National Writers Series Announces Fall 2010 Lineup

New York Times best-selling authors and National Book Award winners, including James Bradley (“Flags of Our Fathers”), Peter Matthiessen (“Shadow Country”) and Karl Marlantes (“Matterhorn”), will headline the 2010 fall season of the National Writers Series.

First up in the fall season is “An Evening with James Bradley” on Friday, September 24 at the City Opera House at 7:00 p.m. The author, who wrote three acclaimed NYT best-selling books including “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Flyboys” and “The Imperial Cruise,” will be joined onstage by National Writers Series founder and NYT best-selling author Doug Stanton for a lively and entertaining conversation about Bradley’s work, as well as an interactive audience Q&A. In addition, there will be a special reading from the student winners of this year’s National Writers Series Scholarship Fund, who were selected by a panel of judges in August. Bradley will personally present the winners with an award recognizing their achievement. For complete details on the event, click here.

Walter Kirn (“Up in the Air”) to Interview Audrey Niffenegger July 15

Walter Kirn, New York Times book reviewer and best-selling author of “Up in the Air” (upon which last year’s Academy Award-nominated movie was based), will join the National Writers Series this Thursday, July 15 as the guest host for “An Evening with Audrey Niffenegger.”

Kirn has penned such critically acclaimed books as “Lost in the Meritocracy” and “Thumbsucker,” which was turned into a film starring Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn, and is currently a contributing editor at Time magazine. The two authors will take part in a lively and entertaining discussion of Niffenegger’s internationally beloved books, her work as an author and visual artist, and her personal life. The event will include an interactive audience Q&A. For event and ticket information, click here.

Next Up at the National Writers Series: Audrey Niffenegger

Continuing the popular 2010 spring/summer season of the National Writers Series, which has featured such guests as Tom Brokaw and Thomas Lynch,  we welcome New York Times best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger at the City Opera House on Thursday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Born in South Haven, Michigan, Audrey Niffenegger is the tour-de-force writer behind 2003’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” which has sold five million copies world-wide and has been translated into 33 languages. The book dominated the New York Times best-seller list, won the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize and a British Book Award, was chosen as a 2003 Amazon.com Book of the Year and was a Today Show Book Club pick. In 2009, a film adaptation … Continue Reading

Meet the Writer: Tom Brokaw

Legendary news anchor and television journalist Tom Brokaw will visit Traverse City on Wednesday, May 12 as part of the 2010 TC National Writers Series. Anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004, Brokaw is the only person to ever host all three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of runaway hits “The Greatest Generation,” “The Greatest Generation Speaks” and “Boom! Voices of the Sixties,” as well as recipient of the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement and the first journalist to ever receive the George Catlett Marshall Medal, the U.S. Army’s highest award.
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Meet the Writer: Bryan Gruley

Bryan Gruley is the Chicago bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal. An award-winning journalist, Bryan shared in the Pulitzer Prize given to the Journal in 2002 for coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He is also the best-selling author of “Starvation Lake,” set in Northern Michigan, and the forthcoming “The Hanging Tree.” In advance of his guest turn hosting “An Evening with Mary Karr” this Sunday at the City Opera House, we talked with Bryan about his career in journalism, his recommended recent reads (“The Turnaround” earned a nod), and the local spots that made his list of favorite haunts in Northern Michigan.


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Meet the Writer: Mary Karr

Mary Karr has been called “the best memoirist of her generation” for her three gripping best-selling books: “The Liars’ Club,” “Cherry” and most recently “Lit,” which the New York Times chose as one of the “10 best books of 2009.” The memoir received universal rave reviews, including recommendations in Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, the Washington Post and USA Today, which called the book “a redemptive, painfully funny story.” Mary talked with us about the impact the books’ success has had on her life, the Catholic Church and what advice she gives students pursuing careers in writing.


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Meet the Writer: Rhoda Janzen

Rhoda Janzen, a former poet laureate of UCLA and now an assistant professor of English at Hope College, will appear at the National Writers Series on March 5 to discuss her best-selling memoir, “Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.” The book, which recounts Rhoda’s experience moving back in with her conservative Mennonite parents at age 43 after a series of traumatic setbacks, has been called “wonderfully intelligent and frank” by the New York Times, and it received rave reviews in USA Today, People, Entertainment Weekly and Publishers Weekly. We caught up with the author, currently at work on a follow-up memoir, to discuss her hit book and what took place after “The End” to inspire a second book.

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Amy Alkon Press Appearances, Book Signings in TC

Amy Alkon will kick off the 2010 TC National Writers Series at the City Opera House at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night. If you don’t have tickets yet, you can purchase them online here or at the door tomorrow.

In advance of her appearance, Amy will be making stops at a number of local media outlets and bookstores today and tomorrow. She’s a blast to be around, but don’t take our word for it – check her out at any of the following:



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Doug Stanton Shares Reading Resolutions with New York Times

New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler wrote the following in a recent NYT article:

I asked a bunch of writers who had best sellers in 2009 if they had made any reading-­related New Year’s resolutions. Some were willing to recklessly commit to new courses of literary action … Continue Reading

Meet the Writer: Amy Alkon

Nationally syndicated columnist and author Amy Alkon (“I See Rude People”) is featured in over 100 newspapers across the U.S., including the Northern Express in Traverse City. The ‘Advice Goddess’ will kick off the 2010 TC National Writers Series next Thursday, February 11 with an intimate on-stage discussion with hosts Doug & Anne Stanton, as well as an interactive audience Q&A and post-event dinner reception. We caught up with Amy to discuss her upcoming appearance in Traverse City, her famous advice column and why growing up in Michigan inspired her to take a stance against all things rude.


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