Ok, there’s no actual candy. But, I will be reading with Gary Shteyngart as part of the Pete’s Candy Store reading series in Brooklyn, this Thursday (December 16th) at 7:30. Also, here are some gifts that are better than candy: I recommend some of my favorite 2010 books for NPR’s “outsider fiction,” list. NPR was […]

On Monday, November 8th,  at 6:30, I’ll be reading in DC at the  downtown Borders.  I hung out there a lot as a kid because my mother’s office building was across the street, so it will be fun being back as an adult. Speaking of growing up, the 8th is also my birthday, so I’ll […]

That’s from Regina Spektor’s On the Radio, which is where I have been quite a bit over the past few weeks. Here I talk to Celeste  Headlee at The Takeaway Here I talk to Bob Johnson on Blog Talk Radio about lying, race, happiness, adolescence and Northern VA.  Here my slightly underslept and giggly alter ego talks to T Hetzel on […]

I’ve been trying to avoid super extra shameless self-promotion by posting new reviews on the reviews page, instead of the main page, but I am making an exception for Ron Charles’  Washington Post review, because a) there’s a snazzy video involved (Alas, I am not snazzy enough to figure out how to embed it, but […]

I’ll be reading Friday, September 24th at the Barnes and Noble, Bethesda Row (right off the red line, near the Bethesda Metro). It’s my first post-book release reading, and my first hometown reading, so I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and family, who will hopefully still be speaking to me once they’ve actually read […]

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self will be officially released in 20 days! I just got my advanced copies of the hardcover, which as Circe is helping demonstrate in the photo above, looks really lovely.

New York Magazine listed Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self as one of the 20 most anticipated fall prose titles, and I’ll be reading in Brooklyn with Tayari Jones, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Jeffrey Renard Allen at Ringshout’s Brooklyn Book Festival Event on September 10th. If you’re in the city, please come if you can: ringShout: A […]

1) I always forget how pretty the Smithsonian grounds and National Mall are. I’ve been hanging out there, writing with pen and paper, and taking museum breaks. I’ve also been wandering around neighborhoods where portions of my novel are set, picking out actual locations for my character’s fictitious homes. Luckily, as confirmed by numerous airport […]

Once upon a time I lived in the middle of an isthmus. Toward the end of a lovely year made possible by the fine people at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, I gave a reading. This reading was noteworthy partly because I was wearing the best shoes ever, but also because people seemed to […]