Each summer we have awesome interns helping out and keeping camp running smoothly. This year, Haley Cowans was one of our newbies. Here is what she has to say about Thurber House, dreaming, dabbling, and being an aspiring writer in Columbus.

Haley Cowans
Thurber House Intern, July 15-26

Haley (center) and her co-interns George (left) and Leah (right) standing in front of the word wall they helped create over the week.

My name is Haley Cowans, and more than anything else, I want to be a writer. As far as the specific plans to support that dream go, I’d like to someday be a copywriter, work for a charity, teach, go to graduate school, edit for an indie publisher, work in an art gallery or museum, contribute to public radio, start an underground newspaper…you can see where I’ve run into some problems. Luckily, the English department at the Ohio State University (where I’m starting my third year – how did this happen?) is very supportive of dreamers and dabblers. I love being a Buckeye. It’s let me participate in amazing service projects, attend readings from some of my favorite writers (and a lecture by Bill Nye – no big deal), and even run a creative writing group. I’m also completely enamored with the city of Columbus. I love spending hours (and a lot of money) at the Book Loft, eating way too much at the North Market, and screaming “LEO!” as loudly as I can at the beginning of a Blue Jackets’ game. Some things are sacred.

My varied interests and my love for this city brought me to the summer internship with Thurber House. I first learned about Thurber House during my freshmen year, when my residence hall book club took a tour after reading The Thurber Carnival. I was immediately drawn to its mission, contributing to Columbus’s literary community in a huge variety of ways. (I wonder why that appeals to me?) I knew that I wanted to get involved with a place like this, and so when I was looking for summer internships, this seemed perfect.

Working with Thurber House was everything I hoped it would be. I met some amazing writers (both the students and the professionals!) and learned so much along the way. I also got to explore a couple of favorite Columbus attractions, the Franklin Park Conservatory and the Columbus Museum of Art.I enjoyed these  field trips as much as the students did, and it was especially fun to view these aspects of the city from a writer’s perspective. One of the highlights of my internship was working with the students on writing haikus in the Zen Garden at the conservatory. They were so excited about the koi fish and the bonsai trees, and I was glad I could help them turn that excitement into some great poems.

I still don’t know all the details of my future plans with certainty, but I do know that Thurber House is definitely the kind of place in which I imagine myself. Inspiring excitement about art and writing, especially in students, is such an important mission. I certainly hope I can continue to be a part of Thurber House’s mission in the future.

Thanks for all you did this summer Haley!
…and for this adorable picture you took of the Zoo’s Snow Leopard. 

On August 27, Maggie Shipstead, author of New York Times bestseller Seating Arrangements, shared her story of becoming author with our audience. She candidly spoke about her journey to become the writer she is today and how she didn’t discover that writing was what she wanted to do until she was already doing it.  While she claims to be extremely shy, she proved to be as witty as her novel. She shared her thoughts about the exhilarating yet bumpy ride of being an author, and the journey her novel took before it reached the shelves. Thank you to everyone who made it to this event! We can’t wait to see what Maggie Shipstead does next.  

Peter Heller takes the stage this Wednesday, September 11, as our second author of the Fall 2013 season of Evenings with Authors. His debut novel, The Dog Stars, has already received great accolades and made it to the New York Times bestseller list. In his novel, he reveals a post-apocalyptic world where hope and adventure lives after all else has died. An adventure seeker himself, Heller has written four non-fiction books chronicling his experiences kayaking the Tsangpo Gorge in Eastern Tibet; working every odd job from logger, to pizza deliverer; following a group of eco-pirates seeking to destroy the Japanese whaling fleet; and most recently, his journey surfing from California down the coast of Mexico. 

Tickets are still available! Click here for more information or to order tickets. 

Thurber House is haunted. I know this because, as the 2013 Children’s Writer In Residence, I lived in the attic. I never heard mysterious footsteps like Thurber famously did. But each day as I sat at my desk, I felt Thurber’s presence everywhere—not just near the typewriter he used to write all those stories for The New Yorker.

 Thurber wasn’t the only spirit I sensed. The walls are lined with pictures of the other writers who had spent time at Thurber House. Their books were on the shelves. What an honor to see my own books in the gift shop next to Thurber’s!

There were many other friendly spirits in Thurber House. Susanne, Alison, Anne, Meg, Katie, and Erin took great care of me. They provided me with encouragement, umbrellas, a bicycle, and plenty of laughter. And of course frequent trips for ice cream!

 The Thurber House community includes so many others. Anyone who attends a literary event. Who tours Thurber House. Who shares their own writing in a workshop.

I learned so much from the creativity of the young writers and the analytical questions of the teens. I got the chance to read from my newest book, The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, at a few of the amazing libraries in Worthington.

In fact, everywhere I looked­––in the museums, the gardens, the river front, the neighborhoods, I saw all kinds of creative expression. Columbus doesn’t just value the arts, it encourages participation from its citizens. My own residency was generously funded by JPMorgan Chase Foundation. I’ll always be grateful for their support.

I’m back in Brooklyn; I have to write all by myself again. I miss all those friendly spirits. Yes Thurber House is haunted in all those wonderful ways I mentioned. But I do wonder what—or who—made that glowing light I saw one night beneath the dining room floor.

Now that the writers’ cramp has subsided, we are happy to announce another super successful season of camp.  With over 300 campers, Thurber Center was exploding with creativity. This summer we had the great opportunity to bring some new things to Thurber House as well as continue some old favorites. 

Partnering with BalletMet, our 2/3 grade writers took a short trip to their studios where they pretended to be reporters as they explored the costume shop, scene shop, and all the other behind the scenes necessities that go into making a ballet. Our youngest campers made story stones, designed their own nature journals, and even created their very own state (complete with a state dance).

One of the new highlights this year was a visit from the Columbus Zoo and a few of their furry friends for our 4/5 graders. John Becker, long time Thurber friend and teacher, worked with everyone in the morning on an iPad (also an exciting new addition to camp) research project about animals. As a surprise to the campers, they then got to do a little more hands-on research when the Zoo came in with some of the cutest and most interesting animals we’ve ever seen! What a treat! They also had the opportunity to take an all-day field trip to Franklin Park Conservatory and spend the day exploring new lands and attempting to get butterflies to land on their bright green shirts (we had a few successes!). 

Not to be left out with new adventures, our 6/7/8 graders had the new task of solving a camp-wide mystery involving some very high-tech toothpaste and funny business that involved extra heads and horns. They also made a trip to the Columbus Museum of Art to be inspired by their exhibits. To top it off, they made puppets and scripts, learned how to embroider, and wrote their own fan-fiction, which was a brand new topic for us to tackle. 

Both our 2/3 and 4/5 graders were part of a really great word art project this summer. Together, all the campers created a Word Wall Mural with a specific theme for the week. Campers were given an object/item and then small pieces of paper to write on descriptions, adjectives, etc. that we later collected. Our lovely interns then put the pieces together to create the large mural that slowly took shape over the week. For the 2/3 grade students, they created an “ocean” full of words and what our 4/5 grade campers created turned the hallway into outer space.

Spanning all grades this year, we decided to put on a book drive. Thanks to all who donated, we collected well over 200 books that we were able to donate to a few great organizations around Columbus. We can’t wait to do this again for Writing Wizards! A big shout out goes to our interns, counselors this summer with  these projects and so, so much more. We couldn’t have had such a successful summer without you!

Thanks again to everyone who attended and to all of the parents for sharing their oh-so-talented young writers with us for a few days. We have the great opportunity to make writing fun for so many Columbus kids, making our job the coolest in the city. 

…Although I suppose we are a little biased.

Check back over the next few weeks for more fun stories about camp.
See you next summer!

On Wednesday, August 14, the world of the Dungeons & Dragons invaded the Columbus Museum of Art for our special event, The Sundering: Re-imagining the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons.  Wizards of the Coast has brought together six bestselling fantasy authors to independently write a book that together will complete The Sundering, a series that re-imagines The Forgotten Realms. Three of the authors, R.A. Salvatore, Erin Evans, and Ed Greenwood, joined us for a panel discussion on this special evening to discuss the collaboration process as well as their past and future writing careers.

R.A. Salvatore kicked off the series with his recent release of The Companions. Erin Evans, one of the youngest authors on this project, will release the third book in the series on December 3, 2013. In contrast, Ed Greenwood the most seasoned writer and the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting has the task of ending the series.

The collaboration process was the hot topic of the evening. Having six authors write within the same world and using some of the same characters seems like it would be complicated, right? Not according to the authors themselves. If anything, they find it a fascinating process and an adventure to have to alter their original story a little because someone else had an amazing idea. Sitting in the audience and listening to them discuss their processes of storytelling was an inspiring experience. While all three authors had different processes, they all shared on commonality: they like to let their characters write the stories. R.A. Salvatore explained that when he sits down to write, he typically has an outline in the form of a fairly straight line. However, as he moves forward looking through the characters’ eyes, the line quickly develops branches and continues to grow until he has something that resembles a large tree. Both he and Erin Evans admitted that while they’re writing they get so caught up in the story that sometimes at the end, they realize one of their characters has actually been acting out of character. Rather than go back and fix it, they just think “what’s wrong with them?!” Salvatore told the audience that it took him a few novels once to figure out exactly what was wrong with one of his most beloved characters.

The evenings’ moderater and Creative Manager of Dungeons & Dragons, James Wyatt, kept conversation moving and allowed the audience to feel as if they were part of one of a group brainstorming session. It was extremely apparent that this amazing group of authors has a strong and loyal following of fans, as most fans couldn’t have been happier to wait over 2 hours to meet their favorite authors.

Thanks to everyone who attended this very special event! We hope to see you again!

For more information about future events at Thurber House, click here.

We can’t wait to see you this fall!

On Tuesday, August 27, we are of kicking off our Fall 2013 Season of Evenings with Authors with Maggie Shipstead! Her debut novel, Seating Arrangements, was an instant New York Times bestseller that peels back the layers of an affluent WASP family.  Filled with well-written wit, humor, and emotion, Seating Arrangements is an engaging novel that will keep you turning the page.  Join us as Shipstead discusses the Van Meter family, as well as her career and love of writing. 

Click here to order tickets or for more information about this event or any other 2013 Fall Evenings with Authors event

After a lot of reading and debate, finalists have finally been selected for the 2013 Thurber Prize for American Humor! Initiated in 1997, this is the nation’s highest annual recognition of the art of humor writing. The winner will be announced at an event at Caroline’s Comedy Club on Broadway in New York City on September 30, 2013.

Drumroll please…

The finalists for the 2013 Thurber Prize for American Humor are:

Shalom Auslander for Hope, A Tragedy (Riverhead)  
Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel for Lunatics: A Novel (G.P.Putnam’s Sons)  
Dan Zevin for Dan Gets a Mini-Van: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad (Scribner)

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FINALISTS! 

Past winners of the Thurber Prize for American Humor include:
1997: Ian Frazier – Coyote vs. Acme  
1999: Editorial staff of The Onion – Our Dumb Century
         
2001: David Sedaris – Me Talk Pretty One Day
        
2004: Christopher Buckley – No Way to Treat a First Lady
         
2005: Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen’s    Guide to Democracy Inaction
         2006: Alan Zweibel – The Other Shulman
         
2007: Joe Keenan – My Lucky Star
         
2008: Larry Doyle – I Love You, Beth Cooper         
2009:  Ian Frazier – Lamentations of the Father
         
2010: Steve Hely – How I Became a Famous Novelist
         
2011: David Rakoff – Half Empty
         
2012: Calvin Trillin – Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff

*The Thurber Prize for American Humor is sponsored in part by the Greater Columbus Arts Council. 

Beginning Monday, September 23, and running until Monday, November 4, the fall 2013 Writing Workshops will offer a DIFFERENT class each week, covering a variety of genres, techniques and subjects in creative writing. Each class runs for two hours from 6 – 8 p.m., and is taught by a professional in that area. The Thurber House Writing Workshops provide a unique opportunity to discover and develop your creative writing talents. Tuition is $40 per class and it non refundable or returnable. Class size is limited to 20 per course. You must be over 18 to participate.

September 23: Writing from the Heart – Inspirational Storytelling
Learn why inspirational writing is so popular, and how faith can lead to power on the page. Instructor: Robin Davis is the former food editor for the Columbus Dispatch and senior writer for Kenyon College.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: September 19

September 30: From Memory to Memoir
Take what you remember of your life —people, events, emotions— and learn how to write about them. Instructor: Alexis Wilson is the bestselling author of Not So Black and White, a memoir.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: September 26

October 7: The Unique Art of
 Humor Writing

Humor is a wonder, and writing to bring smiles to the faces of your readers can be wonderful. Instructor: John Kachuba is the author of many books, including the bestseller, How to Write Funny.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: October 3

October 21: The Building Blocks
of Fiction

Character, plot, dialogue, voice, setting, point-of-view – get inspired by these fiction-writing basics. Instructor: Christiane Buuck is a professor of creative writing at The Ohio State University.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: October 17

October 28: Writing that Tells Your Story in Print and Online

Whether writing for a blog or a brochure, effective storytelling techniques can help you capture and retain your readers’ interest and communicate with impact. Instructor: Kathy Baird is a professional writer and communications consultant.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: October 24

November 4: The World of 
Publishing Today


We are also very excited to announce a Special Master Class with 2013 John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence: KATRINA KITTLE
The acclaimed author of The Kindness of Strangers and Traveling Light is the 2013 John E. Nance Write-in-Residence at Thurber House. She will be teaching a two-hour Master Class on Characterization and Voice, two of the most critical components of fiction writing. 
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2013

Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m. 
Price: $50

To register for any or all of our Adult Writing Workshops, please visit click here! 

Last Wednesday we wrapped up our Summer 2013 Literary Picnic series with local author, poet, and professor, Charlene Fix. Her biography, Harpo Marx as Trickster, offers an accessible look into the film career of theman who often offered you his leg to shake, rather than his hand. Nostalgia filled the atmosphere as guests looked upon the photos around the podium that captured Harpo Marx in some of his most famous roles. The audience laughed right along with Fix as she recalled some of her favorite Harpo Marx roles and scenes. Her researched involved sitting and immersing herself in the film, just as she encourages her readers to do as they read. She told the audience how author, poet, and professor, Charlene Fix. Her biography, Harpo Marx as Trickster, offers an accessible look into the film career of the man who often offered you his leg to shake, rather than his hand. Nostalgia filled the atmosphere as guests looked upon the photos around the podium that captures Harpo Marx in some of his most famous roles.

The audience laughed right along with Fix as she recalled some of her favorite Harpo Marx roles and scenes. Her researched involved sitting and immersing herself in the film, just as she encourages her readers to do as they read. She told the audience how the hardest part about writing the book was having a limit, causing her to make harsh decisions about what had to be left out. Fascinated by how Harpo Marx stole his audience, Fix has composed a biography that every
film fanatic should have on their shelves.

A big thanks to all who attended our Summer 2013 Literary Picnic Series! As we prepare to launch our Fall 2013 season of Evenings with Authors, we hope you’ll join us again for another awesome line-up of authors.

Click here for more information or to buy tickets for our Fall 2013 season of Evenings with Authors. 

For more information about this deal or to purchase your ticket, please click on the picture!

Hurray for sunny days!

Last Wednesday we had the thrilling opportunity to host writer and paranormal investigator, John Kachuba. Each member of the audience was given a complimentary bag of “ghost poop” to get them in the right mood for this particular picnic. With his newest book, Ghosthunting Ohio: On the Road Again, Kachuba features Thurber House, along with many other haunted locations throughout Ohio. The audience became wide-eyed many times as he told tales of his visits to these places and the often unsettling things that he observed and experienced. We were not surprised that the audience was full of questions, most of which were geared towards why ghosts do what they do. Kachuba wielded the questions by using what he’s seen and heard at these haunted locations to piece together a theory. With the amount of encounters he’s had, even the stern non-believers had a hard time not getting spooked.

On Wednesday, August 7, Charlene Fix will be wrapping up the 2013 Summer Literary Picnic season. As a literature and creative writing professor at CCAD and an award winning, published poet, we are happy to end our season on such a great note with this local author. In her newest book, Harpo Marx as Trickster, Fix dives into a new genre of writing. The book highlights Harpo Marx, and just as the title suggests, his affinity for tricks, mischief, and magic. Here’s to hoping this book will bring out the trickster inside of you!

For more information or to join us for this event, please click here.   

We are excited to announce the great group of authors Thurber House will be bringing to Columbus for the 2013 Fall Evenings with Authors events. Check out the authors below and let us know what you think in the comments!

Tuesday, August 27: Maggie Shipstead
Releasing her debut novel Seating Arrangements, Maggie Shipstead has captured the life of a WASP family, their quirks, and the process they go through to keep up with the Joneses. This instant New York Times bestseller takes the reader to the Van Meter family’s retreat house in New England where the group prepares for a wedding. This witty novel unravels as Shipstead shows just how much of a spectacle even the most prominent of families can make of themselves.

Wednesday, September 11: Peter Heller
Receiving accolades such as “Best Book of the year from both the San Francisco Chronicle and Atlantic Monthly, Dog Stars by Peter Heller takes place 9 years after a superflu has destroyed most of society. This post-apocalyptic novel follows Hig, his best friend/dog Jasper, and a survivalist named Bangley, as they live in this very different world and search for hope for a better tomorrow.

Monday, September 16: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Sherrilyn Kenyon brings the paranormal to Thurber House this fall with her newest novel Styxx. As part of her wildly successful series Dark-Hunters, this novel delves into the life of Styxx, who happens to be one of the most powerful beings on earth. Evil has been unleashed in this novel and Kenyon takes us into the compelling relationship between Styxx and his twin brother Acheron, as Styxx works to prove his loyalty.

Thursday, September 26: John Searles
In his new novel, Help for the Haunted, John Searles presents his readers with an unsettlingstory of two sisters whose parents travelled as self-proclaimed saviors of haunted souls, that is, until they were shot and killed. After their death, a book is discovered that causes them to question their upbringing, their family, that the circumstances surrounding their parents death.

Wednesday, October 2: A. Scott Berg
After a decade of research about Woodrow Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Scott Berg’s much anticipated biography titled Wilson, has been released. Berg had the opportunity to be the only biographer with access to two recently discovered pieces of material, making this book and its publication a great celebration of the the 100^th anniversary of Wilson’s inauguration.

Monday, October 14: Laurie R. King
Known for her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery series, Laurie R. King has published a new 1920’s novel that follows a former FBI agent Stuyvesant through the streets of Paris as he searches for a missing twenty-two year old girl from Boston. The Bones of Paris captures Paris during the Jazz Age and, as well as the underground depths that Stuyvesant must dive into to solve this mystery.

Thursday, November 14: Martin Cruz Smith
Martin Cruz Smith brings back his beloved character, Arkady Renko, in his newest novel, Tatiana. In this dark-humored novel about modern Russia, Arkady Renko delves into the past secrets of Tatiana’s life to solve her death, which he believes to be anything but an accident. With international intrigue, this thriller is said to be Martin Cruz Smith’s most powerful novel to date.

Wednesday, December 11: Chris Matthews
Anchor of MSNBC’s Hardball, as well as the NBC-syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, Chris Matthews brings to life the friendship of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill. With the overarching lesson of how bipartisan politics can succeed, Matthews tells the story of this great friendship in Tipp and The Gipper WHEN POLITICS WORKED. After working as O’Neill’s chief of staff for six years, Matthews has the inside fascinating information to tell this compelling story about the two politicians.

All of the Evenings with Authors are held at the Columbus Museum of Art and begin at 7:30 p.m. The featured guest reads from his or her most recent work and chats about writing; this is followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. Each event closes with an informal coffee and cookies reception and an opportunity to buy the author’s book(s) and get them signed. Tickets are $20 in advance, with discounts for students and seniors. All tickets are $20 at the door. Series packages are also available. To purchase tickets, call (614) 464-1032 x.11 or go to our website at www.thurberhouse.org.

Last Wednesdays storm once again put us inside for our third Literary Picnic of the 2013 season. Fortunately, Thurber House patrons braved the weather and still had a great time with Sharon Short. Dayton native and author of One Square Inch of Alaska, Short read passages from her new published book and discussed life as a writer from many perspectives. She has had the fortune of understanding writing from many perspectives, whether it’s teaching at the Antioch Writers’ Workshop (she is the director), writing for a newspaper, for her blog, for publishers, or just for herself.  One of the most frequently asked questions we hear asked to our visiting authors always has to do with their source for inspiration.

Knowing that our audience often consists of aspiring writers, it’s no shock that people want to know where what they need to be doing to stumble upon their next masterpiece.  Short comes upon inspiration with pieces of conversation that spawn characters, settings, and eventually plot lines.  One Square Inch of Alaska was created through a random conversation about a cereal box promotion in the 1950’s; the rest was all imagination.

Fourth time’s a charm? We are welcoming John Kachuba to Thurber House next week (and hopefully on the lawn) to thrill us with the paranormal experiences he has had while investigating Ohio’s most haunted areas. His book Ghosthunting Ohio: On the Road Again gives readers more information about the specific locations and how they can be accessible to the every-day thrill seeker. Thurber House is very proud to have made the list! As one of the of most prominent paranormal investigators today, the book merges his love and talent for creative writing, with his fascination in what lurks and wanders the halls of these amazing places.

For tickets or more information about this event, click here!

Even getting rained out (for the second time in a row) can’t stop us from having a great night! Julia Keller filled the house and put on a great event at the Columbus Museum of Art. It was such a pleasure to host former Columbus Dispatch writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Julia Keller, to help her celebrate her great success and publication of her newest book, A Killing in the Hills. Set in Appalachia, many audience members connected with the setting in her story and were fascinated by her ability to truly capture the differences in culture and the portrayal of life in that area of the country. Those in the audience that didn’t already own the book before hearing her talk, surely went to buy it after.

We are hoping for sunshine next week as we gear up for another Literary Picnic. Tickets are still available for our next event on Wednesday July, 10 to see Centerville, Ohio writer Sharon Short discuss her new novel, One Square Inch of Alaska. Prior to this newly released novel, Sharon spend 10 years writing a column titled “Sanity Check” in the Dayton Daily News. The hit column reflected her view on life that when strange things happen, the best way to deal them is humor. Now the director of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop, we are eager to get the inside scoop on this new novel that tells the tale of two siblings escaping a small town in Ohio. We hope you join us on the lawn (and hold off doing any rain dances) so that we can show this author what a Thurber House Literary Picnicis all about!  

Even getting rained out (for the second time in a row) can’t stop us from having a great night! Julia Keller filled the house and put on a great event at the Columbus Museum of Art. It was such a pleasure to host former Columbus Dispatch writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Julia Keller, to help her celebrate her great success and publication of her newest book, A Killing in the Hills. Set in Appalachia, many audience members connected with the setting in her story and were fascinated by her ability to truly capture the differences in culture and the portrayal of life in that area of the country. Those in the audience that didn’t already own the book before hearing her talk surely went to buy it after.

We are hoping for sunshine next week as we gear up for another Literary Picnic. Tickets are still available for our next event on Wednesday July, 10 to see Centerville, Ohio writer Sharon Short discuss her new novel, One Square Inch of Alaska. Prior to this newly released novel, Sharon spent 10 years writing a column titled “Sanity Check” in the Dayton Daily News. The hit column reflected her view on life that when strange things happen, the best way to deal them is humor. Now the director of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop, we are eager to get the inside scoop on this new novel that tells the tale of two siblings escaping a small town in Ohio. We hope you join us on the lawn (and hold off doing any rain dances) so that we can show this author what a Thurber House Literary Picnic is all about!

We are happy to say that we ended our Winter/Spring 2013 Evenings with Authors on a great note with Steve Berry. Even with the competition of One Direction being in town at the same time (and even staying on the same floor) as Berry, we filled the auditorium and he regaled us with his fabulous stories. Berry’s latest novel The Kings Deception follows a successful line of 11 published novels, as well as a handful of short stories. Berry has a knack for turning iconic moments into thrilling novels that entice any history buff who loves a good mystery. The Kings Deception is the 8^th book in his Cotton Malone Series, which follows none other than Cotton Malone as he travels the world unraveling histories best kept secrets.

With his profound Floridian accent, Berry spent most of the evening answering questions from the audience. He gave the audience the inside scoop about how Cotton got his name, and discussed how he likes to get inspiration for his stories.

He even touched on the ever popular “books or ebooks” debate. Many book fanatics in the audience were shocked to hear that while it does change the market for books, he feels positively about the ebook phenomenon. He discussed how it allows for less waste in the book production department and actually provides opportunities for more authors to be discovered independently. Berry has actually published short stories online, which because of the high cost of printing, would not have been published without the online market. He appreciates being able to use those small publications at teasers, stating, “people will spend 99 cents to read me, discover they like me, and then buy another book.”

Thank you to everyone who attended an Evenings with Authors this season! This season we had the great fortune of hosting Mary Jane Clark, Chris Pavone, Nathan Englander, Jacqueline Winspear, Tracy Chevalier, Jeff Shaara, and of course, Steve Berry. With many sold out events under our belt, we are looking forward to the Fall season of Evenings with Authors!

Can’t wait until the Fall? Check out our Summer Literary Picnics and join us for a relaxed,fun environment where we feature Ohio authors right on the lawn of Thurber House

This past Monday we had the great opportunity to welcome New York Times Bestselling Author Jeff Shaara to Columbus with a full house of enthusiastic and excited history buffs. A truly captivating speaker, Shaara read from his newly released novel, A Chain of Thunder, and had the audience hanging off every word (even those who already knew what happened).  While Shaara has written about multiple wars, this particular novel focuses on the Siege of Vicksburg, which occurred during the American Civil War. As a historical writer,Shaara discussed the immense amount of research that goes into his novels, and how he immerses himself by visiting the battle sites often and trying to capture the feeling what truly happened. He is fascinated by his subject, which shows in the quality of his writing.

Now following in the footsteps of his Pulitzer Prize winning father Michael Shaara, Jeff Shaara never actually intended to be a writer. He was a businessman, through and through. “It just happened” is how is described his transition into becoming an author. After his fathers’ death, he took the challenge of continuing his fathers’ story by writing the very successful prequel and sequel to Killer Angels, a novel that 19 years after publication became the inspiration for the film Gettysburg. And for Jeff Shaara “it” just continued to happen as he has now published 12 successful novels and one book on the battlefields of the Civil War.

Once the Q&A ended, fans rushed up to the signing table, often with 5 or 6 novels in hand.Shaara took time to sign the stacks of books and engage with every guest who had a story, experience, or general thought to share.

If you missed this event, don’t worry! On Monday, June 17, Steve Berry will be here for our final 2013 Winter/Spring Evenings with Authors of the season. Click here for more information or to order tickets online.

The lawn is freshly mowed and we are gearing up for our first Literary Picnic of the 2013 season! On Wednesday, June 12, the fascinating Alexis Wilson will be at Thurber House discuss her memoir, Not So Black and White, as she tells us her tales growing up and going through many unusual and life changing experiences.

You’re invited to come relax, have a drink, and either bring your own picnic or purchase one of our delicious boxed dinners. You can pick up your pre-ordered boxed dinner anytime between 5:30-6:50, and while we do not provide alcoholic beverages, you are welcome to bring your own! The reading will begin at 7:00 p.m. and a book signing inside Thurber House will follow. 

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets online.

If you would like to ordera dinner, the deadline is Monday, June 10 by 4 p.m. Dinner will be Caesar Chicken and Parmesan Wraps; Panzanella Salad with Tomato, Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Basil, Capers, and Croutons; Tiramisu

Help us help others! For the 2013 Literary Picnic Season, Thurber House will once again be collecting canned and boxed goods at each event to support the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Please feel free to bring any non-perishable items to the picnic and donate to a great cause! 

by Victoria, Thurber House Intern

Hello and goodbye blog readers! It’s Victoria the Intern (at least for another eight hours) giving you the final update as to what I’ve been up to at Thurber House.

Since my last update, I’ve embraced my very limited artistic ability by creating some fun, inspirational, and only slightly lame posters for Thurber’s summer camp. I got to release my inner murderer/grand thief/CSI detective as I helped brainstorm ideas for various summer camp mysteries. And, I also connected with my inner mailman too, as I spent some time delivering and mailing out Flip the Page books.

Since this is my last day, I always try to walk away from an experience with a new quote due to my slightly unhealthy obsession with them. It’s only fitting that the one I’ve collected from Thurber House be from Mr. James Thurber himself: “Don’t get it right, get it written”.

If I’ve learned anything this week, it’s that being a writer is hard; despite whatever romantic notions people have about words effortlessly flowing onto pages (I can personally attest that that is not the case). More often than not, I try so hard to write right that I forget about what’s really important – writing. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you write something, it’s that you did. And so, I’m going to try to apply Thurber’s words of wisdom to my future as a writer and spend less time focusing on how I’m going to phrase something and instead just write it.

All in all, I’ve had so much fun spending the week here! I was a little worried at first because I didn’t know how the other workers would react to having some awkward, lingering high school student take up space for the week, but they have all been amazing. Everyone here has been so incredibly nice, helpful, and supportive as they showered me with Snack Packs, answers, and encouragement.

And that was my final update! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my silly, little posts. I’m so happy that I got an opportunity to intern here at Thurber House, which I now know for sure is, as my friend’s little sister said, “the best place on Earth”.

Staff Note: All of us at Thurber House loved having Victoria here! She was incredibly helpful, didn’t complain about the boring tasks and had great input in some of our camp activities (we’re a little scared at how readily she helped create our camp mysteries!). We wish we could have her for longer but we know she will do amazing things! 

On her way to speak at her Alma Mater (the wonderful Oberlin College), we were lucky enough to have Tracy Chevalier stop by for the fifth event in our 2013 Winter/Spring Evenings with Authors series. With a full house, Chevalier discussed her latest novel, The Last Runaway.  For her 7^th novel, Chevalier dove into the history Oberlin and its progressive importance in the Underground Railroad. She was able to merge her passion for history and love of Oberlin to paint an authentic picture of Quaker life in the age of slavery and on the brink of revolution. Chevalier spoke candidly about the trials and triumphs that come with writing a piece of historical fiction. Creating any voice that sounds realistic is difficult, but when it comes to creating a voice that is historically known to be in a certain vernacular, it poses a different level of challenges. In preparation, Chevalier reread Huck Finn, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and did an extensive amount of research on Quakers to truly wrap her senses around the language and attitude of the time period. Through the long line of people waiting to get their books signed, Chevalier also gave advice to aspiring authors, told stories of her time at Oberlin, and answered any questions that our guests threw at her.  We hope everyone that made it to the event had as great of a time as we did!

Our season isn’t over quite yet! We still have two more wonderful authors on the way this spring and a whole new line up for our summer Literary Picnics. Don’t miss Jeff Sharra Monday June, 3 or Steve Berry on Monday, June 17.

Click here for more information about those events and others to come. 

by Victoria, Thurber House Intern

Hello again blog readers! This is a midweek update as to what I – Victoria the Intern – have been up to here at Thurber House.

Three days into my internship and I have learned a lot of things – the life and writings of James Thurber, the importance of organization, and the superiority of Nickles Donut Fair (absolutely true). I’ve also managed to start up my own collection of pens, become an Excel spreadsheet master (which is harder than it looks, let me tell you), test out every single marker/pen/glue stick within a five-mile radius, and do a lot of inventory.

But, mostly I’ve just been helping Thurber prepare for their Summer Camp, which looks like so much fun that I’m contemplating building a time machine and going back in time to when I was a 2nd - 8th grader just to join! Seriously – awesome games, interesting writing prompts, and stories galore – what better way to spend your summer?

For my summer, I plan on reading all the books I’ve been assigned to read for school next year. This should take about the entire summer since I decided to take four different English classes (I know, I’m crazy). Here are a few books not for school that I plan on reading:

On my Want to Read List: In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust), Nine Stories (J.D. Salinger), and The Fault in Our Stars (John Green).

On my Currently Reading List (AKA the books that are collecting dust in my room): Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) and a truck full of my guilty pleasure – Sarah Dessen novels.

And that was your midweek update! Check in on Friday for the final entry! 

Victoria in the Thurber sculpture garden

Hi! My name’s Victoria and no, I don’t have a secret (unless it’s my undying love for Chinese food which, let’s face it, is public knowledge by now).  I’m a junior at Columbus School for Girls who is spending the week interning at Thurber House. When it came time to pick my first choice, Thurber seemed like the only logical option because, well, I love to write.  Thurber House is a place where I can not only write but also have fun and be myself too – why wouldn’t I want to intern here?

Other than that, I’m just your average seventeen year old – one part confused, another part overwhelmed, and two parts recklessly eager to try everything and anything. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that I have a big list of things I enjoy. I like reading, writing, trying new things, football, card games, old movies, driving, horoscopes, Mahjong, beaches, daydreaming, sleeping, ticket stubs, watching entire seasons of TV in one day, coffee, getting lost, and black pens.

I like to write because when I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut. And a doctor. As well as a lawyer, a secret agent, a firefighter, a teacher, a police officer, a movie star, a coffee shop owner, a pilot, a chemist, a mailman, and a pirate. It took me a while to realize that meant I should be a writer, the only job that lets me be all those things and more. Ideally, I’d like to become a writer for Film/TV because A) I love to write and B) it would be pretty awesome to win an Oscar/Emmy.

And that’s basically me in two hundred and seventy-one words. I’m really happy to have the opportunity to intern here at Thurber House and I know this week will be a great one!

Staff Note: Victoria is here through Columbus School for Girls’ Junior May Experience. Students completing their junior year give their top three choices of internship experiences and they are paired with a participating organization for 4-9 days in May. We are really excited to have Victoria with us! Check back on our blog and Facebook posts to see what she’s up to this week.

We are so excited to announce the 28th season of Summer Literary Picnics, featuring readings from five authors with Ohio connections. The picnics are held on the Thurber House lawn at 77 Jefferson Avenue and you can purchase a boxed dinner from us, or bring your own. Here’s the line-up for 2013:

Wednesday, June 12: Alexis Wilson

Alexis Wilson is known to many as the wife of musician Byron Stripling, but her memoir, Not So Black and White, shows that she is much more than just a wife and mother. She shares the story of her father, a Tony-award winning choreographer, and her mother, a talented ballet star. This book is a fascinating look at the life of an exceptional woman.

Wednesday, June 26: Julia Keller

Wednesday, July 10: Sharon Short

Wednesday, July 24: John Kachuba

Wednesday, August 7: Charlene Fix

For the past 12 years we have been proud to bring a children’s author to live at Thurber House, share space with the ghost, and hit the ground running on whatever story they are writing.

Alan Gratz, our 2011 Children’s Writer-in Residence, has some really great things happening right now. Just out this March, Prisoner B-3087, is already making an impact. Based on the true story of Jack Gruener, Prisoner B-3087 tells the story of a boy who survived ten different concentration camps. The novel gives a younger age group an unapologetic picture of what life was so unfortunately like for many people during World War II.

Along with the success of Prisoner, comes a project that we are happy to have been a part of. In the spring of 2014, Gratz will be releasing the book he worked on during his residency at Thurber House! Luckily, the ghost didn’t give him too much trouble and he was able to really get some work done; Thurber House even gets a shout out in the acknowledgements! Titled, Mangleborn, this novel is the first of his highly anticipated middle grade fantasy trilogy, The League of Seven. The series is set in an alternate America, where seven super-powered children fight to stop the mad scientist, Thomas Edison, from summoning giant monsters–until they learn that one of the League may be the biggest monster of all.

We are so happy to see that the work Alan did during his residency is coming to fruition! Congratulations Alan!

Are you a children’s author? Check out more information about our Children’s Writer-in-Residence program!

As a last hoorah to National Poetry Month, we would like to share one final (anonymous) poem derived from the talent in our Young Writers’ Studio. So without further adieu…

[Untitled]

The smoke screened illusion
hazing vision and judgments
in this religion of smoke and spit.
Worshipping wholly unholy celestial bodies 

Electric prayers received
in the daring haze of four A.M. sermons;
prayers made with thumbs
substituting amen with a semicolon and a closing parenthesis. 

A part time god with a lowercase ‘g’,
only present by desire
not by necessity,
draws from you the four letter hallelujah
praising the vessel for the euphoria it brings. 

Words repeated mean so little,
but say so much.
They are shelled out to reignite a dying flame.
The words lose passion, becoming perfunctory.
They say dead wood creates the best flame,
but it burns away the fastest. 

The veil may blind the lady Justice,
but the smoke renders her judgment obsolete.
And when the rolled paper wings burn out,
like Icarus, the Disciple falls. 

The screen is pulled back
and the bond is severed.
The illness from a corrupted belief
metastasizing in the heart
causing an infection. 

And all that’s left is the ash on the broken alter
over which she was bent;
the virgin Mary who lost her title.

___________
Again, thanks so much to our great teen writers. Here at Thurber House, we feel that we had a successful celebration of National Poetry Month, and we definitely owe a portion of that to our teens, whose talent gives us another reason to love poetry.

If you’re working on something, keep chipping away at it one stanza at a time. National Poetry Month lives on in the hearts of every passionate poet out there!