The Presence of the Past in Good Night, Irene: A Conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea, by Renee H. Shea

The Presence of the Past in Good Night, Irene: A Conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea, by Renee H. Shea Interviews [email protected] Fri, 05/26/2023 - 13:30 The author’s mother, Phyllis Irene McLaughlinAward-winning writer Luis Alberto Urrea describes Good Night, Irene (Little, Brown, 2023) as “the book I have spent most of my life preparing to write.” This novel is inspired by his mother, Phyllis Irene McLaughlin, and by Jill Pitts Knappenberger for their work in World War II as part of the American Red Cross Clubmobile Service. Known affectionately as the Donut Dollies, these women were in the midst of combat as they drove their trucks from one site of battle to another. Urrea was aware that his mother had been one of the 250 Clubmobile women, but not until after she died did he learn that her war buddy Jill was still living and the keeper of an extensive archive. Years of conversations with Jill, research into the Clubmobile corps, and travel to key places of the European theater led to Good Night, Irene’s fictional tribute to Urrea’s mother and her friend Jill as well as other overlooked but heroic women who served in World War II. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for The Devil’s Highway, Urrea (b. 1955) is the author of numerous other works of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, including the national bestsellers The Hummingbird’s Daughter and The House of Broken Angels (see WLT, Nov. 2022, 6). A 2019 Guggenheim Fellow,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-26 18:30:53 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "The Presence of the Past in Good Night, Irene: A Conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea, by Renee H. Shea"


Small Press Community Slowly Builds Back after SPD Failure

A little more than three months after Small Press Distribution abruptly closed, leaving some 400 indie publishers without a trade distributor, publishers and distributors both are finally moving forward—even as damage assessment continues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How a Small Press Poetry Contest Launched Samuel Beckett’s Career

Paris, June 1930. At 3.00 in the morning, Nancy Cunard quickly writes a letter to her friend Louise Morgan, American journalist and editor at Everyman magazine: We found a poem, a beauty, by a poet—so much so that it must be printed by itself. Irishman of 23, Ecole Normale here, that’s all I... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-26 08:56:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Coffee, Booze, Undressing, Deprivation: How Writers Get in the Mood to Write

Before he began to write, John Cheever put on a three-piece suit and took the elevator from his Manhattan apartment down to the basement, where he took off his jacket and tie, and then began. Hemingway famously needed a drink to loosen him up. Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver has said,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-24 08:55:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Washington Post’s newly named editor backs out of job, will stay in Britain

Robert Winnett’s departure is the latest of the news outlet’s woes. The Washington Post said Friday that newly named editor Robert Winnett has decided not to take the job and remain in Britain instead, another upheaval at a news outlet where a reorganization plan has gone disastrously wrong.The... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2024-06-21 14:48:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ron Edmonds, 77, Whose Camera Captured the Shooting of Reagan, Dies

Working for The Associated Press, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his sequence of photos showing the president being struck by a bullet while three others fell wounded. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-06-05 00:19:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Hard, but Good, Ending for Polis Books

After 11 years, Jason Pinter's small press fell under the weight of a host of issues all too familiar to indie publishers. But his elegance under the pressure of handling the collapse—including the rehoming of 60% of Polis's 171-title backlist—stands out. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


IPG, Itasca Add More Small Press Distribution Clients

Independent Publishers Group and Itasca Books have both signed former SPD clients to new distribution deals. IPG has taken on nine new publishers, while Itasca has picked up five. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Russian dissident wins Pulitzer for columns he wrote 'at great personal risk' from prison cell

Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42, won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his Washington Post columns about Russian politics and society — all of which he wrote in prison.  Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2024-05-08 19:11:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lit Hub Daily: May 8, 2024

Jonathan Corcoran on the teacher who showed him that writing begins far from the page: Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips. | Lit Hub Criticism Elizabeth Graver remembers her friend and agent, Richard Parks: “Richard’s voice on the phone was always much as I remembered it: polite, even... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-08 10:30:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Here are this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners.

The winners and nominated finalists of the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today by administrator Marjorie Miller via remote video stream. The winners each take home $15,000 dollars and serious bragging rights, not to mention a ticket into a very illustrious club. The full list of winners... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-06 19:40:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Night Watch,' 'A Day in the Life of Abed Salama,' 'King' Among 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Novelist Jayne Anne Phillips, journalist Nathan Thrall, and biographer Jonathan Eig were among the winners of the 108th annual Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism and in Arts and Letters, announced May 6. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Endnotes: ‘Cue the Sun!’ by Emily Nussbaum

An inside look at the publication process for the Pulitzer Prize winner’s second book Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


23 Indie Presses to Support After the Close of Small Press Distribution

On March 28, Small Press Distribution (SPD), the 55-year old company that helped 385 indie publishers deliver their books to customers, collapsed without warning. This is an existential blow in a business where finances are delicate at the best of times. Books remain stranded in warehouses and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-26 11:10:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


In light of SPD’s implosion, the Poetry Foundation announces a small press fund.

When SPD (Small Press Distribution) announced its sudden and immediate closure at the end of March, hundreds of small and indie presses were not only caught off-guard but immediately thrown into existential limbo. Publishers and authors took to whatever platforms they had available to share... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-25 16:35:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Alfonso Chardy, Who Helped Expose Iran-Contra Scandal, Dies at 72

A Miami Herald correspondent, he powered a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and helped snare three other Pulitzers for the paper. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-24 22:42:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Denny Walsh, Reporter Who Tussled With Mayors and Editors, Dies at 88

Mr. Walsh won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1969 and later joined The New York Times, which eventually fired him. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-19 21:44:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Predicting the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

With March Madness and the Super Bowl recently crowning champions and the Grammys and Oscars awarding music and movies, it’s finally time for the literary world to have its own big moment in the sun. And that can only mean one thing: It’s Pulitzer time! While there are many book awards that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-19 11:15:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


SPD Client Presses Race to Claim Books as Ingram Drops a Tight Deadline

Ingram Publisher Services has told former Small Press Distribution clients that they have 60 days to remove inventory from its warehouse, prompting some publishers to panic, and Independent Publishers Group will participate in two informational sessions for small presses early this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Op-ed: Delivering on the promise of higher education

At a time when students and parents are questioning the costs and benefits of a college degree, it’s worth remembering two things: that a good education is priceless, and some colleges, like Brooklyn, remain absolute bargains. These facts are of particular importance right now as high school... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-04-05 16:03:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lit Hub Daily: April 3, 2024

Get ready for the fun and the fantastical. Caroline Carlson recommends new children’s books by Maple Lam, Felicita Sala, Laurie Morrison and more. | Lit Hub Reading Lists The collapse of Small Press Distribution has left over 400 publishers uncertain about the future. Adam Morgan talks to small... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-03 10:30:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this