The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress
Winner of the 2000 Associated Writing Programs Award
published by University of Massachusetts Press, 2001
“The stories in Michelle Richmond’s first collection spin artfully off the life of a single character; smart and adept.” The New York Times
“Richmond’s writing is perceptive and heartfelt, her subjects at once edgy and familiar. This is a winning debut.” Publishers Weekly
“A stunning collection. I am left with a vivid array of visions long remembered afterward.” Jill McCorkle
“Remember this name: Michelle Richmond. Impressive talent and emotional range. Richmond writes with grace, calm, a refreshing sense of playfulness.” The San Francisco Chronicle
“This collection has a novel’s heft;These lives are shaped by fate and place, forces hauntingly evoked by this talented young writer.” The Boston Globe
Read an in-depth review of The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress by Tripp Reade at The Blue Iris Journal. Read the write-up in the New York Times Book Review here. Read the title story here in Other Voices.
Read an excerpt in USA Today.
Read the story behind the novel at Backstory.
“A dreamy, haunting work with a deeply personal feel. Any time a work of fiction raises our sights to higher truths, as this one does, the writer has done her job.” Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Some childhood relationships are so fulfilling they shape our lives and leave us wondering why they didn’t last longer. Richmond captures, explores, and intertwines these bonds so elegantly, you might even think the relationships are your own.” USA Today
“Intelligent, original, complex.” The San Francisco Chronicle
“A complex and nimbly fashioned first novel.” Kirkus Reviews
“The book is finely crafted and compelling, and its emotions resonate true and clear.” Booklist
“With the slow build-up of a mystery, the exquisite pain of a coming-of-age novel, the masterful images of a travel writer, and a darkness that is true to the Southern Gothic, Dream of a Blue Room is a work of wonderfully chimeric form. ” Joanna Pearson, Small Spiral Notebook
Dream of the Blue Room was also published in Germany in 2004, and is forthcoming in a new paperback edition from Bantam.
Eat, Drink, and Be Literary
Book Clubs: This is a brand new feature, and I need your help! If you had a dish or cocktail that was a hit at your book club mixer for one of my books, please send it on! I’ll publish it here with your book club’s name and location. I’d also love to see photos from your meeting.
Drink
Glenda Shaw will be mixing up the Deja Blue cocktail for her book club discussion of DREAM OF THE BLUE ROOM. Get the recipe here.
Dine
Warm up with some San Francisco style clam chowder.
I’m not sure why they call it the “San Francisco treat,” but here’s a great recipe for, you guessed it, Rice-A-Roni.
Dessert
Edinburgh Fog
Going Local
If you’re in the area, try one of these great book club meeting spots:
The Beach Chalet
Tomaso’s
Louis’ Diner
Simple Pleasures
Patty Jansen’s book club at The Beach Chalet, with the Year of Fog cake!
Book Club Central
Go here to see the reading group guide for NO ONE YOU KNOW.
Go here to see the reading group guide for THE YEAR OF FOG.
Go here to read a brief interview about NO ONE YOU KNOW. Go here to read a more in-depth interview.
Go here to read about the inspiration for THE YEAR OF FOG.
Go here to read about the inspiration for DREAM OF THE BLUE ROOM.
Visit my Eat, Drink, and Be Literary page for recipes to go with your book club discussion of The Year of Fog, No One You Know, or Dream of the Blue Room.
Patty Jansen’s book club at The Beach Chalet, with the Year of Fog cake!
I’d love to include photos of your book club meeting on my website…send them to fog talk at g mail dot com (all one word.)
Private: on the blogs
“A story beautifully told about love and loss, passion and family. It will make you laugh and it will break your heart. Michelle Richmond’s writing just gets better and better.” Nancy Salmon, Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, CA
Richmond has a literary voice that speaks to me on a variety of levels. In Fog, she uses memory as a recurring character of its own. Here she uses the science of math in the same way…One of the most important reasons this book appealed to me was the whole concept of how true crime writers can violate the privacy of the survivors and may force them unwillingly into the role of becoming additional victims…As someone who has been the victim of a violet crime and has had someone close to me murdered, I now approach all these books wondering how they affect those left behind. Which are based on a headline and which are a complete fabrication of the author……My thanks to Michelle Richmond for getting it right. Rosen, on the Cooking Light Book Thread
“A mesmerizing literary thriller.” Cincinatti Public Library
“No One You Know is a gorgeous, beautifully written, character driven novel, but it is also a thriller. Ellie does her detecting, following leads that often put her in danger, and in the end she finds her answers, and some peace as well.” Becky JG, Borders bookseller in Los Angeles
film adaptation of The Year of Fog
Production companies: Newmarket Films and Andrew Lauren Productions
The screen adaptation of THE YEAR OF FOG was written by Semi Chellas.
Producers: P. Jennifer Dana (Winter Passing, Brother’s Shadow, Arrested Development), Andrew Lauren (The Squid and the Whale), Aaron Ryder (Memento, Donnie Darko, The Prestige, The Mexican)
Executive Producers: Christopher Ball, William Tyrer (The Preistige, Donnie Darko, Memento, The Mexican…)
Director: Karen Moncrieff
About the director: Karen Moncrieff directed THE DEAD GIRL (2006), which was nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature and Best Director. She also wrote and directed the 2002 Sundance hit BLUE CAR, which was later released by Miramax, and she has directed for the HBO series SIX FEET UNDER.
THE YEAR OF FOG film is currently in development. More details will be added as they become available.
downlaodable author photos
All photos should be credited to Misty Richmond.
If you would like to obtain a higher resolution photo for print publication, please send an email to fogtalk at gmail dot com.
Michelle Richmond’s third novel, No One You Know, is just out from Delacorte. Her previous books are the New York Times bestseller The Year of Fog, the award-winning story collection The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, and the novel Dream of the Blue Room, which was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award.
Richmond is the recipient of the 2009 Hillsdale Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. She has also received fellowships from the Millay Colony, the Saltonstall Foundation, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, where she was a Walter E. Dakin Fellow. Her stories and essays have appeared in Glimmer Train, Playboy, Oxford American, The Believer, Salon, The Kenyon Review, The Missouri Review, and elsewhere.
Michelle holds an MFA from the University of Miami, where she was a James Michener Fellow. She has taught in the MFA programs in Creative Writing at the University of San Francisco, California College of the Arts, St. Mary’s College of Moraga, and Bowling Green State University.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Michelle lives with her husband and son in San Francisco. She publishes the literary journal Fiction Attic, and she serves on the advisory board of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. She is represented by Valerie Borchardt of Georges Borchardt, Inc. Her next two novels will be published with Bantam, a division of Random House.
Read interviews here.
Click here for downloadable author photos. All photos should be credited to Misty Richmond.
Read short stories and essays online here.
Read an excerpt from Dream of the Blue Room in USA Today.
author photo by Misty Richmond
Interviews, etc.
In Print:
Anneli Rufus for the East Bay Express
Leslie Katz for the San Francisco Examiner. Read the interview here.
Jeff VanderMeer for Omnivoracious, the Amazon editors’ blog.
Profile by Meredith Maran in Family Circle.
Interviewed by Samantha Schoech for Marin Magazine. April 2007 issue.
Profile by Jennifer Haddock in Garden & Gun, issue 2, summer 2007.
Gossip column in Lagniappe, May 2007
Radio Podcasts:
Interviewed by Sedge Thompson for West Coast Live, May 5, 2007
Jim Foster for Conversations on the Coast, May 2007
Jordan Rosenfeld for Writers Digest (coming soon)
With Don George & Simon Winchester on Talk of the Nation (for the Lonely Planet anthology By the Seat of My Pants)
With Nicki Richesin & contributors to The May Queen anthology on the Bat Segundo Show
Online:
Mark Pritchard for SF Metblogs
Gina Holmes for Novel Journey, Dec. 2007
Leonardo Cuellar for Mary
Nicki Richesin for The Happy Booker
Gayle Brandeis for Fruitful, the blog
Joshilyn Jackson for Faster Than Kudzu
Michelle Roberts Matthews for the Mobile Register
Pam Kingsbury for Southern Scribe
Book Launch for The Year of Fog
When: Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Where: Books Inc., Opera Plaza
601 Van Ness, San Francisco
Reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Reading and Q&A at 7:00
Fogalicious door prizes include:
*secret agent tour for two
*tickets to the Balboa Movie Theater
*Random Bag o’ Crap from Gus’s Bait & Tackle
*Coffee from my favorite Richmond district cafe, Simple Pleasures
& more!
Please join us afterwards for drinks at nearby Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter Street
the blue room
Read online:
“Oh, Baby!†Salon.com. July 21, 2004.
“I Wanna Hold Your Hand.†Salon.com. June 26, 2002.
“The Colonists.†Exquisite Corpse. 10. Winter 2001.
“Ooooh, Tannenbaum!†Salon.com. December 11, 2003.
“Obedience.†Identity Theory. May 2004.
“In Flight.†Vestal Review.
“The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress.†The National Literary Review.
Available in Print:
“Milk.” Sex for America. Ed. Stephen Elliott. Forthcoming from Harper Collins, 2008.
“An Open Letter to Mark Burnett’s Production Assistant.†Forthcoming from Bad Girls. Ed. Ellen Sussman. Norton 2007.
“To the Bad Girls Go the Spoils.” Playboy, May 2007. (the issue with Anna Nicole on the cover)
“Putting Out†When I Was a Loser: True Stories of Barely Surviving High School. Ed. John McNally. Free Press. May 2007.
“Logorrhea.†Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories. Ed. John Klima. Forthcoming from Spectra. May 2007.
“An Exciting New Career in Medicine.” Playboy, Feb. 2006.
“A Graceful Exit.†Blow. Issue One. Fall 2006.
“Blackout in Ushuaia.†By the Seat of My Pants. Ed. Don George. Lonely Planet 2005.
“From Somewhere Down South to South Beach.†Bookmark Now. Ed. Kevin Smokler. Basic Books 2005.
“Choose Your Travel Partner Wisely.†Stories from the Blue Moon Café 2. Ed. Sonny Brewer. MacAdam/Cage, 2003.
Independent Bookstores
Follow the links to purchase THE YEAR OF FOG from your favorite bookseller. Or drop by your neighborhood independent!
Bay Area Independent Bookstores
Green Apple, in the Richmond district of San Francisco
Books Inc., (several Bay Area locations)
Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco
Booksmith, San Francisco
Book Passage
Diesel, A Bookstore, Berkeley
Lafayette Books, Lafayette
M Is for Mystery, San Mateo
Reader’s Books, Sonoma
Rakestraw Books, DanvilleDanville
Kepler’s, Menlo Park
A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland
Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley
City Lights, San Francisco
Beyond the Bay Area
Alabama Booksmith, Birmingham
Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle
Powells
Octavia Books, New Orleans
Square Books, Oxford, MS
Vroman’s, Pasadena, CA
The Strand, New York City
Duthie Books, Vancouver
Online
Booksense
Amazon
Border’s
good libraries
More libraries coming soon. If you know of a great library to include, please email me at fogtalk at gmail dot com. And I love to hear from librarians!
San Francisco Public Library
Bay Minette Public Library, AL
Burlingame Public Library, CA
Sausalito Public Library, CA
Sonoma County Library, CA
Mobile Public Library, AL
Cincinnati Public Library
Cleveland Public Library, OH
Durham County Library, NC
Greenwich Library, CT
Minutemen Library Network, MA
Seattle Public Library, WA
Mechanics Institute Library, San Francisco
Mercantile Library, New York City
San Mateo Public Library CA
Northern Tier Regional Library, Gibsonian, PA
Abington Community Library, Summit, PA
Sno-Isle Libraries, WA
Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
Berkeley Public Library, Ca
The Year of Fog
A New York Times best seller
A San Francisco Chronicle best seller
A Library Journal “Best Books of 2007″
A San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book
A Kirkus Reviews “Top Pick for Reading Groups”
A Washington Post “A-list book”
In development with Newmarket Films. Details here.
A Target Bookmarked Club Pick, Spring 2008
A featured alternate selection of the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild, the Mystery Guild, and Doubleday Book Club
Photo tour: View a photographer’s take on the places that inspired The Year of Fog.
The Fog Mix. Yo La Tengo, Beulah, Walty, Morrissey, Steve Forbert, Laura Cantrell, Tom Waits, Wilco, Bruce, Chris Isaak, and more. Music for the fog.
For Book Clubs: Reading Group Guide & Discussion Questions
Author Q&A: My advice to an aspiring author? Be the quietest person at the dinner party. Listen. Observe. Tune into the way people behave, their motivations…
The story behind the book:Emma Balfour walked into my life in the summer of 2003. Our paths collided on Ocean Beach, the 3-mile stretch of gray sand and graffiti-spattered seawall marking the western edge of the city…
Listen to an interview with Michelle Richmond about The Year of Fog, from the XM Radio program Writers on Writing, available for free through AudibleWord. Interview by Josephine Reed. Press play and go to minute 7:30. Note: this is a ten-minute excerpt from a half-hour interview.
Purchase here: From the West Coast to the Gulf Coast, a few of my favorite independent bookstores.
Read an excerpt. Here the truth, this is what I know: we were walking on Ocean Beach, hand in hand. It was a summer morning, cold, July in San Francisco…
Publishers of The Year of Fog in translation: Random House Germany/Diana, Archipel (Netherlands), Tericum Kiado (Hungary), Videograf (Poland), AST (Russia), Editorial Presenca (Portugal), Buchet-Chastel (France), La Esfera De Los Libros (Spain), Musa Knyga (Lithuania)
Also soon to be available from Ebury in England.
About the Book:
Six-year-old Emma vanished into the thick San Francisco mist. Or into the heaving Pacific. Or somewhere just beyond: to a parking lot, a stranger’s van, or a road with traffic flashing by. Devastated by guilt, haunted by her fears about becoming a stepmother, Abby refuses to believe that Emma is dead. And so she searches her mind for clues about what happened that morning—and cannot stop the flood of memories reaching from her own childhood to illuminate that irreversible moment on the beach.
Now, as the days drag into weeks, as the police lose interest and fliers fade on telephone poles, Emma’s father finds solace in his faith–but Abby can only wander the beaches and city streets, attempting to recover the life and the little girl that she lost. With her hope fading and her life at a crossroads, she will leave San Francisco for a country thousands of miles away. And it is there, by the side of another sea, on a journey that has taken her into a strange subculture of wanderers and surfers, that Abby will make the most astounding discovery of all—as the truth of Emma’s disappearance unravels with stunning force.
A profoundly original novel of family, loss, and hope, THE YEAR OF FOG beguiles with its window into the mysteries of time and memory even as it lays bare the deep and wondrous workings of the human heart. The result is a mesmerizing drama that will touch anyone who knows what it means to love a child.
To schedule an author chat, please contact me at fogtalk at gmail dot com.
Reviews & Advance Praise:
“A mesmerizing novel of loss and grief, hope and redemption, and the endurance of love.” Library Journal, starred review
“In this spare page-turner, Richmond draws complex tensions from the setup of a child gone missing… The book is beautifully paced—one feels Abby’s clarity of purpose from the first page. The sure-handed denouement reflects the focus and restraint that Richmond brings to bear throughout.” Publishers Weekly
“Richmond gracefully explores the nature of memory and perception in key passages that never slow the suspense of the search…a page-turner with a philosophical bent.” Booklist
Grade: A. “Gripping…Richmond makes the reader feel the gamut of emotions, from the initial disbelief and blind hope to the nagging guilt and gnawing despair.” ~Alexis Burling,The Washington Post
“What marks us, and how do we react to our impressions, both large and small, of life? These are the questions asked by San Francisco author Michelle Richmond in her wonderful second novel, “The Year of the Fog. Despite all its drama — and this heart-wrenching tale does ratchet up the tension — this is primarily a story of echoes and repercussions…spare, moving…it’s all done delicately, in almost poetic terms.” Clea Simon, The San Francisco Chronicle (read the review here)
“Richmond’s second novel is a startlingly original take on every parent’s worst nightmare…An unsettling and powerful punch of a book, The Year of Fog unfolds as a waking dream about the persistence of memory and the extraordinary force of love.” Cookie Magazine
“A good part of what makes “The Year of Fog” compulsively readable is the voice of its narrator. Abby’s tone is quietly conversational, almost as though she is sitting across the table and, over a cup of coffee, calmly telling her tale. The dispassionate tone reveals a brutally honest teller, and only serves to heighten the tension of the story…both believable and bittersweet.” Robin Vidimos, The Denver Post
“A harrowing, beautifully written story of a photographer and soon-to-be stepmom whose momentary lapse in attention results in the disappearance of her fiancé’s little girl on a foggy beach in San Francisco. What happened to 6-year-old Emma? The answer, and its implications, will keep you on the edge of your beach chair.” Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times.
“[The Year of Fog] manages to have both the high-velocity pace of a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller and nuanced insights into the nature of memory, love, family, and guilt…Richmond burros into the details of San Francisco’s geogaphy and neighborhoods…Like all good mysteries, The Year of Fog twists the reader’s expectations, turning some of what we think we know about missing child cases on its head and providing a surprising and satisfying ending that manages to retain the complexity of real life. It is, in the end, a very memorable book.” ~Samantha Berry, Marin Magazine
“Much more than a tale of a woman looking for a child who’s lost. It’s also about the nature of passion, guilt, and most of all, memory…The Year of Fog also serves as a real-life guidebook of sorts to some of San Francisco’s lesser known neighborhoods and sites…Richmond captures the spirit of life in The City.” ~Leslie Katz, The San Francisco Examiner
“A hauntingly written novel of two people dealing with loss in their own ways… Richmond’s dream-like prose lends to an eerie atmosphere, and the solving [of] the mystery of Emma’s disappearance will leave you breathless.” Parkersburg News & Sentinel
“A child’s disappearance is at the heart of this riveting read that follows photographer, fiancée and soon-to-be-stepmother Abby Mason. Once the drama starts, prepare to race to the last page.” Hallmark Magazine
“Grab your beach bag and call your book club, The Year of Fog probably will be the best new novel of the summer…vivid environmental descriptions and psychologically sound character development. As with all good novels that border on great literature, the plot is multilayered. The Year of Fog will leave the reader both perplexed and enlightened.” Reba McMellon, The Mississippi Press
“A book I just finished this morning - reading while I was making breakfast because I absolutely could not put it down- is The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond. Every single word in this book was worth reading. There are parts of this book that are heartbreaking, but I truly believe it deserves to be a best seller…” Tina Ristau, Des Moines Register
“Richmond artfully combines Abby’s research on memory and a sensitive depiction of her relationship with fiance Jake, resulting in a compelling, smart novel that you truly will find difficult to put down.” Birmingham Magazine
“While The Year of Fog is structured around the search for Emma, it offers a deeper meditation on the fragility of love. Which is the stronger loyalty, to child or lover? How can we relieve someone else’s despair? These sometimes unanswerable questions form the heart of Richmond’s book…The Year of Fog works well as both a literary mystery and a poignant portrait of a family ripped apart by random circumstance.” Frances Dinkelspiel, Culture Vulture
“The Year of Fog [is] written so movingly that an experience that is far from universal becomes immediate and personal… the vignettes throughout create a larger poetica in which it is the reader who becomes, happily, lost.” Santa Fe Reporter
“The dilemma with Michelle Richmond’s newest novel is this: the plot is so compelling you can’t read fast enough, but the writing is so crisp and exact you want to savor every word…Nothing is sugar-coated in these pages, which makes Abby’s self-realizations all the more honest, satisfying, and true. ” Anita Garner, Alabama Writers’ Forum
“In The Year of Fog, Richmond gives us both a mystery and a meditation on memory. Profound, deeply moving, endlessly gripping; you will devour it in a weekend and turn it over to begin again.” ~Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli
“From the very first chapter The Year of Fog grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go. Michelle Richmond is that marvelous thing, a writer who can craft a gorgeous sentence and also create a plot so propulsive that it hurts to put the book down, even for a minute. And forget about sleeping. You won’t do that until you’re finished.” ~Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
“Michelle Richmond’s The Year of Fog is a harrowing and unputdownable novel. A moving account of one woman’s ardous journey from an ordinary day to nightmare to, ultimately, redemption. Few novelists put their characters through harder paces than Richmond. And readers have no choice but to carried away by the enduring beauty of this story.” ~Peter Orner, author of The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo & Esther Stories
“Suspenseful, richly imagined, and ultimately hopeful, The Year of Fog is a keeper. Michelle Richmond is a talent to watch.” ~Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia
“Michelle Richmond crafts an addictive, haunting story, filled with brainy tidbits and a local’s love of landscape.” ~Michelle Tea, author of Valencia, Rent Girl, Rose of No Man’s Land
“The Year of Fog is impossible to stop reading. Even as I savored Michelle Richmond’s rich prose and fascinating passages on photography and the nature of memory, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. A missing child, a haunting neighborhood, a search for love, The Year of Fog has it all. Make a sandwich now: you won’t stop reading for hours.”~Amanda Eyre Ward, author of How to Be Lost and Sleep Toward Heaven
“In The Year of Fog, Michelle Richmond has performed something of a magic act. From the first few pages I was hooked. As though she knows the ride she is is taking us on is harrowing, Richmond peppers the story with mischievous humor and unexpected insights, all layered over a gorgeous love letter to San Francisco.” ~Heather Juergensen, co-writer, actor, Kissing Jessica Stein
“Michelle Richmond gives us a fascinating look into the mind of an artist. Richmond’s prose is sensual, her images fresh, her writing, lyrical and lovely.” ~Ann Cummins, author of Red Ant House and Yellowcake
German Reviews
“Michelle Richmonds “Ein einziger Blick” ist psychologisch raffinierte Hochspannung.” FREUNDIN
“Großartiges Psychogramm einer Frau, die durch eine Entführung die Lügen ihres eigenen Lebens aufarbeitet.” PETRA
“Dass aus dieser schlichten Idee ein richtig guter Roman wird, liegt daran, dass Michelle Richmond eine blendende Erzählerin ist. Mit einem literarisch ansprechenden Stil, melancholischen Tönen. Einem ruhigen, sicheren Erzählfluss und intensiven Charakteren. (…) Ein dramatischer Stoff, aus dem die Autorin eine Erzählung gestaltet hat, die bezaubert.” WDR 5: SERVICE BÜCHER + NEUGIER GENÜGT
“Ich musste mich noch nie so beherrschen, nicht vorab zum Schluss zu blättern.” Angela Wittmann, BRIGITTE
“Psychologisch raffinierte Hochspannung.” Freundin
“Es ist die sensible Beschreibung menschlicher Beziehungen und der darin verstrickten Personen, die diesen Roman zu einer aufregenden Lektüre machen.” WIENERIN
“Wenn ein Kind verschwindet, mutmaßlich entführt oder gar ermordet wird, dann lässt sich daraus ein Thriller stricken – oder ein Roman wie dieser: nicht reißerisch, sondern verträumt. Richmond findet zarte, poetische Töne, erzählt die dramatische Handlung in einer Kette subtil berührender Momente. Richmond glänzt dabei mit einem literarisch ansprechenden Stil, einem ruhigen, sicheren Erzählfluss und intensiven Charakteren.” WDR5
contact
Email Michelle at this address: fogtalk @ gmail . com (all one word)
Publicity requests: Kathleen Rudkin at Bantam/Dell: KRudkin at randomhouse . com (all one word)
Editor: Caitlin Alexander, Bantam/Dell, a division of Random House
Agent: Valerie Borchardt, Georges Borchardt, Inc. New York, NY
in the blogosphere
I stopped by Laurie Stolarz’s blog this week to talk about a recurring dream, which involves Tony Blair (a.k.a. prime minister cutiepie), Red Lobster, Sunday school, and a little green Trabant. I also took a whirl on Karin Gillespie’s blog, where I talked about the Southern writer thing (I’m from Alabama), the MFA thing (getting it for free, using it to write a book & get a job), and the theme thing (I’m a Scorpio–can I be blamed for gravitating toward water?).
Lara Zeises posed some fun questions on her blog, Girl Interrupted, such as favorite desert island disks (Nick Cave’s Boatman’s Call made the cut), dream Jeaopardy categories (I had to go with Teen Beat Cover Models, circa 1982, and Eastern European Literature), & more.
anthologies
Essay: “Lost in Beijing”
“Full of quiet delights…Michelle Richmond writes evocatively about cross-cultural misinterpretation in Beijing…a highly enjoyable collection of travel writing.” ~Clover Stroud, Telegraph UK
Essay: “Blackout in Ushuaia”
These tales of global journeys are almost uniformly funny. In “Blackout in Ushuaia,” novelist and editor Michelle Richmond takes advantage of the lights going out on vacation at a South American ski resort with her husband by seizing the moment for a little lovemaking.~Publishers Weekly
Highlights of the anthology include: Hal Duncan’s The Chiaroscurist…;the title story, Logorrhea, in which Michelle Richmond’s heroine is able to cure herself of her inane babbling when she meets a strange man whose flesh is composed of scales; and Tim Pratt’s From Around Here. ~Rocky Mountain News
Essay: “Getting Ready”
Essay: “From Somewhere Down South to South Beach: Raw Takes on the MFA”
Mark Weingarten in the LA Times, reviewing Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times:
Sure, MFA programs tend to encourage groupthink and mannered writing — but how about MFA program as bacchanal? That’s the alluring picture Michelle Richmond paints in her essay, which describes her pursuit of a master’s in a college nestled in the Ozark foothills. “There we were,” she writes, “a bunch of would-be Zeldas … frolicking in our underwear in a pond in the moonlight less than one week into our graduate school experience.” What would Frank Conroy have thought?
Essay: “The Valley of Beautiful Women” (about finding wine in a small town in Hungary)
When I Was a Loser: True Stories of Barely Surviving High School by Today’s Top Writers, Ed. by John McNally, forthcoming March 2007
Essay: “Putting Out: How You (and All Your Friends) Came to Know Jesus”
Story: “Choose Your Travel Partner Wisely”
My very first published story, “The Sound of Them,” appears in this anthology edited by James Colquitt and published by Livingston Press in 1995.
recently in the blogosphere
Catch my guest dj spot over at The Happy Booker, wherein I discuss my Badly Drawn Boy all-girl tribute band aspirations, a melancholy cover by Beautiful South, and the best oral sex/church song ever.
Gayle Brandeis (The Book of Dead Birds), interviews me for her blog, fruitful. Discussed: favorite writing exercises, the difference between writing a novel and writing short stories, and the glory of the pomegranate.
Joshilyn Jackson (author of Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia) interviewed me about what it means to be a Southern writer, and the inspiration for Dream of the Blue Room.
I stopped by Laurie Stolarz’s blog this week to talk about a recurring dream, which involves Tony Blair (a.k.a. prime minister cutiepie), Red Lobster, Sunday school, and a little green Trabant. I also took a whirl on Karin Gillespie’s blog, where I talked about the Southern writer thing (I’m from Alabama), the MFA thing (getting it for free, using it to write a book & get a job), and the theme thing (I’m a Scorpio–can I be blamed for gravitating toward water?).
Lara Zeises posed some fun questions on her blog, Girl Interrupted, such as favorite desert island disks (Nick Cave’s Boatman’s Call made the cut), dream Jeaopardy categories (I had to go with Teen Beat Cover Models, circa 1982, and Eastern European Literature), & more.
Let’s Talk About Sex (interview in the Daily Texan)
Creative Nonfiction
You’ve reached the home page for Michelle Richmond’s creative nonfiction workshop. Although the course is designed for graduate students in the MFA Program in Writing at California College of the Arts, I am making this page public as a resource for writers of creative nonfiction.
Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction
The Modern Essay by Virginia Woolf
The Five R’s of Creative Nonfiction by Lee Gutkind
Against Technique by Brett Lott
New Terrain: The Lyric Essay by Deborah Tall & John D’Agata
On Personal Essays and Political Discourse by William Bradley
Residue by Shannon Lakanen, Ph.D. (”a creative dissertation that formally and theoretically explores the hybridization of personal essay and memoir”)
Sample Essays
Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
To the New World and Back by Douglas Danoff (from Agni)
The Last Haircut by Joan Michelson (from Agni)
What Becomes Debris by Michael Erard (from the North American Review)
The Pain Scale by Eula Biss (from Seneca Review)
The Cuba Diet by Bill McKibben (from Harper’s)
Miami Notebook by George Plimpton (from Harper’s)
A Line to Walk On: The Art of a Graceful Exit by Arthur Miller (from Harper’s)
Of Great Place by Francis Bacon
Articles on craft & the writing life
Myths Writers Live By, But Shouldn’t by David Galef
The Writing Life by Elie Wiesel
On Reading Nonfiction by Michael Piafsky
Also of Interest
Max Beerbom Page bio, bibliography, selected text
Recommended Reading
-
Anthologies
In Brief: Short Takes on the Personal, eds. Judith Kitchen & Mary Paumier Jones
Modern American Memoirs, eds. Annie Dillard & Cort Conley
Essays of the Masters, ed. Charles Neider
Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, William Zinsser
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Essay Collections
The Crack Up, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Essays of E.B. White
Quarrel & Quandary, Cynthia Ozick
The Undertaking: Life Studies in a Dismal Trade, Thomas Lynch
A Collection of Essays, George Orwell
Banvard’s Folly, Paul Collins
Bodies in Motion and at Rest, Thomas Lynch
The War Against Cliché, Martin Amis
How to Be Alone, Jonathan Franzen
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Memoir
Spared Angola, Virgil Suarez
Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov
Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell
Myself a Mandarin, Austin Coates
Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now, Jan Wong
River Horse, William Least Heat-Moon
Riding the Iron Rooster, Paul Theroux
Darkness Visible, William Styron
Caught Inside: A Surfer’s Year on the California Coast, Daniel Duane
Rescuing Patty Hearst, Virginia Hollman
The Words, Jean Paul Sartre
On Writing, Eudora Welty
Journals that publish creative nonfiction
list compiled with the help of the CSU Writing Guide
Creative Nonfiction
Fourth Genre
The Georgia Review
The Gettysburg Review
Laurel Review
Many Mountains Moving
Mid-American Review
The Missouri Review
The Nieve Roja Review
North American Review
Orion
Quarter After Eight
River Teeth
Seneca Review
The Sun
Contests
Mid-American Review Creative Nonfiction Award
Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction
Mid-List Press First Series Award for a book-length work
Literal Latte Ames Essay Award
“The only honor you can confer upon a writer is a good morning’s work.”
Tennessee Williams
interview
Writing, Religion and ‘What if … ?’: Separating Life from Fiction
from The Mobile Register, March 10, 2002
by Michelle Roberts Matthews
It’s easy to assume that Michelle Richmond and Gracie, the main character in “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,” are one and the same. Like Gracie, Richmond grew up in Mobile, where she and her sisters had a fire-and-brimstone Southern Baptist upbringing, and now lives in San Francisco. But the author insists the characters in her debut book of short stories are fictional. “There are little details that are true,” she explains, “but the stories developed by asking ‘What if…?’ over and over again.”
The Baptist background, which included a weekly hem check at the school she attended (a detail that ended up in the book), is quite real. “It had a profound influence on the way I view the world,” Richmond says. “It probably gave me a wackier sense of humor than I would have had otherwise.”
In Mobile recently to visit family after signing copies of her book in Birmingham, Richmond came into the coffee shop where we were meeting wearing a red T-shirt that read “American Trash” (”My mother is appalled by this shirt!” she laughed), a black leather skirt and red high heels. With thick, straight, auburn hair, twinkling brown eyes and a deeply dimpled smile, she’s as smart and funny as her writing. Richmond teaches creative writing at two colleges in San Francisco, the city she had dreamed of living in since she first visited there at age 13.
Now in her early 30s, Richmond knew she wanted to write from the age of five, when she composed country songs. Lacking musical talent, she turned to fiction. She found a mentor in Anne Inge, her English and creative writing teacher at Murphy High School. At the University of Alabama, Richmond planned to study journalism until she discovered the university’s creative writing program.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, she interned with a magazine in Knoxville, then worked for an advertising agency where she “wrote copy for Little League protective cups” (which made her think, “Maybe this isn’t what I want to do with my life.”). She moved to Atlanta to become writer in residence for a fledgling writers’ colony, then attended graduate school at the University of Arkansas before receiving a James Michener fellowship to complete her studies at the University of Miami. Over the past decade, she lived in New York City and briefly in China, traveling from there to places as exotic as Iceland. All these locales figure in “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress.”
The book resulted from Richmond’s winning the Associated Writing Programs Award for Short Fiction. The publisher, the University of Massachusetts Press, sponsored the 2000 winner. The New York Times called Richmond’s work “smart and adept,” and Publishers Weekly deemed it “perceptive and heartfelt … a winning debut.”
Short stories are Richmond’s favorite genre simply because they’re short. She attributes this to “a problem with commitment.” She elaborated, “A short story can take a long time, but you don’t commit three years of your life to a short story the way you have to do with a novel.”
Still, she has managed to focus her energy on writing a novel, “Dream of the Blue Room.” Echoing the theme of tragedy in “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,” this book follows a character that travels from Alabama to China to scatter the ashes of a Chinese-American childhood friend who was murdered 10 years before.
Although numerous tragedies befall her characters, Richmond says that her own life has been “pretty fortunate — but if I wrote about my happy life, it probably wouldn’t be very interesting.” Just over a year ago, she overcame her fear of marriage to tie the knot with a fellow writer who works as an FBI agent, loves to travel and — perhaps most important, Richmond jokes — happens to be from her adopted home, San Francisco.
PUZZLE PIECES
Michelle Richmond’s Mobile Childhood Provides Grist for Fiction
Reviewed by Michelle Roberts Matthews
If you like to skip around in a book of short stories, reading one here and one there, please resist the temptation with Mobile native Michelle Richmond’s debut collection, “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress.” Although several of the stories have appeared in various literary magazines in recent years, the whole of this book is more than the sum of those parts. Together, the 19 stories work as a novel, focusing on the main character, Gracie, and her parents, three sisters, and a couple of close friends. All are told in first person, sometimes by Gracie, sometimes by one of the other characters. The details are like puzzle pieces that Richmond gradually and skillfully puts together.
From the particularly short first story, “lama-lama,” set in Fairhope, the reader feels the power of religion weighing as heavily on the characters as the oppressive heat and humidity. Gracie goes to a Pentecostal church with her friend, Angel. Gracie’s parents are strict Southern Baptists, and the wild abandon of the Pentecostal service is completely new to her.
We first meet Gracie’s family in “Big Bang” as they’re heading to Bay Street Baptist Church, the four sisters in their stiff church clothes watching enviously as Gracie’s friend Myla and her family spend a relaxing Sunday morning working in their front yard.
In subsequent stories, we learn more about Angel, Myla, and Gracie’s sisters, Darlene, Celia and Baby. In fact, the stories focusing on these characters tend to be more affecting and memorable than the ones centered on Gracie. In addition to religion, these stories have themes of tragedy and loss, eroticism and obsession.
Myla, the carefree child of “unchurched” (according to Gracie’s mother) parents, experiences the pain of losing her mother to a freak lightning strike in “Satellite.” Its premise is an amusing and touching cultural clash when Myla’s boyfriend, Sven, gives her professor father his first TV set and a satellite dish. Myla watches in awe as the hulking TV replaces her father’s world globe, and is surprised to see her father become mesmerized by a program broadcast from Russia.
In one of the book’s most powerful stories, “Does Anyone Know You Are Going This Way,” Angel and her younger brother, Jimmy, now grown, are traveling across the eerie, frozen landscape of Iceland in January. Through Angel’s memories we learn that her parents — whom we saw dancing and singing at the Pentecostal church — were killed when her father intentionally wrecked their car. Jimmy was ejected and survived, but lost an arm in the accident. Angel, safely oblivious at dance class, felt a stab of pain at the time of the crash — and now the siblings’ symbiotic relationship continues, as Jimmy steers and Angel works the gas pedal over the icy roads.
“The curse of tragic beginnings,” Angel thinks, “is that nothing in your life after that is capable of conveying any sense of drama. When the one defining moment of your life happens early on, when at the age of ten you are told that your parents have been killed, everything thereafter is like a punch line delivered long after the joke is over. You live your entire life with a sense that the timing is all off. There is no driving force to move you forward, as it is impossible to imagine that any event can equal the impact of that first horrible moment.”
Another horrible moment in “Mathematics and Acrobatics” changes the lives of Gracie’s sister Celia and her seven-year-old daughter, Roberta, who are driving along a snowy road in Atlanta when they witness the crash of a bus that kills several passengers. Celia, who until now seems to have had the most “normal” life of all the sisters, is revealed to be much more complicated than she seems on the surface. Haunted by the fact that she didn’t stop to help the victims, she sees the chasm between herself and her young daughter — and between herself and the truth — widening as Roberta obsesses over the fatal accident, yet seems emotionally unaffected by what she’s seen.
Other characters also reveal new and unexpected dimensions. In “The World’s Greatest Pants,” Gracie’s oldest sister, Darlene, “stages a departure so bold and unexpected that anything the rest of us would later do seemed insignificant in comparison,” when she leaves Mobile for Texas with her female lover. In “Intermittent Waves of Unusual Size and Force,” Gracie’s staid, Baptist-deacon father leaves the family for a few weeks during Hurricane Frederic, escaping to San Francisco and an extramarital affair (he considers it a “hiatus”). And in one of the strangest stories in the book, the wonderfully weird “Propaganda,” Baby, the youngest sister, awaits the return of her S&M-loving husband. While he’s away doing murky work for the government overseas, Baby amuses herself by playing teasing games with the informant that lives upstairs.
Not all of the stories are set in Mobile, or even the South. But Mobile shaped the childhoods of most of the characters, for better or worse. Like many of us, Richmond seems to have a lovhate relationship with the area. In one very brief story, “Slacabamorinico,” Richmond writes, perhaps unfairly, “Mobilians don’t know that the party has long since ended, clinging hardheadedly to the notion that the Confederates won the war.” In “The Last Bad Thing,” Gracie’s mother tells her that New York is dangerous. “I say Mobile is dangerous, too,” Gracie counters. “I tell her the water in our hometown will give her cancer. I tell her everything nasty from the whole country floats down to Mobile Bay.” But in “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,” Gracie, now living in San Francisco, thinks somewhat wistfully of home: “Back home in Mobile the plush lawns blaze with pink azalea bushes, wisteria drips from the fence-posts, and it is almost too much to take in — all that color and heat.”
With “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,” Richmond proves herself a talented writer to watch. Her writing can be spare, often poetic — especially in the title story, which concludes the collection — and displays her keen wit and eye for detail as she carefully interweaves the mundane and the absurd.
Michelle Roberts Matthews is a free-lance writer who lives in Mobile.
readings & events
Sept. 16, City Arts and Lectures with Paul Auster
Join me at Herbst Theater in San Francisco for a conversation with one my favorite authors, Paul Auster. If you can’t make the live event, you can hear City Arts & Lectures on the radio.
Sept. 21, Booksmith booth at the Cole Valley Street Fair, San Francisco, noon
Sept. 27, Towne Center Books, Pleasanton, CA
Read it and eat author luncheon: lunch, wine, and book discussion, NO ONE YOU KNOW
October 9, Litquake, Nightclub at Hemlock Tavern at 1131 Polk St
Featuring: Bob Calhoun, Alan Black, Jack Boulware, Michael Disend, Beth Lisick, Michelle Richmond, Sylvie Simmons, David Henry Sterry.
October 13, WKRG TV, Mobile, Alabama
9:00 a.m., talking about No One You Know and The Year of Fog
October 26, Book Group Expo, San Jose, CA
Panel, “The Liar’s Club,” with Rabbih Alameddine (The Hakawati), Selden Edwards (The Little Book), and Julie Robinson
Stay tuned for more NO ONE YOU KNOW book tour dates.
Previous Events
July 1, No One You Know book launch party
Books Inc, Opera Plaza
July 9, Kepler’s, reading and signing
1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA
July 13, Backstage with Ben Fong-Torres
Tune in to 106.9 KFRC, where I talk with Ben Fong-Torres about No One You Know: the music, the inspiration, and how he came to be a character in the book. And listen while Ben spins some songs about fog, memory, math, and coffee. You can listen live from 8-9 a.m. or 8-9 p.m. today, or listen to the podcast anytime.
July 15, The Booksmith, reading & signing
1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA, 7:30 p.m.
Discussion and general throw-down. Drinks afterward across the street.
July 16, The Depot, discussion & signing
87 Throckmornton Ave, Mill Valley, CA, 7:00 p.m.
There’s ice cream just down the lane, you know.
July 17, Rakestraw Books, reading & signing
409 Railroad Ave, Danville, CA
July 19, Conversations on the Coast
Tune in to listen to my conversation with Jim Foster about No One You Know. Show airs at 3:00 and will be available here as a podcast.
July 29, M Is For Mystery
Reading & signing. 7:00 p.m.
86 East Third Ave, San Mateo, CA
August 13, Dirty Words, Litquake’s Tribute to Smut
Starring Daniel Handler, Ellen Sussman, Michelle Richmond, Kim Addonizio, Helena Echlin, Stephen Elliot, emcee Kirk Read, a fashion show by SOMA purveyor of corsets and fine leather Stormy Leather, along with cabaret and burlesque from Twilight Vixen Review.
CELLspace2050 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA 7:00 - 11:00 pm
Purchase tickets ($25) here. Proceeds go to Litquake.
March 25, Sex for America, The Booksmith on Haight
With editor Stephen Elliott, and fellow contributors Nick Flynn and Anthony Swofford
April 19, Progressive Reading Series
Jane Smiley, Michelle Richmond, Tom Bissell, and Charlie Anders. Make-Out Room, San Francisco.
May 10, All-Star Literary Death Match, Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
I’ll be judging as winners of past throw-downs go head-to-head. Hosted by Todd Zuniga and Opium Magazine.
March 9 - Writers on Writing, XM Satellite Radio
Program airs at 3:00 p.m. About the show: “A behind-the-scenes look at what goes on between the covers of today’s top sellers and tomorrow’s classics with authors like Anne Rice, Richard Ford, Ann Patchett, and Amy Tan.”
March 12
A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland
March 19, Evening Tea, hosted by Clayton Books, Clayton, CA
Englund’s Tea Cottage. Reservation required. Free admittance with purchase of The Year of Fog.
March 4
Books Inc., Palo Alto. 7:00 p.m. 855 El Camino Real #74. 10% of the days sales will benefit the C-A-R (Community Association for Rehabilitation)!
March 6
Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley. 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 11, Minna Gallery, San Francisco
New Voices panel sponsored by National Book Critics Circle, moderated by Jane Ciabattari. 5:30 p.m. Panelists: Sandy Dijkstra, literary agent; David Kipen, NEA director of literature; Eli Horowitz, Publisher, McSweeney’s Books; Suzanne Kleid, City Lights Books and KQED blogger; Michael Ray, editor ZOETROPE: ALL STORY; Michelle Richmond, author.
Jan. 31 - 826 Valencia, San Francisco
Novel writing seminar featuring Andrew Sean Greer, Michelle Richmond, and Ann Packer. The cost is $100, and proceeds benefit the programs of 826 Valencia.
Jan. 31, Center for Sex and Culture, San Francisco
After the novel-writing seminar at 826 Valencia, I’ll be heading over to the Center for Sex & Culture, where no mayhem and madness will be spared in celebrating the publication of Stephen Elliott’s new anthology, Sex for America. Readers include Michelle Tea, Mistress Morgana, Charlie Anders, Liz Henry, Daphne Gottlieb, and yours truly.
February 23, Cantina, San Francisco. Babylon Salon.
Eat, drink, and hear stories. Readings by Eileen Reynolds, Herb Sandhu, Julie Bifano, The Editor’s Choice reader from Opium Magazine. Featured artist: Michelle Richmond. Complimentary eats. Cash bar-exotica! The location host is one Duggan McDonnell, famed mixologist.
2007
November 6, Harlot
Join me at Opium Magazine’s Literary Death Match. The actors of comedy troupe Killing My Lobster–Jon Wolanske, Todd Brotze, Joel Dovev and Eric Schniewind–will be reading the funniest stories from past issues of Opium. I’ll be judging the event, along with Canteen Editor Sean Finney and Talk Show Live host Kurt Bodden.
August 20, 7:00 p.m.
Reading and book talk at Sunset Branch of San Francisco Public Library.
Sept. 23
Cole Valley Street Fair. I’ll be signing books and chatting with street-goers (is that a word?) at the Booksmith booth.
Oct 3
My essay “Blackout in Ushuaia” will be read on Australian public radio. The podcast will be available here.
Oct 11
Litquake: Original short story evening. I’ll join a few other Bay Area authors in reading short stories we’ve written specifically for this event, on the theme of “The Lesser Evil.”
Oct. 16
Fort Mason, San Francisco. Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, party for Bad Girls. With Joyce Maynard, Pam Houston, Ellen Sussman, and Liz Rosner.
Oct. 17
Reading and book discussion at The Depot, Mill Valley, California. 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 26
Annual Author Luncheon at San Francisco Day School, proceeds to benefit the school
previous events, 2007
July 16
Book Passage, Corte Madera. Reading with Joyce Maynard, Liz Rosner, Lolly Winston, Kate Moses, Kaui Hart Hemmings, & Susan Casey for Ellen Sussman’s new anthology Bad Girls
July 17
Opium Magazine’s Literary Death Match, Harlot (San Francisco), 8:30
I’ll be competing against Stephen Elliott, Joyce Maynard, and Sam Hurwitt in a fight to the finish of the (sort of) literary variety. Judges Howard Junker (ZYZZYVA), Beth Lisick (Everyone into the Pool), and Jon Wolanske (Killing My Lobster) will judge us on “literary merit, performance, and intangibles” before the two lucky finalists move on to a heart-palpitating game of Stab a Hole in Nebraska. Details here.
July 21
West Coast Live at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley with the Bad Girls posse
July 24
The Booksmith, San Francisco. Reading with Joyce Maynard, Liz Rosner, Kate Moses, Kim Addonizio, & Kaui Hart Hemmings, for Ellen Sussman’s new anthology Bad Girls.
July 26
Reading and book talk for THE YEAR OF FOG at Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley. (This will be my only East Bay event for The Year of Fog.)
August 9, View from the Bay
On ABC 7 with Ellen Sussman, editor of Bad Girls, and fellow contributer Elizabeth Rosner.
April 4, 2007
Reading and launch party for THE YEAR OF FOG
Books Inc. Opera Plaza, San Francisco
6:00 wine and cheese reception, 7:00 reading
join us afterward for drinks at Hotel Rex
April 9
“A night of literary fiction” at the fabulous Kepler’s in Menlo Park, CA
Reading with Ann Cummins, author of Yellowcake
7:30 p.m.
April 13, The California Report
The Year of Fog reviewed by Jordan Rosenfeld. Click here for the podcast.
April 14, West Coast Live
Join me, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Peter Plate, the all-girl band Misty River, Celtic gem Melanie O’Reilly, and others at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, where we’ll be taping the radio program West Coast Live. Reservations: 415-664-9500. You can show up early for the 10 a.m. show, featuring Jonathan Lethem and music by Tango #9.
April 17
Reading at Book Passage in the Ferry Building, San Francisco 7:00 p.m.
April 20
Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Laureates Dinner
6:30 p.m.
April 21-22
Arkansas Literary Festival, Little Rock
April 28
Reading at Bookshop West Portal with Sheri Joseph, author of Stray
May 5
A pre-recorded West Coast Live will air today, with Fogtown author Peter Plate, musical guests Misty River, and yours truly
May 8
Reading and signing at San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch
May 16
Radar Salon Series, hosted by Michelle Tea, at the Harvey Milk Branch of San Francisco Public Library
May 19
Inside Storytime
Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
June 8 - 10
Book Group Expo, San Jose Convention Center
June 14
Reading at Book Passage in Corte Madera, 7:00 p.m. Read my posts on the Book Passage blog here.
March 12, 2007
Kepler’s Book Club Mixer
Reception with local authors begins at 6:45, followed by a presentation of staff picks. With Lalita Tademy, Firoozeh Dumas, Lolly Winston, Barry Eisler, yours truly, & others.
March 28-31, 2007
University of North Dakota Writers Conference
featuring Miller Williams, Li-Young Lee, Timothy Liu, Michelle Richmond, Leslie Adrienne Miller, Stuart Dybek, and Mary Gaitskill
2006
Sept. 25
Join Stephen Elliott, Carol Queen, Justin Chin, & yours truly for a reading & book release party for Stephen’s new book, My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up, Good Vibrations on Valencia, San Francisco, Sept. 25, 2006. One night when it’s all well and good to have your mind in the gutter.
Litquake. Local MacAdam/Cage authors Stephen Elliott, Michelle Tea, Craig Clevenger, & Michelle Richmond. Oct. 14. 8:00 p.m., The Make-Out Room, 22nd & Valencia.
Monday, November 6, 2006 at 7:00 PM, Madrone Lounge
Joint reading with The May Queen contributors and editor Christina Amini and contributors from Before The Mortgage.
500 Divisadero Street (at the corner of Fell)
Radar Love: a reading to benefit Carole & Mitzi, aka Beth Lisick (Everybody into the Pool) and Tara Jepsen, who are shooting a follow-up to their smash short film, Diving for Pearls. Thursday, August 24th Varnish Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco. Natoma between 1st & 2nd. 8:00pm $6.00. Hosted by Michelle Tea, with Joan Jett Blakk, Fear of the Outdoors, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Zoey Kroll, Luna Maia, yours truly, & more.
July 26, 2006, Cody’s Books, San Francisco
Reading with Dao Strom, Nicki Richesin, and Kim Askew, for The May Queen antholgoy
June 18, 2006, San Jose, CA
Book Group Expo, 2:30-3:30, Salon A.
Panel with Sylvia Brownrigg, Elizabeth Dewberry, and Adrienne Sharp, talking about writing “complex relationships.” The Book Group Expo will feature many authors, including Amy Tan, Dorothy Allison, Molly Giles, Ayelet Waldman, ZZ Packer, Mary Roach, Rabih Alameddine, and others.
March 10, 2006, Austin, TX
Hot prose with hot pros! Reading at Book People, “the largest booktore in Texas,” with Steve Almond, Sheri Joseph, & Michelle Tea, yours truly. 7:00 p.m. Get all the dirty details here.
March 11, 2006, noon, Austin Convention Center
Sexing the Story: Adventures in the Literary Boudoir (panel). Where: AWP Conference in Austin. Panelists: Steve Almond, Sheri Joseph, Michelle Tea. Moderated by yours truly.
April 3, A Clean Well-Lighted Place, 7 p.m.
Nicki Richesin, editor of the anthology The May Queen, and contributors
Nov. 28, 2006 Talk of the Nation, NPR
Don George, Simon Winchester(A Crack in the Edge of the World, The Map That Changed the World), and yours truly join Neil Conan to talk about George’s latest Lonely Planet anthology, By the Seat of My Pants. You can listen to the podcast here.
Dec. 7, San Francisco Public Library
Reading with fellow MacAdam/Cage authors Katherine Towler and Pamela Holm, plus Tupelo Press editor Jeffrey Levine and poets Ilya Kaminsky and Pireeni Sundaralingam with musician Colm O Riain
Dec. 8, Pegasus Books, Berkeley
Reading with Katherine Towler & Jeffrey Levine
Dec. 12, Edinburgh Castle, San Francisco
Katia Noyes, Daphne Gottlieb, Charlie Anders, & Michelle Richmond. A sort of literary free-for-all at San Francisco’s favorite literary underground pub, moderated by Kate Braverman.
Dec. 14, Book Passage, Corte Madera
Join Lonely Planet editor Don George, yours truly, and other contributors to the LP humor anthology By the Seat of My Pants for a lively reading and discussion, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Feb. 2 2006
Radar Reading Series with Michelle Richmond, Heather Rogers, & others at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Hosted by Michelle Tea, writer of books and baker of cookies.
October 15–fun reading…in bar! with drinks!
LitQuake is the biggest literary event in San Francisco–don’t miss it! The 9-day brouhaha ends with the ever-popular lit crawl in the Mission, featuring dozens of authors feeling the fruits of their martinis. From 8:00 - 9:15, I’ll be reading with fellow MacAdam/Cage authors Stephen Elliott, Michelle Tea, & Will Christopher Baer at the Make-Out Room (22nd St between Valencia & Mission).
October 16
826 Valencia, San Francisco. Writing the Novel seminar with Andrew Sean Greer, Bharati Mukherjee, & Michelle Richmond, moderated by Stephen Elliott.
October 23
Litblogger panel at Black Oak Books in Berkeley, with Kevin Smokler, Michelle Richmond, Laila Lalami, & Frances Dinkelspiel
Nov. 20, Book Passage, Corte Madera
Kevin Smokler, editor of Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times, and yours truly–reading and discussion
Sept. 19
The Progressive Reading Series Presents: A Special Benefit For The Victims Of Hurricane Katrina Monday, September 19, 7pm The Makeout Room, San Francisco. $10 - $20 sliding scale.
Proceeds to benefit the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Fund
Featuring readings from: Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Firoozeh Dumas, Julie Orringer, Peter Orner, Daphne Gottlieb, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Truong Tran, Michelle Richmond, Anne Marino, Micheline Aharonian Marcom, Tom Barbash, and Michelle Tea
Sept. 14
St. Mary’s College of Moraga Reading Series. 7:30 p.m
Joint reading with Spring 2006 Distinguished Writers in Residence, Julie Orringer (How to Breathe Underwater) & Michelle Richmond
Sonoma County Book Fair. Litblog panel with Michelle Richmond, Jordan Rosenfeld and Martha O’Connor.
August 2
Reading at Zebulons Lounge in Petaluma with Michelle Richmond, Bruce Bauman, Jordan Rosenfeld, & Night Train’s Susan Henderson. Read all about it here.
June 1
Join Kevin Smokler, Michelle Richmond, Adam Johnson, Paul Flores, and Nico Cary for the Bookmark Now launch party at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in San Francisco.
June 16
Bookmark Now reading at The Booksmith on Haight Street
Wed., June 22
Join Michelle and Rachel Pastan, author of This Side of Married, for a reading at Diesel Books in Oakland. 7:30 p.m.
July 13
Join Michelle and Pamela Holm, author of The Night Garden, for a reading at Potrero Library
July 23
Join me, Kevin Smokler, K.M. Soehnlein, & Adam Johnson for a panel at Books by the Bay in Yerba Buena Gardens (San Francisco)
Books in an Unreaderly World (10:30-11:15 Outdoor Panel Tent)
in the blogosphere
Mark Pritchard interviewed me for San Francisco Metblogs. Discussed: Ocean Beach as noir nirvana, impending doom, and heightened vigilance.
Nicki Richesin interviewed me about The Year of Fog for The Happy Booker. And catch my guest dj spot on the same blog, wherein I discuss my Badly Drawn Boy all-girl tribute band aspirations, a melancholy cover by Beautiful South, and the best oral sex/church song ever.
Gayle Brandeis (The Book of Dead Birds), interviews me for her blog, fruitful. Discussed: favorite writing exercises, the difference between writing a novel and writing short stories, and the glory of the pomegranate.
Joshilyn Jackson (author of Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia) interviewed me about what it means to be a Southern writer, and the inspiration for Dream of the Blue Room.
daily writing exercise
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links
Missing & Exploited Children & Adults
Click here to make a donation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
National Center for Missing Adults. According the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Information Center (NCIC) there are 50,930 active missing adult cases in the United States as of January 31, 2007.
Project Jason. A nonprofit organization that raises awareness about missing persons of all ages and provides resources for families of missing persons.
Still Missing: Michaela Joy Garecht: a site maintained by the mother of Michaela Joy Garecht, who was abducted from a Hayward, CA market in 1988 and who has never been found
Eliminating Poverty
Kiva - connecting individuals in the West to needy entrepreneurs in developing countries. Make loans of as little as $25 through paypal, and track the business’s progress through Kiva’s online journals.
Women Initiative to Eradicate Poverty
Open Society Institute
Literacy
826 Valencia - free tutoring, storytelling, and writing programs for children in the San Francisco Bay Area
First Book — providing books to children from low-income families
Indie Bookstores
Bay Area
Black Oak Books
Book Passage
Bookshop West Portal
Books Inc
Booksmith
Cody’s
Diesel
A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland
Green Apple
Kepler’s, Menlo Park
Lafayette Books, Lafayette
Rakestraw Books, Danville
Reader’s Books, Sonoma
Down South
Over the Transom
Square Books
Lemuria
Octavia Books, New Orleans
Links to literary blogs and author pages can be found on my blog. Click BLOG on the top menu.
Stories & Essays
“Logorrhea,” originally published in John Klima’s anthology Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories, will appear in Best American Fantasy 2007, edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer. (Oct 2008)
“The Great Amphibian,” originally published in The Mississippi Review, received special mention in the 2007 Pushcart Prize anthology.
2008
“Settlers in a New World.” Oxford American, forthcoming, August.
“On Accidentally Finding Your Way.” Glimmer Train newsletter, Writers Ask, May 2008. Read an excerpt here.
“A Life in Pods.”The Kenyon Review. Spring 2008.
“Milk.” Sex for America. Ed. Stephen Elliott. Harper Collins. Spring 2008.
“Lucky Pierre.” Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex. Ed. Ellen Sussman. Norton, 2008.
2007
“Hum.” The Missouri Review. Summer 2007.
A Review of Stray, by Sheri Joseph. The Believer. Feb. 2007.
“To the Bad Girls Go the Spoils.” Playboy, May 2007.
“An Open Letter to Mark Burnett’s Production Assistant.” Bad Girls. Ed. Ellen Sussman. Norton 2007.
“Putting Out” When I Was a Loser: True Stories of Barely Surviving High School. Ed. John McNally. Free Press. May 2007.
“Logorrhea.” Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories. Ed. John Klima. Spectra. May 2007.
“The Stories We Tell.” San Francisco Chronicle Magazine. April 2007.
2006
“An Exciting New Career in Medicine.” Playboy, Feb. 2006
“The Boulevard of Heroes.” Glimmer Train. Issue 60, Fall 2006.
“The Great Amphibian.” Winner of the Mississippi Review Prize in Fiction. Mississippi Review, Summer 2006.
“A Graceful Exit.” Blow. Issue One. Fall 2006.
“The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress.” The National Literary Review. Summer 2006.
“The Strange Case of Brad Vice: In Defense of a Destroyed Treasure.” (essay) The Oxford American. Winter 2006.
“Lost in Beijing.” (essay) Lonely Planet anthology Tales From Nowhere. Ed. Don George. 2006.
“Tagged.” (essay) San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, March 2006.
“Getting Ready.” (essay) The May Queen: Women on Life, Love, Work, & Pulling it All Together in Your 30s. Ed. Nicki Richesin. March 2006.
“In Flight.” Vestal Review.
“The Man Who Could Not Forget.” Cream City Review. 30th Anniversary issue.
2005
“Hospitality.†Mid-American Review, Fall 2005.
“P.S. You’re Mine.” Kudzu Christmas: Twelve Mysterious Tales. Ed. Jim Gilbert, River City Publishing 2005.
“P.S. You’re Mine.†Mississippi Review.com 2005.
“In Search of a Beautiful Lie.†(essay) The Writers’ Chronicle, Oct. 2005.
“Blackout in Ushuaia.†(essay)By the Seat of My Pants. Ed. Don George. Lonely Planet 2005.
“From Somewhere Down South to South Beach.†(essay)Bookmark Now. Ed. Kevin Smokler. Basic Books 2005.
2004
“The Hero of Queens Boulevard.” Glimmer Train. 51. Summer 2004.
“Obedience.†Identity Theory. May 2004.
“Oh, Baby!” Salon.com. July 21, 2004.
2003
“Choose Your Travel Partner Wisely.†Stories from the Blue Moon Café 2. Ed. Sonny Brewer. MacAdam/Cage, 2003.
“Ooooh, Tannenbaum!†Salon.com. December 11, 2003.
2002
“The Valley of Beautiful Women.” (essay) Adventures in Wine: True Stories of Vintages Around the World. Ed.Thom Elkjer. Travelers’ Tales, 2002.
“Propaganda.” The Writer’s Chronicle. 35th Anniversary Edition. 2002.
“Down the Shore Everything’s All Right.” Glimmer Train. 41. Winter 2002.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” Salon.com. June 26, 2002.
“Following the Ice Line North.” (essay) 7×7 Magazine. Winter 2002.
etc.
“The Girl in the Fall Away Dress.” Other Voices. 33. 2000.
“The Colonists.” Exquisite Corpse. 10. Winter 2001.
“Satellite.†CutBank. 52. 1999.
“Fifth Grade: A Criminal History.†Virgin Fiction. Ed. Eugene Stein. William Morrow and Co., 1999.
“Curvature.†Brevity. Spring 1999.
“Mosque.†Belles’ Letters. Ed. Joe Taylor. Livingston University Press, 1999.
“Propaganda.†The Florida Review 23.2. 1999.
“This Is Not a Love Story.†Fish Stories: Collective Two. 1996.
“The Last Bad Thing.†Gulf Coast 8.2. 1996.
“The Sound of Them.†Alabama Bound. Ed. James E. Colquitt. Livingston University Press, 1995.
Click here to view/order anthologies containing Michelle Richmond’s essays and stories.
Visit the fog page for reviews of The Year of Fog, along with discussion questions, photos, a San Francisco-centric playlist (heard any Walty lately?), and the story behind the book.
Random House Germany/Diana, La Esfera De Los Libros (Spain), Archipel (The Netherlands). Also soon to be available from Ebury in England.
“Heartbreaking and compelling…Richmond gracefully weaves in fascinating background material on the coffee culture and the field of mathematics as she thoughtfully explores family dynamics, the ripple effects of tragedy, and the importance of the stories we tell. Combine all that with perfect pacing and depth of insight, and you have a thoroughly riveting literary thriller.” Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist, Starred Review
“Richmond returns to San Francisco for another enjoyable blend of mystery and domestic fiction…Vivid descriptions and loving explanations of the city and intelligent forays into the sciences of coffee and mathematics enhance Richmond’s quietly captivating novel.” Publishers Weekly Read the entire review here.<