Tampa Book Buzz

how short are short-shorts?

…Between 200 and 2,500 words long, according to www.shortshortshort.com.

I must admit that I had never heard of short-short stories (also known as flash fiction or micro fiction) until an e-mail from Bruce Holland Rogers turned up in my in-box. Rogers is an award-winning author who runs a pretty unique literary service. For $5 a year, he sends subscribers three short-short stories each month via e-mail.

He has over 600 subscribers in 60 countries so far, and his stories are translated into multiple languages each month. The French-language version of this service is set to launch in January.

Rogers has received some pretty impressive awards and nominations, is a published author, and twice a year “auctions himself” to the highest bidder.

Besides being smart enough to e-mail the bigger literary blogs (yes, I know it’s surprising that there are literary blogs more well known than Tampa Book Buzz), he was savvy enough to include a comment about TBB in his e-mail to me, which showed that he took the time to look at my blog. That’s smart marketing.

Sample stories and a description of the service can be found at www.shortshortshort.com. At only $5 a year, I think this will help me knock out some of my holiday shopping (gift subscription notices sent by request).

local author updates

Wondering what’s new with some of our local authors?

*Rita and J.C. De La Torre have been invited to participate in the Dunedin Reading Festival in April 2006.

*Look for Wendy Boucher’s interview in the December issue of Tampa Bay Illustrated magazine. Her upcoming book signings (December 3 at Waldenbooks International Plaza and January 21 at South Tampa Barnes and Noble) are listed in the sidebar calendar. The upcoming sequel to her book Parvenue Throws A Party is called Parvenue Gets A Passport.

*Gabi Lorino shared her recent experiences stalking — er, I mean watching — Ewan McGregor in London in Guys and Dolls on my Tampa Film Fan blog.

local author ersula knox odom

I was lucky enough to meet and spend a few minutes talking to local author Ersula Knox Odom at last month’s Festival of Reading. She was taking a turn at the Tampa Writers Alliance booth. Her book At Sula’s Feet contains “fond and treasured recollections of a country girl whose life was shaped and enriched by the wit, wisdom and love of her grandmother.”

She recently emailed me some great tips to use when going home for Thanksgiving, such as recording your elders’ stories and memories. Future generations will appreciate being able to hear and see these stories for themselves.

Visit www.sulatoo.com to learn more about Odom’s grandmother Sula, her book At Sula’s Feet and her CD.

local author scott kelby has new book out

Computer-book author and local resident Scott Kelby has updated his iPod book. The iPod Book: Doing Cool Stuff with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store was recently updated and re-released with hundreds of tips and tricks for every iPod, including the new video-enabled iPod, the new iPod Nano, the new ROKR iTunes-enabled cell phone and iTunes V.6.

I’m one of the five people in the U.S. who doesn’t have an iPod, so it’s all Greek to me. I was glad to discover, however, that Kelby lives in the Tampa Bay Area. He’s the Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop Users Magazine, Mac Designers Magazine and Nikon Capture User magazine, as well as an author and trainer. I’m not sure when he find the time to listen to music on his iPod!

writer pam houston at university of tampa next week

The Writers At The University Series at the University of Tampa wraps up for the semester next week with a visit from novelist and short story writer Pam Houston. Here are the event details:

November 29, 2005
8 p.m.; free and open to the public
Plant Hall Music Room
University of Tampa
contact: Wing Barfoot (wbarfoot(at)ut.edu) 813-253-6216

To learn more about Pam Houston or this event, click here.

the historian by elizabeth kostova

What is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova about?

After a young girl discovers her father’s darkest secret, she embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could–to find history’s most legendary fiend, Dracula.

(from the official website)

The Historian is the Tampa Book Buzz Online Book Club’s pick for November.

2006 festival of reading

Go ahead and mark your calendars for Saturday, October 28, 2006. That’s the date for next year’s Festival of Reading. Authors, make a note in your calendars to check their website in the spring to find out how to apply to be a featured author or a book exhibitor.

book giveaway at turner classic movies

There’s still time to enter the monthly book giveaway sweepstakes at the Turner Classic Movies website. This month they’re featuring two books: Warren Beatty:A Private Man by Suzanne Finstad and Elia Kazan:A Biography by Richard Schickel. To learn more about these books or to enter the sweepstakes, click here.

the just read, florida! selection causes controversy

Aaah, what would life be like without controversy? This one involves two of the most touchy issues — religion and books. It seems that Jeb Bush’s Just Read, Florida! program is “implementing a statewide event featuring grade level specific contests to promote literacy among all grades 3-12 for public, private and home school students.” Sounds wonderful, right?
Well, the catch is that the contest is about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. This contest ties into the upcoming Disney film The Narnia Chronicles: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The grade school students are competing in an essay contest, the middle school kids have an illustration contest, and the high school students are competing in a short video contest. Some of the prizes are pretty spectacular, including a private movie screening and award ceremony at MGM Studios, free hotel stay and tickets to Disney’s MGM Studios theme park.

The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State is very unhappy at the book selected for this contest. They say that the contest violates the First Amendment because it promotes a “religious story.” They are calling on Just Read, Florida! to replace The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with a different, non-religious choice.

The Arizona-based religious liberty group Alliance Defense Fund has offered to provide free legal representation to any schools Americans United threatens with legal action.

I wonder if this will explode or just quietly fade away.

brief blogging break

I’m in the process of transitioning to a new position at my Real Job and it’s kicking my butt. I’m taking a brief break from blogging, because all I have time for right now is working and sleeping (and eating, when I’m lucky). Please check back on Saturday, November 19th — I’ll be back to my old self by then. Don’t forget to come back!