Henry Miller Memorial Library

Take it away, New York Times:

Barney Rosset, the flamboyant, provocative publisher who helped change the course of publishing in the United States, bringing masters like Samuel Beckett to Americans’ attention under his Grove Press imprint and winning celebrated First Amendment slugfests against censorship, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 89.

He defied censors in the 1960s by publishing D. H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer,” ultimately winning legal victories that opened the door to sexually provocative language and subject matter in literature published in the United States. He did the same thing on movie screens by importing the sexually frank Swedish film “I Am Curious (Yellow).”

His goal almost from the beginning was to publish Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer,” an autobiographical, sexually explicit novel that had been published in Paris in 1934 and long been banned in the United States…..

(Ed: so yeah, no “Cancer” equals no Henry Miller Library. Much love Barney!)

Here’s a headline that’ll make you want to driver your car off a cliff: “In Data Deluge, Multi-Taskers Go to Multi-Screens.” To summarize:

“Workers in the digital era can feel at times as if they are playing a video game, battling the barrage of e-mails and instant messages, juggling documents, Web sites and online calendars. To cope, people have become swift with the mouse, toggling among dozens of overlapping windows on a single monitor.
But there is a growing new tactic for countering the data assault: the addition of a second computer screen. Or a third.”

Ugh.

There’s a picture of a gal who uses 3 computers to writer her blog about Facebook (!)

But, I guess it does point to one of the many banes of the modern age: too much clutter, data, and white noise. And, of course, it’s a problem that just doesn’t plague computer and coder-types. It can affect all of us, especially writers.

Which is where Miller’s 11 Commandments of Writing come back into play, as astutely noted by the blog “Love the One You’re With”:

In this age of multi-tasking and trying to do too much, it is no wonder that we as writers are sometimes overwhelmed by choices. [Ed: aka, the "tyranny of choice."] We have so many half-finished novels sitting in our desk drawers, so many great short stories or poems that need a good once over. But there isn’t enough time in the day.

Which is where Miller’s Commandments numbers 1 and 10 come into play:

#1 – Work on one thing at a time until finished.
#10 – Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.

Not sure how Miller would have felt about working on three screens simultaneously though.

The Big Sur Writing Workshop’s final-final-final deadline is tomorrow, February 17th. To register, go here, or call us at the Henry Miller Library: 831-667-2574.

And since, as writers, deadlines dictate our lives, some of us may be still on the fence about registering. And that’s fair.

Our glowing testimonials aside, the workshop is a commitment, and some writers may feel they’re just “not ready,” professionally-speaking, to take the plunge and have intensive critique groups and hands-on feedback from our amazing faculty. That’s also fair.

To those in this camp, we suggest reading this awesome post courtesy of Elephants on a Trapeze, aka, the blog of writer Rebecca Wells. In it, she guides us through her thought process as to whether to register for the workshop. (Spoiler alert: she registers!)

And in the process, she makes a more articulate and compelling case for registration – especially for those relatively new to children’s writing – than we ever could.

Money quotes (read the whole thing here):

* “…and I saw Casey McCormick‘s post about it a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden I was thinking thoughts like, It’s only BARELY out of my price range, and Why not? Because really, WHY NOT? I’ve been seriously plugging away at this writing thing for close to two years now, and to be honest, I haven’t really gotten where I wanted to be (or even close).

* “So I registered. Which turned out to be a great decision right off the bat, as it forced me to write a query for the first time. I think it’s sort of okay, but who really knows? (Hint: After this workshop, I will!)”

* “I’m really, really excited. For the first time ever, my writing is going to be in front of (relatively) objective eyes. Specifically, objective eyes from one of the most respected children’s lit agencies in the country (Andrea Brown Literary). I had a dream about it last night, that’s how crazy excited I am…”

First and foremost, have we told you about MediaCause?

They’re this fantastic start-up which brings together tech volunteers with non-profits. So, let’s say you’re, the SPCA of Monterey County (or, errrm, the Henry Miller Library), and you need some tech help involving, say, making your website better, or social media, etc.

So you sign up to Mediacause, post your challenge, and their army of awesome, talented volunteers help you. That’s it – no catch!

So with that in mind, we posted a challenge re: a new site we’d like to build. Click here to find out more about what we’re trying to do, and regardless, tell your friends about MediaCause, beCAUSE (get it?) it’s really cool.

Peace!

Chris Howard is the author of the “Rootless” – check out his home page and Facebook page – and, coincidentally, an alumni of the Big Sur Writing Workshop. Hmmm…perhaps it’s not such a coincidence after all…

Here’s Chris’ testimonial about his most recent workshop experience (and yes, the workshop registration deadline has been extended to Feb 17th – go here or call 831-667-2574):

***

Attending the Big Sur Workshop was one of the greatest things I ever did. I came out of the experience with both an agent and an editor, and not two years after attending Big Sur, my first novel will be on the shelves.

Even if I hadn’t been positioned at the right place at the right time, even if this was another story I had to scrap and start over, going to Big Sur still would have been an amazing experience. The place itself is inspirational, the people who attend are brilliant to be around, and the faculty was superb – you get excellent and honest feedback in the small-group critique sessions. Everyone you meet is helpful and friendly and supportive.

I loved that my phone didn’t work and I had no access to the internet. You can walk around among the trees and the mist. and you can stay up all night writing and there’s a delicious breakfast and hot coffee waiting on you the next morning. If you’re thinking of going – then GO! You learn a lot. And it’s blast. I made friends to last a lifetime, and very much look forward to going back.

***

The deadline to register for the Big Sur Writing Workshop is February 10th! Register here!

Good news! There are still a few spots left for the March 2-4 Big Sur Writing Workshop in Seaside, CA. To register go here or call us at 831-667-2574.

Indeed. The deadline to register for the March 2-4 Big Sur Writing Workshop for picture books, early reader, middle grade and young adult (YA) fiction is today, Feb. 10th, at, oh, let’s say, 11:59 pm, California time.

To register go here or call us at 831-667-2574.

And if you need an extra push, think of Eric Elfman and his smiling face (below.) That’s because he’s just been added to our esteemed faculty.

Eric Elfman is the author of 10 books for middle-grade and young adult readers, including ALMANAC OF THE GROSS, DISGUSTING & TOTALLY REPULSIVE (Random House), an ALA Recommended book for Reluctant Readers, and three X-FILES novelizations (HarperTrophy). Eric is co-author of TESLA’S ATTIC (Hyperion), the first of a three-book series to be published starting next year.

Also a screenwriter, Eric has developed projects with Dreamworks, Universal Home Entertainment, Walden Media, Walt Disney, and others companies. He has written articles for Dwell, Mental_Floss, Creative Screenwriting, Disney Adventures, and other magazines, has written pages of the Houghton Mifflin 5th Grade History textbook, and study guides for the Mark Taper Forum/PLAY, bringing live theater to high school and middle school students.

He has been coaching writers privately for the past six years (www.ericElfmanCoaching.com).

(Once again, register by going here or just call us at 831-667-2574!)

By now you may be tired of hearing about the Big Sur Writing Workshop. But hear us out. First, the registration deadline is tomorrow. So go here or call us at 831-667-2574.

And second, hey, maybe some folks still haven’t heard about it, and if they end up registering, they won’t be disappointed!

After all, it’s winter time and things are slow anyway. Once we get past the workshop, we’ll get back to the juicy winter blog topics you’ve come to expect: Henry Miller, bad sex writing, and Theo drinking from the toilet.

Until then, let us check out the writers who’ll be sitting in on our esteemed faculty, shall we?

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 16 published and forthcoming books. Her newest releases are “Jumpstart the World” (Knopf, Fall 2010) and “Second Hand Heart” (Transworld UK, Fall 2010). Forthcoming is “Don’t Let Me Go” (Transworld UK, Spring 2011) and “When You Were Older” (Transworld UK, Fall 2011). Newer novels are “Becoming Chloe” (Knopf, 2006), “Love in the Present Tense” (Doubleday, 2006), “The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance” (Knopf, 2007), “Chasing Windmills” (Doubleday, 2008), “The Day I Killed James“ (Knopf, 2008), “Diary of a Witness”” (Knopf, 2009), and “When I Found You” (Transworld UK, 2009).

Older works include the story collection “Earthquake Weather,”, and the novels “Funerals for Horses,” “Pay It Forward,” “Electric God,” and “Walter’s Purple Heart.” “Pay It Forward” was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries.

Eric J. Adams is an author, film producer, screenwriter, and journalist. Eric co-wrote and produced the independent feature film “My Suicide,” starring David Carradine, Joe Mantegna, and Nora Dunn. “My Suicide” won the coveted Crystal Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and was selected to screen at SXSW in Austin, Gen Art Film Festival in New York, and the San Francisco International Film Festival.

With his new company, Sleeperwave Films, Eric is in development on a number of film projects, including a co-production with Halle Berry’s management company on his script “Supremacy,” the true story of a black family held hostage by white supremacist fugitives. Eric is also the author of several books, including the suspense/thrillers “Plot Twist” (St. Martin’s Press), “Birdland,” (Hodder & Stoughton) and the dramatic non-fiction “Loss of Innocence: A True Story of Juvenile Murder“ (Avon Books).

As a journalist, Eric has written for dozens of national and regional publications, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Wired, and Salon. He twice won silver medals at the Houston International Film Festival for his screenplays “True Crime” and “Desperate Night,” and he was recently named a Djerassi Screenwriting Fellowship finalist by the San Francisco Film Society.

First and foremost: Deadline to register for the Big Sur Writing Workshop, March 2-4 in Seaside, is this Friday. So go here to register or simply call us 831-667-2574 with credit card handy.

Secondly, as our success stories indicate, many workshop participants walk away with a publishing deal, which is cool if that’s your thing. And that’s because the workshop is co-sponsored by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who, it should be noted, has been consistently ranked #1 in juvenile sales in Publishers Marketplace.

Here are the agents who’ll be in attendance. And we’re still taking registrations here.

Andrea Brown: President of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. since 1981, author of “Writers’ and Artists’ Hideouts: Great Getaways for Seducing the Muse,” published numerous articles for Writer’s Digest and other publications. Prior to opening her own firm, Andrea was an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, and worked in the editorial departments of Random House and Dell. In 1990, she moved her literary agency to Northern California.

Her literary agency has sold over 2,000 books to just about every publisher, from toddler board books to serious, award-winning young adult. She is the executive director of the Big Sur Writing Workshops.

Laura Rennert: Senior Agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She’s been with the agency for ten years, and specializes in all categories of children’s books, from picture books to young adult. Some of her noteworthy deals include deals for over half a million dollars to both Random House and Simon & Schuster; six-figure YA deals to Razorbill/Penguin, Knopf, Feiwel & Friends, Margaret McElderry/S&S, Scholastic, and Harper; and a film deal to Nickelodeon/Paramount.

Laura is the author of a picture book, “Buying, Training, and Caring for Your Dinosaur,” (Fall 2009, Knopf) and of two highly illustrated books for young readers, “The Extra-Ordinary Princess,” forthcoming with Dutton. She has a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Virginia and has nine years of experience teaching as a faculty member in the English Departments of the University of Virginia, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, and Santa Clara University.

Jennifer Rofé: Associate agent Andrea Brown and a graduate of UC Davis with a degree in English and Social and Ethnic Relations, Jennifer also attended Dominican University for Education and taught middle school. Kennifer handles children’s fiction projects ranging from picture books to young adult. Middle grade is Jennifer’s soft spot and she’s open to all genres in this category, especially the tender or hilarious. She is always looking for fresh and distinct voices; stories that simultaneously tug at her heartstrings and make her laugh out loud; and unassuming, “adorkable” heroes.

As for YA, Jennifer is drawn to contemporary works; dramatic or funny romance; and urban fantasy/light sci-fi. She’s especially interested in mind-blowingly smart projects that are layered, complex, and unexpected. In terms of picture books, early readers, and chapter books, she is interested in character-driven projects and smart, exceptional writing. Jennifer also enjoys how-to and sports-related nonfiction.

Jennifer Laughran: ennifer began her career in agenting after working as a long-time children’s bookseller and buyer. She is also the founder of the extremely popular YA event series “Not Your Mother’s Book Club”. She joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2007.

Jennifer is looking for YA and middle grade realistic fiction, science fiction, mystery, adventure and humor. She adores simplicity, but she is not interested in the conventional, predictable, mechanical, gimmicky or ordinary. She seeks books that have not only voice, but blood, temperature and a pulse–they can be messy and idiosyncratic, but never weak. If you need to be reassured that your writing is vital, you are probably not an author to interest her.

Kelly Sonnack: Kelly comes to the Andrea Brown Literary Agency after nearly three years with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency where she agented children’s and adult work. Prior to that, Kelly worked for the publishing giant Reed Elsevier, where she served as an Acquisitions Editor under the Academic Press imprint. As an agent, Kelly specializes in all types of children’s literature (picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels).

In picture books and middle grade fiction, Kelly looks for a good sense of humor, stories that stretch a young reader’s imagination, and an authentic voice. In young adult, she appreciates literary voices and character-driven stories with heart. In non-fiction for children, she enjoys projects that inspire and stimulate the minds of our younger generations.

Mary Kole: Mary came to children’s literature from a writer’s perspective and started reading at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency to see what it was like “on the other side of the desk.” She quickly found her passion here and, after a year of working behind the scenes, officially joined the agency in August, 2009. In her quest to learn all sides of publishing, she has also worked in the children’s editorial department at Chronicle Books and earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of San Francisco.

Mary’s passion is editorial work. With all of her clients, she uses her well-honed editorial eye to develop each project to its full potential. She especially enjoys traveling to conferences and SCBWI events to meet writers and actively build her list. Mary lives in Brooklyn and operates the East Coast office of the agency.

There’s an old saying about how sometimes the oppressed becomes the oppressor. Just ask Robespierre. Or Marx, who foretold a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Or Pete Townsend, who said, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

Where am I going with this?

Here’s where: sometimes the outlaws, the renegades, those who “rage” against the “machine…” sometimes they become, well, the machine. The boss. The Mitt Romneys.

Henry Miller, despite his love for the classics, hated the stolid, starchy, vanilla/manilla vibe of modern literature at the time. He very consciously rebelled against it (so much so, he immodestly thought he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.)

But something happened on the way to storming the castle: Miller became the Institution. The Man.

Well, that’s not *entirely* true – most colleges still don’t teach Miller – but it’s fun to see how he has slowly slithered his way into the quasi-mainstream, so much so that you can read articles in the Huffington Post called “11 Brilliant Writing Commandments from Henry Miller.”

Why golly gee, it’s the Moses of Williamsburg parting the sea of cheap Merlot! His stone tablets were stale baguettes. God didn’t talk to him as as burning bush, but rather a chain-smoking Swiss prostitute!

Anyway, it’s a great article, and here are Miller’s 11 Commandments (yes, he outdid Yahweh), taken from his “Henry Miller on Writing,” which you can buy on/at our online store!:

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.

2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.”

3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.

4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!

5. When you can’t create you can work.

6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.

7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.

8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.

9. Discard the Program when you feel like it-but go back to it the next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.

10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.

11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Read the article here!