The Wednesday Web Browser

  • This week, I’m reading Andrew Furman’s new memoir, My Los Angeles in Black and (Almost) White. It’s a very absorbing read—and I’d say that even if Andy weren’t a friend! Over on her Reading for Writers blog, A. P. Bucak, who has already finished the book, seems to feel the same way.
  • Stacy Schiff shares advice for aspiring biographers.
  • You still have three days to buy Christmas presents, and Writer Abroad has some gift suggestions for the international writers on your lists.
  • My latest book review tackles some questions about how anthologies are compiled.
  • The ever-reliable After Deadline blog presents a new batch of “notes from the newsroom on grammar, usage and style.”
  • Friday Find: Essay Symposium Proceedings from Welcome Table Press

    Some of you may have caught my short article in The Writer magazine some months back that described a spring event here in New York: a symposium convened by Welcome Table Press titled “In Praise of the Essay: Practice & Form.” In that article, I called Jerald Walker’s presentation–which included an account of one editor’s pre-publication request to confer with Walker’s 73-year-old mother before going ahead with a particular piece–“a conference standout.”

    Well, now you can read Walker’s presentation for yourself. Thanks to Lisa Romeo’s blog, I recently learned that Welcome Table Press has made some of the symposium proceedings available for download (link updated April 2021: click “In Praise of the Essay: Symposia Proceedings” and scroll to Walker’s essay). (You can download this material for free, or you can purchase them in pamphlet form to benefit Welcome Table Press.)

    Enjoy the find, and have a wonderful weekend. See you back here on Monday.

    Friday Finds: Online Resources for Office Writing

    Today, I get the chance to return to the classroom. Sort of.

    At the day job, a colleague and I–both of whom have writing-intensive positions at our office–have been asked to lead a presentation for some of our co-workers. The subject: writing at/for work.

    Between the questions that my co-presenter and I have already received from the participants, and a case study we’ve chosen (an example of an e-mail you would NOT want to send), I think we’re all going to have a good time today. (Plus, there will be food! Yes, I am getting a free lunch today!)

    We’ll also share and discuss resources for further consultation. Several of these are online resources, and you’ll notice that some already appear right here on the Practicing Writing sidebar. But they bear re-presentation:

  • Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) Consult the site map for a detailed list of subtopics. A section on “Workplace Writing” is especially helpful (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/681/01/). For instance, this section includes a full subsection on Memos (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/1/).
  • University writing program sites (e.g., the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/business.html)
  • Ask the Editor (http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=view_recent_ask)
  • After Deadline (http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/after-deadline/)
  • Anything else you might recommend? Please do share!

    See you back here on Monday. Have a great weekend!

    The Wednesday Web Browser

  • The After Deadline blog deals with numbers in the news.
  • Tayari Jones shares the trauma and ultimate triumph of changing the title of her forthcoming novel.
  • Nova Ren Suma recalls six fateful paragraphs.
  • Book-reviewing advice from Sarah Weinman, Jane Litte, and another Sarah (last name not included).
  • Speaking of book reviewing, here’s my brief take on Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, a novel by Natasha Solomons.
  • The Practicing Writing blog is grateful for its readership! We’ll be taking a few days off for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Warm wishes to all, and see you back here on Monday.