Consider names, names of characters. Alice in Wonderland. Hamlet. Huckleberry Finn. Do we accept (and know) these names because the literary works are famous? Or do we know the names because they could be none other? Would The Tragedy of Ted, Prince of Denmark, work just as well? Years ago, when working as a librarian at
I do not know what you think about when the city of Venice, Italy, passes through your mind—if it ever does. A city built on water—to be sure—and a republic for one thousand years. (In 1783, there were only two republics in the world: The USA and Venice.) But for writers and publishers there are
In the long process of publishing, I have always loved the moment when the first “proofs” of a book arrive on my desk. Strictly speaking a proof means, “Something that proves a statement; evidence or argument establishing a fact or the truth of anything, or belief in the certainty of something; an instance of this.”
I had left my librarian’s position at Trenton State College, and set in to write full time. That said, I was not so sure I could make the financial bar. In any case, at the same time my wife accepted a six-month academic position at UCLA. I’m not sure quite what happened but, when she arrived,
I worked at the Theatre Collection for nine years. After (I believe) four years, the Collection moved to Lincoln Center, to become part of the Performing Arts Library Center. There were three collections:, The Dance Collection, the Music Collection and the Theatre Collection. By then I was on the staff as a full-time librarian for
My wife was ill. Moreover, she was the one who brought in the steady income. (Old gag: What do you call an artist who has no partner? Homeless.) At the time, I was living in NYC and writing plays, but there was little interest in my work, and absolutely no income. I therefore had a series
This summer and early fall, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. We’ve come to #1. Does it surprise you that the most-read of my story behind the story is The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle? It was my
This summer and early fall, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. As we continue our countdown, Nothing But the Truth is #2 on the most-read list, my 24th book and a Newbery Honor winner in 1992. Although it
This summer and early fall, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. As we continue our countdown, Something Upstairs is #3 on the most-read list, my 20th book. __________________________________ I was living in Los Angeles, one of the USA’s
This summer, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. As we continue our countdown, this book is #4 on the most-read list, my 11th book. __________________________________ Many people are fascinated by maps. I knew a serious book collector who