Tayari's Blog: Community Service
May 19, 2008
Oo La Lauren: Gorgeous For The Cause
Remember when I told everyone to bid on the photo shoot by Rachel Eliza Griffiths that was part of the Dunbar Village auction? Well, Lauren Cerand-- the best publicist in the word-- was on the receiving end of all of Rachel's beautiful magic.
Major hotness.
Posted at 03:08 PM | ![[comments]](http://www.tayarijones.com/images/comments.gif){kind=small}
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Category:
Community Service
April 16, 2008
We've Done Something Good Here
The time has come to post the results of the recent ebay auction to benefit the victims of the Dunbar Village Tragedy. As you may remember, I came up with this idea on the spur of the moment. I volunteered to do a manuscript critique and invited any other authors who were interested to jump right in.
I was floored by the number of people who pitched in. I did not solicit these offerings. People stood up and stepped up. So remember the names of these authors, artists, and publishers. Support them. Buy their books when you can, request them from your local library, go to their readings, or just subscribe to their blogs.
I also want to thank the members of this blog community for all your help with this effort. You bid, forwarded the links to your friends, and sent encouraging emails. You posted on your own blogs. Word spread. We managed to get a lot of attention for the auction, but also for the specific victims of Dunbar Village, but also the issue of violence against women and children.
Special thanks is in order for the bloggers. We were mentioned on the big literary blogs like Galleycat, Maude Newton, TEV, and even the LA Times blog. But the smaller blog families also gave love. Some folks even did mini-auctions of thier own to encourage support for our efforts.
Lastly, If you want to help out, but didn't win the any of the auctions, you can make a donation to the victim's assistance fund. Here's the information for that:
Individuals who would like to donate money to the victims can go to any Wachovia Bank and donate to the St. Ann’s Victim’s Assistance Fund. Donations will go directly to the mother and her son. Checks can be made payable to the "Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund - St. Ann’s". Donations can be mailed to: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
We've done something good here. All of us. Whether you won an auction or not. We came together. We gave what we had to give. We cared. We helped somebody.
Posted at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
And The Winners Are....
The total raised from the auction is:
TWO THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED FOURTEEN DOLLARS and Sixty-Nine Cents!
Posted at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
April 14, 2008
Tick, tock! Act now!
The auction for the six titles from Dzanc Books is closing in about an hour. For those of you not hip, I thought I would tell you a little bit about this innovative publishing company.
Dzanc is a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing literary fiction. They also do outreach and education. This means writers in schools programs, but also working with literary journals to increase literacy and also visibility of serious authors.
This is a quick summary because the auction ends in abut 45 minutes and I want to get this up in time for you to BID.... Also, it was so kind of them to offer thier whole catalog. There are some good books in there.
And, ahem, just FYI, if you are an author-- check out this tasty paragraph lifted from the Dzanc website:
All Dzanc authors not only receive contracts and monetary compensation commensurate with the best literary houses, but the personal attention shown to each author by Dzanc - including reviews, book tours and intimate involvement in every step of the publishing process - clearly makes Dzanc unique.
Now that should get you feeling bid-dy
Posted at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
TWO GRAND... and counting!
Oh, Everybody! Things went so well last night with the ebay auction. We sold more than two thousand dollars worth of literary goods and services. There was last minute drama. (Example: a gentleman going by the handle "swampgoat" had last minute technical difficulties when trying to bid on the Saunders critique. He has to enlist a friend with less than a minute to go!)
There is some good stuff left--
As soon as all auctions are done, paperwork handled, I am going to post the names of the winners. I've been in touch with almost all of them and they are really cool people.
Life is good.
Posted at 07:24 AM | Comments (1)
Category:
Community Service
April 13, 2008
COUNTDOWN!
We are in the last hour of the ebay auction to benefit the victims of the Dunbar Village tragedy. I am so excited. Can you believe there are (at this posting) 194 bids? I am thrilled to pieces.
(And don't forget there are a couple of other items that will mature tomorrow, but the main event is in 44 minutes... and counting.)
Posted at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
Tonight's The Night!
The auction wraps up today, for the most part. There are a couple groovy items which close a little later because either they were added late, or I got confused with the software... but the bulk of the items close tonight, 9pm, EST. I noticed that many of the bidders were first time ebayers, so I thought I would offer this tip:
The bidding can get heated in the last minute or so of the auction. Really crafty people law low, watching the item. And in the very last seconds, they put in a bid, hoping the auction will close before anyone else has a chance to put it a higher offer. (Very sneaky.) This is what Weird Al was talking about when he sang
I am the type who
is liable to snipe you
with two seconds left to goooooo!
So, if there is something that you want, don't bid and then walk away. Keep hitting refresh on your browser to make sure you are still in the lead.
And speaking of that Weird Al song. There were a good dozen versions of the video on ebay. Who knew there was this Weird Al Tribute videography community? I must confess. The Ebay Song is growing on me and my be my new favorite YouTube chuckle. I think it is even funnier that the disagreeing Filet o Fishes.
(No smirking, Ladylee.)
Posted at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
April 10, 2008
Just a Helpful Hint
This is a message to the New York writers. This is written from a place of love. Please don't take it as an insult.
YOU NEED A NEW AUTHOR PHOTO. This is a kind and encouraging blog, so I won't call any names. So, to those of you are using a cell-phone self-portrait: people can tell. To the people using a picture that you took way back in high school, you need to upgrade. Check out Rachel Eliza Griffiths' pictures. She will make you gorgeous. Go over the auction. Bid. You owe it to yourself. And it's for a good cause.
And here's the good news. Unpublished writers out there: you're working hard. You're sending your stuff out. (Maybe you have already bid on Erika's cool reference books?) Good things are going to happen. And when they do, you're going to need a photo. And a cell-phone self-portrait just won't do.
And not to be all up in y'all's personal business.... You could probably use a more flattering picture for myspace, yahoo personals, blackpeoplemeet.com, match.com, etc... I'm just saying
Posted at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
How to Make Money For What You Write!
Someone told me long time ago: "Only YOU can make yourself a writer." This meant that only you control whether you put words to page. But once you've gotten those words down, what to do with them?
Erika Dreifus, a.k.a. "The Practicing Writer" has just the resource for you. It's a three-book set, fully downloadable and super helpul.
Erika has donated the whole set. All you gotta do now is B-I-D.
Posted at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
April 08, 2008
NEW STUFF JUST ADDED
This is why I love Algonquin Books-- they heard through the grapevine about our fundariaser so they just donated a bundle of TEN (count 'em, 10!) works of contemporary southern fiction-- Lee Smith, Silas House, Larry Brown.. *everybody*! And, just to sweeten the deal, two volumes of New Stories From the South!
I have also decided to offer a short story critique in a addition to the manuscript crituque, for those of you who want to ease into this critique thing.
Natasha Trethewey just gave me (in my hand) a signed FIRST EDITION of her Pulitzer Prize winning collection Native Guard!
Also, prices have been dropped. And the paypal requirement has been removed from bidding!
(This is supposed to go up last night, but I had technical issues.)
Posted at 09:00 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
Community Service
Why You Should Bid On A Novel Critique
I know you all know about the terrific literary auction taking place now on ebay. The best opportunity on the list is the MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES. A couple folks have emailed and said they admire the authors too much to submit anything less than excellent. Well, that's really sweet, but really wrong-headed. The idea is to have someone read your manuscript so you can make it better! Don't be shy. I can only speak for myself of course, but I'll be gentle and I'll be helpful.
Two authors-- Sarah Schulman and myself-- are offering full manuscript critiques. We will read your whole complete entire novel. Anyone who has a manuscript in a drawer knows how hard it is to get someone to look at your stuff. Oh how I envy musicians who just pop in a CD and say "check out my stuff..." Or even visual artists who can lead you to a gallery wall and then offer you some wine and cheese. For writers, when you hand someone a 300 page document, you don't exactly see joy on thier faces...
So, go bid. I'll read your manuscript! So will Sarah. Lots of other cool writers will read your short stories and poetry. And it's for a really good cause.
Posted at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
April 06, 2008
Let's Help The Dunbar Village Survivors!
The ebay auction is up! Go there now to bid on manuscript critiques by me, George Saunders, Nichelle Tramble,Sarah Schulman, Laila Lalami, Joy Castro, Martha Southgate, D. Nurkse, and Honoree Fanonne Jeffers! Carleen Brice is offering to critique your non-fiction book proposal. (Having sold three books this way, she knows how it's done!) There are books up for grabs-- a full set of George Saunders titles and a set of memoirs and a collection of debut novels. Natasha Trethewey is giving a signed hardcover of her Pulitzer Prize winning collection, Native Guard. Erika Dreyfus, the "Practicing Writer", has offered her three e-books on how to find paying markets for what you write! This is just in: Rachel Eliza Griffiths will take your photo if you live the NY area. (Trust me. You want her to take your photo.)
We got the good stuff.
If you'd like to contribute directly to the victims of the Dunbar Village tragedy here's the info.
Individuals who would like to donate money to the victims can go to any Wachovia Bank and donate to the St. Ann’s Victim’s Assistance Fund. Donations will go directly to the mother and her son.
St. Ann’s Catholic Church will accept donations. Checks can be made payable to the "Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund - St. Ann’s".
Donations can be mailed to: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
If you go this route, let me know. At the end of the week, I want to post the results of our hard work and I want to make sure I include you.
On that note, I received the first contribution last night at KGB Bar. Alicia, a member of our blog community, slipped me some cash. "This is for Dunbar Village," she said.
Ashe.
Posted at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
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