Chris Robley
Chris Robley is an award-winning poet, songwriter, performer, and music producer who now lives in Portland, Maine after more than a decade in Portland, Oregon. His music has been praised by NPR, the LA Times, the Boston Globe, and others. Skyscraper Magazine said he is “one of the best short-story musicians to come along in quite some time.” Robley’s poetry has been published or is forthcoming in POETRY, Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, Beloit Poetry Journal, RHINO, Magma Poetry, and more. He is the 2013 winner of Boulevard's Poetry Prize for Emerging Writers and the 2014 recipient of a Maine Literary Award in the category of "Short Works Poetry."
How one debut author prepared to give a great public reading
Melville House (the rad, Brooklyn-based indie publisher) has just published my friend Josh Cook's debut novel, "An Exaggerated Murder." The next step? A reading tour, of course! Josh Cook will spend a good chunk of March reading at various bookstores in the northeast — and he's put a lot of thought and preparation into this tour. He says:Ultimately, I think of this amount of preparation as one-part “Jesus, I Hope I Don’t Embarrass Myself” and two-parts, “These People Could Be Doing Anything Right Now, I Mean, There’s Probably a Bruins Game On, but They Came to See Me,” with a dash of “This Is Part of Your Fucking Dream, Dude,” and a whisper of “You Could Even Sell Some Books Tonight.”
The novels everyone should read, according to top book lists and prizes
As much as we writers of the 21st Century like to believe the Internet will explode 'the canon' or render it obsolete, we keep coming back to these fun little lists. 10 best..., 3 favorite..., etc. They're so shareable! And great to argue over! So, here's another one: "The Novels Everyone Should Read." Lifehacker has posted a word cloud with all the books they think you should've read by now, ranked according to accolades the books have received (prizes and list appearances), including the Pulitzer Prize, National Review, Time, Times Literary Supplement, Goodreads, Library Thing, Guardian, and others.
Pitching your book to agents on Twitter with #PitMad
On March 11th, literary agents will be turning to Twitter to find their next author clients. That's right: it's time for another #PitMad, the manuscript pitching party on Twitter where you can tweet in hopes of finding an agent for your book.Here's how #PitMad works:
Between 8am and 8pm EST, authors can pitch their completed manuscripts two times per hour (per manuscript) in 140 characters or less using the hashtag #PitMad, along with the hashtag abbreviation for their genre (see below for those abbreviations). Literary agents monitor the feed throughout the day and favorite the pitches they like. When an agent favorites your tweet, it’s an invitation to send them your query.
An interview with BookBaby President Steven Spatz
Joel Friedlander interviews president Steven Spatz about self-publishing and BookBaby's new services.
Funny literary Valentine’s Day cards
Buzzfeed has posted 16 Hilarious Literary Valentine's Day Cards for you! Don't you feel loved now? The cards "quote" famous writers' imaginary innuendos, from the tacky to the scandalously tacky. Check 'em out HERE. Oh, and happy Valentine's Day!
The opposite writing habits of famous authors [Infographic]
"Opposite Habits of Famous Writers" is an infographic from Bid4papers that shows us which celebrated writers loved coffee and which loved tea. Did they write in the early morning? Late at night? Check it out!
