Lara Tupper

 

Such a thrill to bring my writing workshop to Herman Melville's Arrowhead, Pittsfield, MA. Grateful!

 

What a great group of writers at the Lee Library Association! Thanks to the fearless memoirists who showed up with pens at the ready and to the Massachustts Cultural Council/Lee Cultural Council for making it possible. (Glad to share Swift Ink SWAG.) I'll next present this free class, Start Your Memoir, in a two-part series at the Becket Athenaeum, Becket, MA, on June 1 and June 8. See SWIFT INK STORIES tab for details.

 

The audiobook version of my novel, OFF ISLAND, narrated by the wonderful voice actor Linda Jones, is on sale through February 8 from ChirpBooks. It's about Paul Gauguin in Maine and the women who got him there.

 

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/off-island-by-lara-tupper

 

Looking forward to this literary event on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2:00 pm, at Hot Plate Brewing Co., to celebrate their opening (and first 10 creations). I'll read (briefly) from a new work and then check out their dedicated book shelf. (Every pub should have one.) Excited to hear fellow writers/readers: DW Ardern, Julie Hines, Stephanie Hope, Anna Lotto and Jennifer Murphy. Lots of cool events at Hot Plate over the course of 10 days. Full schedule HERE.

 

Whoo-hoo! Thanks, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. I'm thrilled to receive an award from the Martha Boschen Porter fund to work on my new book. #intheberkshires #amwriting

 

A seasonal present for writers from Swift Ink Stories! Gift certificates now available for workshops, private coaching or manuscript development. On "Small Business Saturday" (November 26, 2022), you'll receive 15% off any gift certificate purchase. Reach out via the contact page.

 

Though I was hoping to be nominated for "Best Chickens," thanks for the "Author" nomination, Berkshire-ites. I'm pleased to be on this list with writers I admire. If you'd like to vote, my hens will be very happy about it. (I will give them treats.) Vote HERE until November 14.

 

Publishing is funny. My debut novel, A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, about lounge singers and travel and strange hotels, came out in 2007 as a "paperback original" from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I was teaching full time at Rutgers, living in the Lower East Side and just beginning to miss woodsy places. In 2015, Untreed Reads picked it up as an ebook and reprinted it as a paperback soon after. (I was a committed Berkshire-ite by then.) Yesterday I received my first hardcover copies in the mail and shared the news with my chickens. Glad for this book's long, strange trip from paper to digital to paper to hardback. And happy it's found readers, whatever form it's in. Thanks, Untreed!

You can purchase a fancy new hardcover HERE.

 

A prompt for September:

 

I love a good list. What comes to mind when you think of "fall"? Include smells, sights, sounds, sensations. Start with bullet points and see where it goes. (Maybe you'll be inspired to write a paragraph or two.) Spend five minutes at least. (If it turns into 10 or 20, so be it.) Share your creation with someone or keep it for yourself.

 

Here's mine.

 

1)   No mosquitos

2)   Cold feet

3)   Apples everywhere

4)   Buy the honey for Rosh Hashana

5)   Pumpkin spice galore

6)   The way the light seems sad

7)   New pencils

8)   Anticipation

9)   The perfect red maple leaf on the ground

10)  Finding that curled leaf in my pocket later

 

 

If you'd like to sign up for my Fall Workshop Series (October 3-31, online), there are still a few spots left. Please see Swift Ink Stories for details.