Muse Writers Center offers fellowships for teen writers
The Muse Writers Center, in Norfolk, is setting up fellowships for teenage writers, and the application deadline for the first group is Dec. 3. Eight fellows will be chosen for the spring and summer sessions, which will include classes, public readings, mentorship by a professional writer, and attendance at the annual Hampton Roads Writers conference. All are free for the fellows chosen.
This is no small thing: These classes and conferences normally entail significant fees, and the Muse folks are serious about their work. One of the mentors will be Luisa Igloria, a poet who teaches graduate students at Old Dominion and who recently added to her shelf of awards the second-place Bridport Poetry Prize (U.K.) for her poem “What we learn from movies about surviving a nuclear blast.”
The Muse wants a personal statement and writing samples; it especially wants students considering a major in creative writing or English. Applicants must be sophomores or juniors. Fellows will have to meet specific guidelines during their term (class attendance, participation in public readings, etc.). Can’t drive? The Muse will provide transportation help.
Details: Anna Fitzgerald at anna@the-muse.org; the-muse.org/teenfellowship.
Lecture and signing: Charles Oldham, a North Carolina lawyer and author, has been digging into a historical mystery — what happened in1905 when the 8-year-old son of a state senator vanished? — and has written “The Senator’s Son: The Shocking Disappearance, the Celebrated Trial, and the Mystery that Remains a Century Later” (Beach Glass Books, 307 pp.). On Feb. 13, 1905, Kenneth Beasley left his school’s playground for the woods and was not seen again. Later a political rival was charged. The author explores the case, the trial and its outcome, and the state’s “political, racial, lynching and liquor cultures.” At 1 p.m. Saturday, he’ll give a talk and sign copies in Elizabeth City, N.C., at the Museum of the Albemarle. 501 S. Water St. 252-335-1453. museumofthealbemarle.com.
Obituary notes: Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, a literary critic for The
New York Times for three decades, who wrote some 4,000 reviews and essays, was 84. ... Juris Jurjevics, a founder of indie publisher Soho Press and the author of “Red Flags,” a Vietnam novel, was 75. ... Louise A. DeSalvo — a Virginia Woolf scholar whose “Virginia Woolf: The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Her Life and Work” was named one of the most important books of the 20th century by Women’s Review of Books — was 76.
New and recent
“We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival” by Jabari Asim ( Picador, 208 pp.). Essays by a former editor and columnist for The Washington Post, and editor in chief of the NAACP’s “The Crisis.” “He places current events within the context of a legacy that is literary, political, and cultural as well as racial, with a voice that is both compelling and convincing.” (Kirkus, starred review)
Fletcher Knebel’s “Night of Camp David,” his 1965 best-selling political thriller, being reissued this month (Vintage, 352 pp.). It explores the prospect of a president gone “stark raving mad”: He takes a young senator into his confidence and, in late-night rants, reveals paranoid delusions and dreams of restoring America to its status as a great world power. The senator is in a quandary. At the time, some reviewers called the book too realistic to be a good read. (NYT)
“Always My Hero: The Road to Hope & Healing Following My Brother’s Death in Afghanistan” by Renee Nickell ( 284 pp.). Her brother, Maj. Sam Griffith of Virginia Beach, was a Marine deployed in Afghanistan when he was killed in December 2011. The losses of Gold Star parents often are known, Nickell notes, but siblings endure a different kind of grief, “left to somehow help mend the brokenness of our parents” and to support bereaved spouses and children as well.
NONFICTION
1. “Whose Boat Is This Boat? Comments That Don’t Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane” by the Staff of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert
(Simon & Schuster, $14.99) Last week: —
2. “Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave” by Joanna Gaines
(Harper Design, $40) Last week: —
3. “Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be” by Rachel Hollis
(Nelson, $22.99) Last week: 2
4. “Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks” by Ina Garten 5. “Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
6. “Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering” by Joanna Gaines
(Henry Holt, $30) Last week: 5
$29.99) Last week: 10
(Clarkson Potter, $35) Last
(William Morrow,
7. “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution” by Tucker Carlson
8. “Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.” by Brene Brown
(Free Press, $28) Last week: 7
House, $28) Last week: 8
9. “Medical Medium Liver Rescue: Answers to Eczema, Psoriasis, Diabetes, Strep, Acne, Gout, Bloating, Gallstones, Adrenal Stress, Fatigue, Fatty Liver, Weight Issues, SIBO & Autoimmune Disease” by Anthony William
(Hay House, $34.99) Last week: 1
10. “Beastie Boys Book” by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz
week: 4
(Random
(Spiegel & Grau, $50) Last