Author: TayariJones

Tomorrow, Thursday January 18, at 11am (EST), I will get to talk with M.H. Abrahms, the founding editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature. The conversation will be on the NPR radio show, “On Point” which is broadcast from Boston’s NPR station, WBUR. Click here to see if you can listen on your radio. But if you can’t, tune in for the web broadcast (live) or the podcast (listen in later!).
Think about it.. haven’t you ever wondered how certain authors and writers get to be “classic”? Well, this time tomorrow, we will know for sure. (And of course, I’ll give my perspective.)
If you plan to tune in while I work, I promise to keep it clean. (smile)

No, I didn’t say ADORATION, I said UNDERRATION. The creators of the blog, The Syntax Of Things, asked prominent literary bloggers to list writers for the 2005 list of under-rated writers. I am proud to have been nominated for this distinction by C.A.A. Frye of the blog, Tingle Alley. Check out the whole list. What a kick to be in such good company. Question: Which new books do you think deserve more attention?

I’ve got Stevie Wonder on my iPod. “Happy Birthday to ya! Haaaapppy Biiirrthday!” And of course, there’s red velvet cake. And vodka gimlets. And very good shoes. And very very very good friends. Thanks everyone for such a good year. Love, Tayari

I’ve just gotten good news from my publisher, Warner Books. Leaving Atlanta is under-going a fifth printing in paperback!

I am happy to let everybody know that I will be moving to D.C. next year for six months! January through June. I’ll be a writer in residence at George Washington University. It’s such a great school, such a great city, terrific department. Who could ask for anything more?

Okay, for some of you this may sound familiar. But here’s the *official* announcement: The Untelling has been awarded the Lillian C. Smith Award for New Voices. I’m pretty excited about it. Lillian Smith was a writer with a conscience, which, I think, is the most important attribute of a writer. Past winners include Alice Walker, Maddison Smartt Bell, Ernest Gaines. The awards ceremony is October 15th in Athens, GA.

That AJC reported recently that there are tapes which may link white supremacists groups to the Atlanta Child Murders. I actually remember these tapes being played on the news about fifteen years ago. It’s a trip to see how reading the names brings back memories. The missing child mentioned in this article is Lubie Geter. Just reading the name makes me remember. While in Atlanta this weekend I met two women who wanted to talk to me aboout growing up in ATL during this terrible time. Everytime I talk to people whose childhoods overlapped with my own I write their stories down in the book I carry with me in my heart.