Bay Area Literary Doings

Lindsey Crittenden’s moving memoir, The Water Will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray, has just been released. Crittenden writes about how learning to pray helped her through the death of her brother and parents. It’s a Bay Area book through and through – Crittenden was raised here, she was living in Berkeley when she stumbled into All Soul’s Church and gave prayer a try, and she now lives in San Francisco.

I went to Crittenden’s book release party at the Mechanic’s Institute and heard her read a poignant description of looking at her brother in the hospital as he hovered in the netherworld between life and death. The passage was beautifully rendered. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Publisher’s Weekly gave it a starred review. You can read about her here or go see her at Book Passage on April 15.

Michelle Richmond’s newest novel, The House of Fog, is officially being released today. With that title, I don’t have to tell you where it’s set. I haven’t seen this book yet, but I loved Richmond’s last book, Dream of the Blue Room, which was set in China. She’s launching her book on April 4 with a reading at Books Inc at Opera Plaza, followed by drinks at Hotel Rex. She’s also blogging this week at the Book Passage’s new blog. I think this is modeled after the author’s blog run by Powell Books of Portland.

Two other Bay Area writers have recently sold their books. These are from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Martha O'Connor's TINK, a reimagining of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan as a fierce Gaelic faerie born as a changeling to a band of 19th-century gypsies, to Peternelle van Arsdale at Putnam, in a pre-empt, for publication in late 2008 or early 209, by Mary Evans at Mary Evans (NA).

O'Connor's first book was the wildly successful The Bitch Posse.

Meg Waite Clayton's THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, about five young wives who meet in a neighborhood park and form a bond over love, children, marriage, infidelity, illness, books, and writing, and who support each other through the best and worst of times, all set against the backdrop of the 1960s, to Robin Rolewicz at Ballantine, in a good deal, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (NA).

Clayton’s first novel was The Language of Light.