Now Filming in the 'Burgh: The Fault in Our Stars

I admit, I wasn't too crazy when I heard they were making a movie of The Fault in Our Stars, the incredibly moving novel by John Green.

To begin with, I confess I'm not much of a movie person. That's a recent development; I never used to be this way. And I have a particular apathy for movies made of books I really, really love - like The Fault in Our Stars. 

Because this book is special. It just is.

But oh, now that the movie is filming here in Pittsburgh, as reported by the Post-Gazette, that's a different story.

I'd definitely recommend reading this before seeing the movie. Here's part of my review, from my other blog:

“Sometimes you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” (pg. 33)

You (as in, all you bloggers) have said that this is such a book.

Here’s what you need to know about The Fault in Our Stars: It’s the story of Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters, teenagers who meet in a most unlikely place – a cancer support group. Hazel has accepted that she is likely to die; Augustus is in remission. The bond between the two … well, it sounds cliche to say that they are star-crossed lovers, a cancer-filled Romeo and Juliet, but it makes sense in the meaning and context of this novel. 

And that’s all I’m going to say. Because, as sad and as heartbreaking as the premise may sound, this is an absolute must-read. For teens, for adults, for EVERYONE. It’s a tearjerker, yes. You will cry. But you know what? You’ve cried over more trivial crap, like those who’ve been kicked off America’s Dancing with Survivors and Top Models Who Have No Talent.  Am I right?

The Fault in Our Stars is a story about love and risk and the unfairness of life and it is simply brilliant in every way.

It earns and is more than worthy of your tears.

be seen this weekend at the zine swap meet

It has been forever since I created what passed for a zine (my friend Alison Piepmeier's book Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism helped reawaken my nostalgia for those days), but several Pittsburgh writers and artists have been working hard to keep this literary form alive.

You can take part in their efforts and celebrate the kick off to the Pittsburgh Zine Fair 2013 when The Zine Exchange hosts a Zine Swap Meet this Saturday, August 24 from 6-9 p.m.  It all happens at Future Tenant, located at 819 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh.

Throughout the evening, zine writers and collectors can participate in the swap meet. At 7 PM, join readers Jude Vachon, Erin Oh, Lucy Goubert, Artnoose, and Sarah LaPonte for intimate zine readings followed by a Q&A session.

A little bit about the readers:

Dedicated zinesters Jude Vachon and Erin Oh can be found working at the Carnegie Library Oakland Branch and the Pittsburgh Office of the Mayor, respectively.

Formerly of Roup House, Lucy Goubert is active in Pittsburgh’s poetry scene.

Sarah LaPonte often pairs photography with her literary work.

Artnoose has been making the letterpress zine Ker-bloom! every other month for the past 17 years and continues to do so in the spare moments between single parenting a toddler and renovating a 19th Century house.

Combined, their work with the local zine network—via The Mr. Roboto Project and the Pittsburgh Zine Fair—encourages civic engagement and community interaction while promoting Pittsburgh’s arts and culture movement.  To learn more about The Mr. Roboto Project, please visit their website at therobotoproject.org. For more information about this event and other Future Tenant programming, please visit www.futuretenant.org.

Can’t make it on Saturday? You'll have another chance on Sunday, August 25, when select archival pieces will be on display from 1-6 p.m.

source: The Zine Exchange's Facebook Page.

Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures Presents The 2013 Moth Onstage

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will present The Moth Mainstage tomorrow evening, Thursday, August 22, 7:30 p.m., at the Byham Theater. (Doors open at 6:30.)

Once again the Moth Mainstage title theme features a Pittsburgh symbol or place: "On Point: Stories of Balancing Acts." In keeping with this theme, the new and larger venue at the Byham Theater puts The Moth audience closer to Pittsburgh's famous geographic "Point" than ever before.

Consistently a sell-out, each Mainstage show features five storytellers, a local musician to act as timekeeper, and a charismatic host. The 2013 Moth Mainstage will be hosted by comedian Dan Kennedy, author of three books including his new novel American Spirit, described by one Goodreads reader/reviewer as "an amusing guy-version of an Eat, Pray, Love odyssey." Kennedy is also known to Moth fans everywhere as the regular host of The Moth's popular weekly podcast, downloaded more than 15 million times a year, as well as a contributor to McSweeneys.net and GQ magazine.

Local storytellers include Pittsburgh actor David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely, the beloved "speedy delivery" man on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; Justin Strong, a Pittsburgh entrepreneur best known for opening and operating the Shadow Lounge in the East Liberty; and local photographer, social worker, and producer of the Pittsburgh Moth StorySLAM Kelly Flanagan Dee. Travelling tellers include Chicago writer Shannon Cason, host of storytelling show "Do Not Submit" and podcast Homemade Stories, and Trisha Coburn, a short story writer and former fine artist in Boston and New York City. Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Joy Ike, with a new album and a national fan base, will perform musical accompaniment and keep the tellers to their time limits on stage.

Called "New York's hottest and hippest literary ticket" by the Wall Street Journal, The Moth is an acclaimed nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling. The Moth has presented more than 10,000 stories by people of all walks of life via stage shows, weekly podcasts, and a Peabody Award-winning radio special, The Moth Radio Hour (broadcast locally on 90.5 WESA).

Following the success of the first three Mainstage events, The Moth debuted a Pittsburgh branch of its beloved StorySLAM, a monthly open-mic storytelling competition, in October 2011. Pittsburgh is one of 13 cities nationwide to host a StorySLAM, and sell-out crowds of over 300 have packed venues in Pittsburgh's South Side as 10 interested locals, chosen randomly and live, take the stage each month.

This Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures special event is presented in partnership with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and sponsored by pair Networks and Six Penn Kitchen. Media sponsors are Pop City and WESA 90.5fm. Tickets are available at pittsburghlectures.org, by phone at 412-622-8866, or at the door.

City of Asylum Awarded NEA Grant

Our congratulations go out to City of Asylum/Pittsburgh which was awarded a prestigious National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) grant.

According to an article in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the $100,000 grant will be used to fund public artworks and artists' residencies at the Alphabet City literary center and on the Artway Connector, an art and performance corridor.

We're excited about all the great things that are happening at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh! Check out their website here for more information on their upcoming events and programs.

They'll Vouch For This: Readings Tonight from Chris Lee, Salvatore Pane, Jeffrey Condran, and Sheryl St. Germain

Four local authors will read tonight at Remedy (5121 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA) when VOUCHED presents Chris Lee, Salvatore Pane, Jeffrey Condran, and Sheryl St. Germain. Event starts at 7:00 p.m. and continues until 9:00, with another classic Remedy dance party following. Buy books from Vouched. 

About the authors: 

Chris Lee is a writer and musician from West Virginia. His work has appeared in Pear Noir!, Necessary Fiction, and Flywheel Magazine.

Salvatore Pane is the author of the novel Last Call in the City of Bridges and the chapbook #KanyeWestSavedFromDrowning. His work has appeared in American Short Fiction, The Collagist, Hobart, and many other venues. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Indianapolis and can be reached at www.salvatore-pane.com.

Jeffrey Condran is the author of the forthcoming story collection, A Fingerprint Repeated. His work has been honored with several awards, including The Missouri Review’s 2010 William Peden Prize and Pushcart Prize nominations. He is an Assistant Professor of English at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and co-founder of Braddock Avenue Books.

Sheryl St. Germain currently directs the MFA program in Creative Writing at Chatham University where she also teaches poetry and creative nonfiction. Her work has received several awards, including two NEA Fellowships, an NEH Fellowship, the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, the Ki Davis Award from the Aspen Writers Foundation, and most recently the William Faulkner Award for the personal essay. Her books include Going Home, The Mask of Medusa, Making Bread at Midnight, How Heavy the Breath of God, and The Journals of Scheherazade.

Writers LIVE Presents Yona Harvey at CLP Main - TONIGHT!

We're getting this in just under the wire (our apologies for that!) but you still have time to head down to the Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland tonight to catch Yona Harvey's book talk. She is debuting her new poetry collection, Hemming the Water.

Admission is free and the event begins at 6 p.m. Additional information and details here.

Guest Post: Timing Is Everything ...But, So Is the Message, by J.J. Hensley

J.J. Hensley, author of RESOLVE

Since moving to Pittsburgh two years ago, I've been thrilled to discover just how many talented writers there are with ties to our city and the region. One of the goals of READIN'AT is to celebrate and highlight Pittsburgh area authors in hopes of giving their work greater exposure. 

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome author J.J. Hensley to READIN'AT. He reached out to me on my other website and we began an email exchange about the timing of one's novel when it coincides with events in the news. You see, J.J.'s latest novel is RESOLVE, a thriller set at the Pittsburgh Marathon. I asked him about that (like probably everyone else has since the tragedy in Boston). His response in this guest post is absolutely well-worth the read. 

Thanks so much, J.J.! 

Timing is Everything – But, So is the Message
by J.J. Hensley, author of RESOLVE 

It had to be one of the worst-timed mailings ever.  It was about 10 in the morning and I had just come back from a Post Office north of Pittsburgh.  I had mailed an unsolicited, complimentary copy of my recently-published book to the Editor-in-Chief of Runner’s World magazine. The hard cover version of my novel, Resolve, had just been released and many buyers had emailed me, telling me the book had just been delivered on their doorstep from Amazon or another retailer.  I had a few extra copies, so I figured, why not?  Maybe the main guy at Runner’s World will read the thing, like it, and mention it in the magazine.  The book involves running, so it was a no-lose situation for me, right?

That was 10:00 AM on April, 15 2013.  At 2:49 PM the first explosion occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  It was followed by a second explosion, and for the next several days and weeks the nation’s attention was focused on the hunt for both suspects and explanations.  And somewhere in the halls of the Runner’s World headquarters sat a book I had mailed just hours prior to the bombing.  Normally, this would not be of any consequence, except the book is a murder mystery told as the main character runs the Pittsburgh Marathon.

Obviously, my first thoughts were the same as most who stared at their televisions sets, watching the events unfold.  First, most of us felt shock.  Then, horror.  Then, probably a good amount of rage.  It wasn't until much later that I realized that nobody looks at the postmark of a package.  It could have appeared that I mailed the book after the bombing and that I was trying to profit off of an unimaginable tragedy.  Days later, I attempted to send an email of explanation to a general contact email address, but I would not be surprised if it is still out there in cyberspace and was never read.  Somewhere, somebody at the magazine probably thinks I’m a major jackass.

Over the next few weeks, I had several people comment on the unfortunate luck of having the release of my first novel coincide with the Boston tragedy, especially given the premise of the book.  I did my best to keep things in perspective and to remember how little being published means in comparison to those who were directly affected by what occurred in Boston.  That was easy to do.  I’d been a police officer and seen examples of terrible heartbreak.  I was a Special Agent with the Secret Service and remember the atmosphere after 9-11.  The book thing was not a real tragedy by any means.  But, over time I got mad.  However, my anger had nothing to do with the unfortunate timing of the book release.  It was something else.

When I was initially coming up with the concept of Resolve, I knew I wanted it to be a murder mystery and for the story to somehow involve distance running.  I wanted this to happen because of the stark contrast between a positive event like a marathon and an atrocity such as a murder.  Distance races are wonderful examples of how the human spirit strives to push toward new limits and how the mind can be convinced that the body can do amazing things.  In my opinion, running is not only a wonderful way to exercise, but is a confidence-building, inspiring, anti-depressant.  To create a fictional account where the possibility of a homicide is present during such a wonderful event is one thing.  To see it come to life in Boston was another.  That was why I was mad.  Some very misguided people took something very positive and beautiful and tried to destroy it.  Tried.

Over the past few months, fewer and fewer people have made any mental connection between my book and Boston.  The truth is there really wasn’t much of a connection to begin with.  Resolve is set in Pittsburgh and has nothing to do with terrorism.  However, it was understandable people made the inevitable link between the words “marathon” and “murder”.  I have to admit, I’m glad the connection has mostly vanished and I rarely have to take the time remind people that the book has underlying messages about the wonders of distance running and the determination we are capable of as human beings.  But, as I’ve discovered throughout the publication process, authors are greatly responsible for the marketing of their work before and after a book is published.  Publishers can only do so much.  It brings up an interesting question:  How does an author market his/her work when the work addresses topics that may make others uncomfortable?

I can tell you that in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, I did not market.  Not only did I have no desire to, but it would have been tasteless and tacky, not to mention incredibly insensitive.  Writing is not my “real” job and my family does not depend on that income, so shutting down the marketing was a no-brainer.  Over time, I gradually started marketing again, but tried to stress the positive components of the book and of the sport of distance running.

Now, when I’m marketing I could probably go back to writing and talking about the murder part of the murder mystery, but I’ve found I enjoy discussing the positive much more than the negative.  Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good murder mystery, but I enjoy them more when the protagonist is someone you can really root for and when the plot takes us to the heights of the human condition and not just the depths we try to avoid.  Is this the most effective way for an author to market a book?  I don’t have a clue.  I have never enjoyed the marketing aspect anyway and probably never will.  But, am I more comfortable pointing out the inspirational rather than the simply dwelling on the dark side of life?  Absolutely.  Besides… this is Pittsburgh.  It’s all about staring down challenges and testing our resolve.


J.J. Hensley is the author of RESOLVE, a thriller set in modern day Pittsburgh. As a former police officer and Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service, he has drawn upon his experiences in law enforcement, and a love of distance running, to create a novel full of suspense and insight. Visit him at www.hensley-books.com or www.facebook.com/hensleybooks. Resolve is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and several other outlets.

Mr. Hensley graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Administration of Justice and has a M.S. degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University. The author is currently a training supervisor with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He lives with his beautiful wife, daughter, and two dogs outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.