a month on minimum wage, was shot in Columbus.

Super Size Me
Spurlock's first feature film, Super Size Me, was released in 2004 and centered on Spurlock’s experiment to eat only fast food for a month.

The documentary received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature, the Writers Guild of America Best Documentary Screenplay Award, and Best Director prizes at the Sundance Film Festival and the Edinburgh Film Festival. It is the sixth highest grossing documentary of all time.

Don't Eat This Book
Shortly after the theatrical opening of Super Size Me, Spurlock published his first non-fiction book, Don’t Eat This Book. The book picked up where the film leaves off, diving even deeper into the psyche of a super-sized nation. Note: His then fiance, now wife, Alex Jamieson, wrote a book called The Great American Detox Diet: Feel Better, Look Better, and Lose Weight by Cleaning Up Your Diet which is how he lost the weight he gained from the movie.

What Would Jesus Buy?
Spurlock is a co-star and producer of the recently released film, What Would Jesus Buy?, based on the work of Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping. The film looks at the commercialization of Christmas.

I found out the Barnes and Noble on the Ohio State University campus doesn't have their events listed on the normal Barnes and Noble web site. The site is at http://ohiostate.bncollege.com

4/10/2008 - Free!
Student Author - Donald Ray Pollack
Donald Ray Pollock grew up in the actual town Knockemstiff, Ohio. He dropped out of high school to work in a meatpacking plant and then spent over thirty years employed in a paper mill in southern Ohio. Currently, he is a graduate student in the MFA program at Ohio State University. His stories have appeared in The Berkeley Fiction Review,The Journal, Third Coast, Chiron Review, Sou’wester, Boulevard, and Folio. He will be reading from & signing copies of his new book, KNOCKEMSTIFF.

Time: 07:00 PM-08:00 PM

Location: 2nd level

Patrick used to live in Ohio and is currently doing a tour for his first book, The Only Pure Thing, which is a legal thriller. He's already at work on the sequel.

You can attend the signing and discussion of the book at the Lennox Town Center Barnes and Nobel in Columbus, OH on April 12th, 2008 at 2pm. Patrick's web site is at http://www.patrickhyde.com/ if you'd like more information about him or The Only Pure Thing.

Event is free and includes a poetry writing contest with prizes!

The theme for this year's festival is "Poems from the Heartland". Featured poets include Ted Kooser, U.S. poet laureate from 2004 to 2006; and George Bilgere, a professor at John Carroll University.

Readings will be given at 7:30pm both nights at the Logan Hocking Library (230 E. Main Street in Logan, OH). Musical accompaniment with the readings.

Kooser and Bilgere will conduct writing workshops the morning of the 19th. I have no details regarding cost for the workshops. To reserve a spot contact Alan Cohen by phone (740) 385-3918 or email (owlcohen@gmail.com).

For the poetry contest, you may submit up to two poems. Winners are expected to attend on Saturday to read their poems and accept the prizes.

The web site can be found at http://powerofpoetry.org/

A more detailed announcement will follow, but I wanted to help get this on everyone's calendar early so you can plan to attend.

Saturday, June 7, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
Lennox Town Center
1739 Olentangy River Road
Columbus, OH 43212

Blue Heaven is a professional sci-fi novel writing workshop held every summer on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. Once again this year, we'll be doing a group signing of Blue Heaven authors in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, June 7th, at 7pm in the Barnes & Noble at Lennox Town Center on Olentangy River Road.

The authors are some of the hottest up-and-coming writers in genre fiction. The program will begin with a panel discussion among the writers, followed by a question-and-answer period and then the signing.

Paolo Bacigalupi, PUMP SIX (featured in Wired Science at PBS.org)

Christopher Barzak, ONE FOR SORROW

Tobias Buckell, CRYSTAL RAIN and RAGAMUFFIN (a Sci-fi Essential Book from Tor)

Sandra McDonald, THE OUTBACK STARS and THE STARS DOWN UNDER

Paul Melko, SINGULARITY'S RING (A Sci-Fi Essential Book from Tor) and TEN SIGMAS

Sarah Prineas, THE MAGIC THIEF

The Other Paper included the Otterbein College Writer's Series in their Winter Arts Guide.

All readings take place in the Philomathean Room in Towers Hall, 1 S. Grove St. (Westerville) 614-823-1133.

Jim Gorman - February 28th
Jim Daniels - April 16th

All I could find out about the upcoming guests is (1) Jim Gorman teaches at Otterbein and (2) Jim Daniels is a poet! The Otterbein College Writer's Series didn't have any information on what they may be presenting.

Lee Woodruff

Lee Woodruff will read from her book, In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, co-authored with her husband Bob Woodruff. A frank and compelling memoir, In an Instant details the Woodruffs’ difficult journey during Bob’s critical injury in Iraq while anchoring a broadcast for ABC News. Woodruff is a freelance writer, public relations executive and contributing editor to ABC’s Good Morning America. She and Bob have also established the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury to raise money to assist members of the military with care needs following traumatic brain injury. She, Bob and their four children live in Westchester County, New York.


Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door. Discounts to Seniors and Students apply. Begins at 7:30pm. Details about the event can be found here.

Context 20 is happening next weekend here in Columbus. Tim Powers, Mike Resnick and Michael A. Arnzen are the main GoHs; 40 other science fiction, fantasy and horror authors will be participating, including Gary Braunbeck, Anne Harris and Maureen McHugh. In addition to author readings and signings, there will be a Friday night costume contest, games, a dealer's room, workshops, anime, room parties, and more.

You can save $5 on a full-weekend membership if you register online by 10pm Wednesday night.

To get more info and register, visit:

http://www.contextsf.org/

Jennifer Egan is thought to be one of the most gifted writers of her generation. She will read from her spellbinding page-turner, The Keep, a modern-day Gothic tale of two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank, who meet to renovate a medieval castle with even more catastrophic results. Egan has written two other novels, The Invisible Circus, and Look at Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. Her short fiction appears in The New Yorker, Harper's, and McSweeney's, among others, and her journalism often appears in The New York Times Magazine.

This is part of the Thurber House Author Series.
Tickets are $15 in Advance and $18 at the door.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 614-464-1032 or visit www.thurberhouse.org.

Meet the publisher, editors, authors and artists who bring Apex Digest to life. Please join us for an afternoon of readings, signings, art displays and presentations!

Featured authors and editors: Jason Sizemore, Mari Adkins, Gary A. Braunbeck, Lucy A. Snyder, Michael West, Alethea Kontis, Maurice Broaddus, Douglas F. Warrick, Geoffrey Girard, and Rob D. Smith

Featured artists: Melissa Gay, Justin Stewart, Steven C. Gilberts, Billy Tackett, Carrie Rapp, Chris Hill, Judi Davidson and Kyle Thomas

Time and Location:
Saturday, September 22nd starting at 2:00 pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
161 Lexington Green Circle, Suite B1
Lexington KY 40503