Goose Hits 1K on Turkey Day

The Flightless Goose got 1,000 visitors for Thanksgiving; the official Flightless Goose website, www.RunGoose.com, reached 1,000 unique visitors on Thanksgiving Day! Talk about something to be thankful for.

To celebrate, don’t forget that Flightless Goose is one of the featured events at this year’s Festival of Trees at the Maryland State Fairgrounds — the east cost’s largest family-oriented festival, and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season!

We'll share our new book with children and their families at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 29. Look for us by the fireside in the Cozy Corner.

Kennedy Kreiger Institute's Festival of Trees was established in 1990 as a fundraiser to benefit children with neurological disorders served by the Institute. This festival is the largest fundraising event of the year and the largest holiday-themed event in Mid-Atlantic region. Festival of Trees includes more than 500 beautifully decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses designed by local artists, businesses and community groups, plus holiday crafts shopping, amazing items up for grabs at the silent auction, hourly live entertainment and, of course, Santa!

Festival benefits the more than 13,000 children with disorders of the brain and spinal cord served by Kennedy Krieger each year, raising funds for patient care, education and research. Since its inception, Festival of Trees has raised over $10 million to support these important programs. You can print a $2 off coupon to bring with you to the event. Just go to the online forest.

www.festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org

For more about the Flightless Goose reading and other fun events, visit the festival’s entertainment page.

http://www.festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org/entertainment.html

Thankful Goose Makes Cover of Baltimore Messenger

We’re thankful Flightless Goose has been getting a lot of attention lately. There have been well more than a hundred requests for review copies from the press! Not to mention some of the places Flightless Goose has already been featured.

The latest feature appeared on the front page of this week’s Baltimore Messenger. The book’s cover is featured on the front page, along with the story, “Grounded ‘Goose’ Walks away winner” by Loni Ingraham.

The Baltimore Messenger is delivered to about 50,000 readers in the communities of Roland Park, Mt. Washington, Homeland, Guilford, and Hamden.

See the front page of the Baltimore Messenger, with the Grounded Goose and headline, at the link below.
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/publications/ms/

Or go directly to the full story here.
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/community/5412/grounded-goose-walks-away-winner/

And Gilbert, the flightless goose, would like us to remind you: eat turkey, not goose, for a happy Thanksgiving.

Festival of Trees Features Flightless Goose

Flightless Goose is one of the featured events at this year’s Festival of Trees at the Maryland State Fairgrounds — the east cost’s largest family-oriented festival, and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season!

My wife and I will share the new book with children and their families at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 29. Look for them in the Cozy Corner.

“If Santa had a theme park, this would be it,” boasts the website about the Festival of Trees — a three-day extravaganza of fairyland forests, gingerbread towns and toy train gardens, complimented by over 100 craft boutiques, holiday goodies and activities for kids of all ages. Not to mention a special line-up of entertainment for the whole family — including this premiere presentation of Flightless Goose.

Kennedy Kreiger Institute's Festival of Trees was established in 1990 as a fundraiser to benefit children with neurological disorders served by the Institute. This festival is the largest fundraising event of the year and the largest holiday-themed event in Mid-Atlantic region. Festival of Trees includes more than 500 beautifully decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses designed by local artists, businesses and community groups, plus holiday crafts shopping, amazing items up for grabs at the silent auction, hourly live entertainment and, of course, Santa!

The 19th annual Festival of Trees takes place November 28 to 30 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

The festival benefits the more than 13,000 children with disorders of the brain and spinal cord served by Kennedy Krieger each year, raising funds for patient care, education and research. Since its inception, Festival of Trees has raised over $10 million to support these important programs.

You can print a $2 off coupon to bring with you to the event. Just go to the online forest!

www.festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org

For more about the Flightless Goose reading and other fun events, visit the festival’s entertainment page.

www.festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org

To learn more about Flightless Goose, the new childrens’ book by Eric & Nataliya Goodman, visit the online pond.

www.RunGoose.com

Marion Winik Talks About the Dead

The Baltimore Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association presents author Marion Winik giving a special talk, "The Making of The Glen Rock Book of the Dead." The event takes place Monday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m., at Ukazoo Books, 730 Dulaney Valley Road, in Towson. It is free for MWA members and first-time visitors, and $5 for returning guests.

Winik will talk about how she came up with and refined the idea for her unusual new work of creative non-fiction, which is a collection of 51 very brief portraits of people she has known who have died. Winik finds that inventing definite structures for her essays and memoirs (perhaps analogous to poetic forms) has been incredibly useful, and she will share lists of ideas and sources of inspiration for writers who want to try this in their own work. She will also read briefly from the book.

Marion Winik is the author of eight books of creative nonfiction and poetry, most recently The Glen Rock Book of the Dead (Counterpoint, 11/2008). Her other works include Telling (Random House, 1994), a best-selling collection of personal essays; First Comes Love (Random House, 1996), a memoir now in development for motion-picture release; The Lunch-Box Chronicles(Random House, 1998); Rules for the Unruly (Simon and Schuster, 2001) and Above Us Only Sky (Seal Press, 2005). She is also the author of two books of poetry. Her essays and articles have been published in The New York Times Magazine, O, Salon, Real Simple, and The Los Angeles Times, among others. Her commentaries have been heard on All Things Considered since 1991, and are collected on the NPR website.

She was the 2008 "My Life As A Mom" columnist for Ladies Home Journal, and continues in 2009 as that publication's "Advice Lady." Currently teaching writing at the University of Baltimore, Winik was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Non-Fiction and has been inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. She has appeared on the Today Show, Politically Incorrect and Oprah.

For more information, visit the MWAB website.

www.mwabaltimore.org

You Never Know Where Flightless Goose Will Turn Up

Watch out – you never know where Flightless Goose will turn up next!

Last week a Flightless Goose interview was featured on the popular blog, GottaWriteGirl: Adventures in Childrens’ Literature.

http://gottawritegirl.blogspot.com/2008/11/dont-duck-this-goose.html

You may expect to find Flightless Goose featured in a blog about childrens’ literature. But what about Agri Digest – dedicated to agricultural initiative and innovation.

Sure enough, Flightless Goose is featured in the most recent issue of Agri Digest. Check it out at the link below!

http://www.agridigest.com/bookGoose.html

Check out the online pond yourself at www.RunGoose.com, where you can learn more about the book and even order your own copy.

Who knows – maybe the place Flightless Goose will turn up next is at your doorstep!

www.RunGoose.com

Three Literary Readings This Week

When it comes to the literary arts in the Baltimore area, it seems there are always a number of events going on. This week is a perfect example, with three exciting literary readings to choose from.

This Thursday, November 13, at 8 p.m. is the next Speak Freely event at Studio 221. I’ll be one of the featured readers this time around, joined by Ron Williams, Christine Stewart, and Fernando Quijano III, among others. There will be an open mic session, and refreshments. The event takes place at 221 W. Saratoga Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Join us for an evening of speaking freely.

This Saturday, November 15 there are two back-to-back reading events to enjoy – and each one promises to deliver.

I’ll be one of the featured readers at a Constellation Books presentation of New Lines from the Old Line State: An Anthology of Maryland Writers. Other featured readers include Lauren Beth Eisenberg, Scott E. Frias, Sally Whitney, Frank S. Joseph, Mary Stojak, and Laura Shovan. The event takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. at Constellation Books, 303 Main Street in Reisterstown, www.constellationbooks.com.


The 510 reading series, hosted by Jen Michalski and Michael Kimball, presents its first nonfiction-focused reading event at Minas Gallery, 815 W. 36th St., Hampden. Featured readers include Deborah Rudacille, Lia Purpura, and Brian Eden. The event takes place at 5 p.m. on every third Saturday of the month.

Come to one, come to all, and enjoy all that Baltimore’s active literary scene has to offer.

Baltimore Writers’ Conference This Saturday

Writers across Baltimore and throughout Maryland and DC will join in Towson, Maryland this Saturday, November 8 for the 17th Annual Baltimore Writers’ Conference.


This year’s keynote speaker is Larry Doyle, author of the novel I Love You, Beth Cooper, soon to be released as a film directed by Chris Columbus and starring Hayden Panettiere as Beth. He was a writer and producer for The Simpsons for four years and now writes for The New Yorker magazine. He recently won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.


Also featured at the conference: Ned Balbo, Poet; Mark Drew, editor; James Grady, thriller novelist; Jessica Anya Blau, novelist; Geoff Becker, novelist; Liz Purpura, poet and essayist; Margaret Meacham, childrens’ author; Cynthia Sanders, contract lawyer; and Shannon O’Neill, agent.


You can register now online, or at the door – the cost is $95, or $50 for students.


Learn more about the Baltimore Writers’ Conference at their website.

http://www.towson.edu/writersconference/

GottaWriteGirl Interviews GottaReadGoose

As my first childrens’ book, Flightless Goose, runs into bookstores across the nation, I’m finding myself wearing the publicity hat more often — communicating with the press, preparing events, doing interviews …

Today, GottaWriteGirl features my interview, "Don’t Duck This Goose," at her popular blog with a focus on childrens’ literature: GottaWriteGirl: Adventures in Children’s Literature.

About a month ago, GottaWriteGirl interviewed the esteemed, Newberry-winning Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved.

Check out both interviews at www.GottaWriteGirl.com.

For my interview, you can even participate in a discussion at the end of the post. I’m happy to respond to any questions about the book, the long road to publication, or anything else related to writing and childrens’ literature.

Hope to see you there!

http://gottawritegirl.blogspot.com/2008/11/dont-duck-this-goose.html