News from Heidi

Naomi Benaron is the 2010 Bellwether Prize winner for her manuscript Running the Rift! Yay! Barbara Kingsolver says of the manuscript:“It engages the reader with complex political questions about ethnic animosity in Rwanda and so many other issues relevant to North American readers. For one, it conveys the impossibility of remaining neutral within a climate of broad moral compromise—even for purportedly apolitical institutions like the Olympics.” I can't wait to read the book which will be published by the wonderful Algonquin Books (my publisher as well as the publisher of the 4th Bellwether Prize winner and writer extraordinaire Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.)  Learn more about Naomi here.  Publication date to be announced soon!

I had so much fun listening to this Q & A again after all this time. The Green Toad Bookstore is a really magical place in Oneonta, NY--perfectly, perfectly put together and very "hyggeligt"--you'll have to listen to the audio to learn what that word means.

Thank you so much Flavorwire for including me on this list! I'm thrilled!

"Why we love her: Durrow deftly navigates the fluidity of racial identity and cultural connections in her honest, absorbing debut. (She was also the winner of the 2008 Bellwether Prize for Fiction, an award established by Kingsolver.)
Best known for: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
The line that made us fall for her: “I feel my middle fill up with sounds that no one else understands. Then they reach my throat. What if these sounds get stuck in me?” "

This year's Festival was amazing. Yes, it happened a month and a half ago, but I'm just now having a chance to reflect. This was the third year and we felt more on top of things and much more relaxed during the Festival itself. I even got to enjoy some of the programs and talk to some folks. We're incredibly proud of this project and know that we must continue this in some way every year. There were participants who decided to create their art simply because they wanted to submit for the Festival. That was so satisfying to learn. Hopefully, the Festival is encouraging even more storytellers--Alas, we ended the year in the hole financially. I don't think folks realize that when we don't raise the money from donations and grants, we end up paying for the Festival out of our own pockets. It's become a very expensive venture these last years. So please, consider donating. Every little bit helps.

It's been a lovely time in P-town. I read a lot; met some great folks; and finally, got back on my exercise regimen. Hooray! Now it's time to start packing up for the departure later this week.

Yay! Yay! What can I say? But yay! And thank you People Magazine!

This made my day!  Thank you Latisha.  The flower bookmark is super!

I've mentioned before how much I love libraries--and I want to thank librarian Sara D. of the Capital Area District Library of Michigan (another reason I love Michigan) for this lovely video recommending The Girl Who Fell From the Sky! Check out all of her great reviews on YouTube!

At the amazing McLean & Eakin luncheon last week, I had the great privilege to meet the students of the Red Cedar Writing Project, a summer writing program for educators who teach writing. One of the participants, Dan, chose The Girl Who Fell From the Sky for the group to study after reading a review--a few days later they learned that I would be in their town for the luncheon and they bought tickets for the whole group. What a delightful bunch they are! I had to give Stasha an A+ for insightful question about the theme of "counting" in the book -- really, all of their questions were so wonderful. And I was so grateful to Tim for asking me to read a passage I'd never read before for an audience. I could go on and on about this wonderful group-- I'd never done a presentation where so many of the attendees had already read the book. The class generously invited me to stop by their end-of-class celebration that evening which I did. And they gave me copies of their reflection essays on The Girl and the collection of their own writing from the summer program. I cried when I read them--the reflections and each person's willingness to share how their own stories related--well, just wow! Thank you Red Cedar Writing Project. Meeting you all last week was such an amazing gift!

There are many people who have helped me along the way to publication & I have tried to thank them in some small way.

A few years ago, I struck upon my go-to thank you gift: a tin of Anna's Cookies. They're real Danish butter cookies--just as good as my Aunt Henny makes--but with a twist. In the tin I send, half the cookies are covered in chocolate. Get it?

Well, I order the cookies on-line and there's a little box for comments about the package. I didn't know what that meant really, but I started writing little notes about the reason I was sending the cookies (e.g. "This person wrote me a recommendation letter." or "This person wrote a blurb for me.")

I never really expected that anyone was really reading those notes, but then one day I got a call from Claire, the owner of Anna's Cookies. She was so excited to see that the book was finally published and she hoped she could meet me when I was in the area. It was too cool.

I did meet her this Spring, as well as her lovely daughter Molly, when I read at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA. (Of course, she served her yummy cookies.)

About a month ago, I ordered some cookies but decided to send them in a new beautiful blue and brown gift box that she's offering. She called to get some information I had input incorrectly and then asked why I had changed my go-to gift. "Because the blue & brown box is so pretty and it looks kind of like it goes with my website."

"Oh, you're right," she said. "How about if I change the name of the box to the Heidi Durrow Special?"

And now voila! You too can buy a Heidi Durrow Special from Anna's Cookies as gift or as a gift to yourself. You won't be disappointed!