This week, Amazon.com announced its second annual list of the Most Well-Read Cities in America, as determined by per-capita sales data of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle format since June 1, 2011 (only data for cities with more than 100,000 residents are tabulated). Amazon.com's Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities are:
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- Alexandria, Va. (which topped the list for Romance book readers)
- Cambridge, Mass. (which topped the list for Business & Investing books)
- Berkeley, Calif. (which topped the list for Travel book buyers)
- Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Boulder, Colo. (which topped the list for Health, Fitness & Dieting)
- Miami, Fla.
- Arlington, Va.
- Gainesville, Fla.
- Washington, D.C.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Pittsburgh, Penn.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Seattle, Wash.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Columbia, S.C.
- Bellevue, Wash.
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Richmond, Va.
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New York City, that hub of writing and publishing life, now has its own literary awards.
Mayor Bloomberg recently announced the NYC Literary Honors, a new award meant "to officially recognize some of the New Yorkers that have told our stories, chronicled our experiences, shared our love for our home, and enriched the lives of millions of readers around the world." The inaugural awards, which are expected to be given annually, honored bodies of work.
The 2012 NYC Literary Honors were presented at Gracie Mansion. Award winners included:
- Paul Auster for Fiction. Auster has written 16 novels, including The New York Trilogy.
- Robert Caro for Non-Fiction. Caro, the author of biographies on such historic figures as New York's infamous visionary developer, Robert Moses, has won a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award and a presidential National Humanities Medal.
- Walter Dean Myers for Children's Literature. Myers is the author of two Newbery Honor books and five Coretta Scott King Book Award winners.
- Marie Ponsot for Poetry. She's the author of The Bird Catcher, which won a National Book Critics Circle award.
- Roz Chast for Literary Humor. Chast is a cartoonist who has had more than 1,000 cartoons published in magazines like The New Yorker.
- Robert Silvers for The Literary Life. Silvers has edited The New York Review of Books since 1963.
- A NYC student, Angelica Modabber, was also honored.
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For writers who want to hone their craft and publishing knowledge, and expand their network in a lovely East Coast resort environment, the Cape Cod Writers Center offers a Summer Conference.
The Cape Cod Writers Center has hosted an annual summer writers conference since 1963, when a group of local writers asked prominent authors who summered on the beautiful Massachusetts Cape to speak about their careers. Since then, the annual conference of the Cape Cod Writers Center has commanded national attention and drawn acclaimed authors, including Mary Higgins Clark, Dennis Lehane, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Malachy McCourt.
This year from August 5 - 10, the 50th Anniversary Conference will feature New York Times bestselling authors Andre Dubus III and Joseph Finder, humor writer Gina Barreca and a host of publishing professionals and media experts, including Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, co-authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published who will host a Pitchapalooza, where aspiring writers will each have one minute to pitch their book ideas and be critiqued for style, marketability, etc.
Held at the Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis, surrounded by the Cape's sun, sand and surf, conference courses, seminars and talks will include the craft of writing in many forms (novels, poetry, screenwriting, etc.) as well as topics of interest to authors today, from digital primers to building your readership (aka book marketing) to time management for writers.
Visit the Cape Cod Writers Center website to download the full conference brochure.
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The Writers Studio celebrated its 25th anniversary of helping writers of all levels meet their potential with an evening of helping impoverished women meet their needs: showcasing the work of Global Goods Partners.
The Writers Studio has outposts in New York City, San Francisco, Tuscon, Amsterdam and Paris, as well as online courses. Summer Session of workshops begins May 23.
Read more about The Writers Studio and about organizations that support writers in their creative endeavors and careers, including the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Romance Writers of America (RWA), and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Or read about the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP).
