news
March 9, 2010
Two More Interviews
Callie Enlow recently interviewed me for the March issue of San Antonio Magazine (only available in print), and Jo Case also interviewed me for Australia’s Readings Monthly. You can read the Readings Monthly interview here.
March 5, 2010
The Australian edition of The Theory of Light and Matter has just been released this week by TEXT Publishing. I was very honored to be chosen as Avid Reader’s “Featured Author for March 2010” and selected as one of the “Picks of the Year” by Nick Earls in The Sydney Morning Herald. I’ll be posting upcoming interviews and reviews from Australia as they come in. You can check out the Australian edition here.
February 18, 2010
Two New Interviews
I recently did two new interviews—one with The San Antonio Express-News and one with The L Magazine.
February 6, 2010
I’ll be doing several readings in California this week: Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on Monday, Chaucer’s Bookstore in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera (near S.F) on Thursday, and the Writers with Drinks Reading Series in San Francisco on Saturday. For more information, click here.
January 23, 2010
Another New Review for Paperback
A very kind and generous review of my collection in The Christian Science Monitor. Click here to read.
January 20, 2010
This week my story “Departure” will be broadcast nationally on NPR’s Selected Shorts. The broadcast will also be accompanied by a brief interview I did with Selected Shorts host, Isaiah Sheffer. You can check your local NPR station to see when the show will be aired in your area, download it as a podcast from Selected Shorts, or else listen here.
January 18, 2010
Yesterday I was interviewed by the wonderful Kate Sullivan for her weekly radio program “About the Books,” sponsored by WordSmitten. Click here to listen.
January 12, 2010
More New Reviews for Paperback
Was thrilled to be chosen as a “Hot Reads” Pick by The Daily Beast, one of my favorites sites, run by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Also some nice reviews in January Magazine, The San Francisco Book Review, Mostly Fiction Book Reviews and The Poly Post.
January 10, 2010
New Interviews and Essays
There are three new interviews with me up at The Faster Times, Practicing Writing and Recommended Reading. There are also two new short essays I wrote, one for The Rumpus and one for Glimmer Train.
January 4, 2010
The paperback edition of The Theory of Light and Matter has just been released by Vintage Books (Random House), and this week I will be doing a series of readings in New York, including a kick off reading at McNally Jackson Books on Wednesday. For more information about all of my New York readings, click here.
January 3, 2010
More Reviews for Paperback
I was excited to learn that The Theory of Light and Matter was selected as a “Paperback Row” pick by The New York Times Book Review. There are also some very nice reviews in this Sunday’s Boston Globe and last Friday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer.
January 2, 2010
William Coles interviewed me via phone for his wonderful website Story in Literary Fiction. Here’s the interview.
December 29, 2009
Some Early Reviews for Paperback
Was happy to see that the paperback version of The Theory of Light and Matter was selected for the “Discoveries” section of The Los Angeles Times. There are also some other nice early reviews at The Collegiate Times, The Agony Column, and Shelf-Awareness. Pub date: January 5.
December 5, 2009
2009 Drake Emerging Writer Award
Thrilled to learn that I was selected as the winner of the 2009 Drake Emerging Writer Award from Drake University. Looking forward to traveling up to Drake to read in April!
September 24, 2009
2009 Writers League of Texas Book Award
Excited to learn The Theory of Light and Matter is a finalist for the 2009 Writers League of Texas Book Award. Also looking forward to my visit to Susquehanna University next week.
August 14, 2009
I just learned that Recorded Books has purchased the audio rights to The Theory of Light and Matter and will be releasing it on CD as an audio book.
June 3, 2009
The Theory of Light and Matter recently won Foreword Magazine’s 2008 “Book of the Year” Award in the category of Short Fiction! Here’s a link to the award.
June 2, 2009
My short story “Departure” was recently republished in a wonderful new anthology called You Must Be This Tall to Ride. Other writers in this anthology include Stuart Dybek, Antonya Nelson, Dan Chaon, Aimee Bender, Peter Orner and many more. You can learn more about the anthology here.
May 12, 2009
Australian Edition of The Theory of Light and Matter
I was thrilled to learn that there will be an Australian edition of both my collection and novel published by Text Publishing, who just bought the rights. Also very excited to travel down there when it comes out.
May 11, 2009
U.K. Edition of The Theory of Light and Matter
Recently found out that Jonathan Cape (an imprint of Random House UK) will be publishing the British editions of both my collection and novel.
April 25, 2009
Dutch Translation of The Theory of Light and Matter
There will also be a Dutch translation of The Theory of Light and Matter, published by De Bezige Bij, who purchased the rights along with the rights to my novel in a two-book deal.
April 12, 2009
French Translation of The Theory of Light and Matter
I just learned that a French translation of The Theory of Light and Matter will be published by Éditions de l’Olivier, who purchased the rights in a two-book deal. Read more here.
April 4, 2009
Book Awards
I recently found out that my collection is a finalist for two book awards: The Texas Institute of Letters’ Steven Turner Award for Best Book of First Fiction and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award in the category of Short Fiction. Also, here’s a new interview at Writers in Profile.
February 25, 2009
Big News: Two-book Deal with Knopf
A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled to learn that Knopf had bought the worldwide paperback rights for my collection, The Theory of Light and Matter, as well as my novel in progress. The collection will be published in paperback by Vintage/ Knopf next year and the novel at some point in the future.
February 24, 2009
I’ll be doing a number of readings in New York next week, including readings at Pianos Bar (as part of the One Story Reading Series), Pete’s Candy Store, and The Teachers and Writers Collaborative. You can find event details here.
February 15, 2009
Articles and Interviews from Midwest Tour
If you scroll down, you can listen to my interview with David Inge on Champaign’s NPR station WILL 90.9. Also, here are some links to articles from The Daily Illini, BUZZCorridor and Smile Politely: Champaign-Urbana’s Online Magazine.
February 6, 2009
I have five readings coming up next week in the Midwest: Monday in Champaign, lL, Tuesday in Iowa City, two readings Wednesday in Bloomington, IL and Normal, IL, and finally Thursday at the AWP Conference in Chicago. My Iowa City reading will be streamed live here.
January 4, 2009
“Best Books of 2008”
I was very flattered that author Bill Taylor chose The Theory of Light and Matter as one of the “Five Best Books of 2008” in last Sunday’s San Antonio Express-News. I was also honored to make David Gutowski’s list of “Five Favorite Collections of 2008” at the popular website Largehearted Boy. Finally, I recently made some book recommendations myself. You can read my own list of 2008’s Best Books, which also appeared in last Sunday’s San Antonio Express-News (scroll down), as well as a short piece I wrote for Poets & Writers Magazine’s “Writers Recommend” Series.
December 14, 2008
Last week my radio interview with Dick Gordon, the wonderful host of The Story, was broadcast nationally on NPR. You can listen to the interview here (my interview is in the second half of the show.)
December 12, 2008
Foreword Magazine “Book of the Week”
The Theory of Light and Matter was recently selected as Foreword Magazine’s Book Club “Book of the Week.”
December 12, 2008
There’s a very nice review of The Theory of Light and Matter in the latest issue of Time Out New York. You can read it here.
November 30, 2008
Kansas City Star’s “Top 10 Collections of 2008”
I was excited to hear that The Theory of Light and Matter was just selected as one of the “Top Ten Short Story Collections of 2008” by The Kansas City Star. You can see the entire list here. Also, here’s another link to a brief interview I recently did with Celina Montoya of Texas Public Radio.
November 17, 2008
Actors read from The Theory of Light and Matter
The actor event in Hollywood, organized by my dear friend Holiday Reinhorn, was absolutely amazing and surreal. Definitely one of the best nights of my life. Among the actors who read from my short story collection were Rainn Wilson, Justine Batemen, Eric Stoltz, Matthew Armstrong, and Nathan Fillion. You can see several pages of photos from the event here, and read a shout out from People Magazine here. My deepest gratitude to all who participated, attended, and helped to organize this amazing night! I’ll never forget it.
November 10, 2008
Really looking forward to my LA reading events this week. Thursday I’ll be meeting with students at UCLA; Friday I’ll be reading at Book Soup Bookstore in Hollywood; and on Saturday, my amazing and brilliant friend Holiday Reinhorn will be hosting a reading event at The Knitting Factory, during which various professional actors will be reading excerpts from my stories. Among those reading will be Rainn Wilson, Justine Batemen, Amy Brenneman, Matthew Armstrong, and a “surprise mystery guest.” I’ll be sure to post pictures from this reading and others when I get back.
November 2, 2008
Book reviewer Mike Shea wrote a nice review of The Theory of Light and Matter for the November issue of Texas Monthly. You can read the review here.
November 1, 2008
San Antonio Current “Critic’s Pick”
Last week, I was happy to learn that Elaine Wolff, the editor of The San Antonio Current, had selected The Theory of Light and Matter as a “Critic’s Pick.” This week there was also a very nice review in The Current by writer Lyle Rosdahl. You can read it here.
October 20, 2008
Artist Foundation of San Antonio Award
Today I was thrilled to learn that I had been selected to receive a very generous award from The Artist Foundation of San Antonio. This a huge honor and I feel very grateful to the foundation for their support. To learn more about the award and The Artist Foundation of San Antonio, you can go here.
October 19, 2008
There is an article about my collection and my experience as a writer in the latest issue of Poets & Writers magazine. The article is only available in the print version, but here is a link to a brief description of it. Many thanks to writer Nicole Pezold for taking the time to interview me and write such a nice article.
October 14, 2008
San Antonio Express-News Article
Book reviewer Steve Bennett wrote a great article about The Theory of Light and Matter that appeared in this Sunday’s San Antonio Express-News. You can read the article here. Steve also wrote a another very kind piece about the book and our interview on his blog The Fine Print: A Book Blog.
October 14, 2008
Writer Jennifer Prado just posted an interview with me at her wonderful blog Emerge, a great site devoted to interviews with emerging writers. You can read the interview here.
September 21, 2008
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Review
There’s a new review of The Theory of Light and Matter out today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You can read the review here.
September 20, 2008
Sean Carman of the amazing literary journal Hobart took some time to chat with me about my book, my experience as a writer, and The Dead Milkmen over at the Hobart website. You can read the interview in its entirety here.
August 15, 2008
I was recently asked by All Things Considered producer Ellen Silva to recommend three books on a theme for their Three Books series. I decided to recommend Three Books about “Bad Behavior.” You can read my piece here.
August 12, 2008
Reading Tour Schedule for 2008-2009 is Set
Well, it took a while, but I finally finalized my reading schedule for Fall 2008 and Spring 2009. You can check out all of the places where I’ll be reading here. This should be it for now, though there may be a few more additions in the coming months.
August 10, 2008
Poets & Writers Article
There will be an article about my short story collection, The Theory of Light and Matter and my experiences as a writer in the November issue of Poets & Writers magazine. More soon!
July 29, 2008
I recently did an interview about my short story collection with writer and freelance interviewer Trevor Gore. The interview will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train magazine. Not sure which issue yet, but probably Fall 2009.
May 6, 2008
NPR’s Selected Shorts
My short story “Departure” was recently read by actor Khris Lewin for NPR’s Selected Shorts Program. The event was recorded on March 26 at Peter Jay Sharp Theater in New York and will be broadcast nationally at some point in early November. The two other writers whose stories were read at the event (which celebrated the 2008 Pushcart Prize anthology) were Stuart Dybek and Steven Millhauser. The other reader was Alec Baldwin. You can learn more about the event here.
April 30, 2008
Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists
My short story, “Hole” was recently reprinted in the new anthology from the Trinity University Press, Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists. Edited by Nan Cuba, Riley Robinson and the brilliant Barbara Ras (editor of the TU Press), the anthology contains beautiful artwork, poetry and fiction from various San Antonio writers and artists. Some of the writers selected for the anthology include Sandra Cisneros, John Philip Santos, Naomi Shihab Nye, Abraham Verghese, Jerry Winakur, Lee Robinson, Jenny Browne, David Liss and Bob Rivard. Check it out here!
April 21, 2008
My short story “Departure” was recently awarded a Pushcart Prize and reprinted in the anthology The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses XXXII. This story was also recently selected, along with stories by Stuart Dybek and Steven Millhauser, to be read on NPR’s national broadcast Selected Shorts as part of a show celebrating The Pushcart Prize Anthology. The show was recorded in March and will be broadcast in nationally in November. Buy the 2008 Pushcart Prize Anthology here.
April 15, 2008
The Best American Short Stories 2007
My short story “Azul” (originally published in One Story) was selected as one of the “100 Distinguished Stories of 2007” by Best American Short Stories and guest editor Stephen King. Check out the 2007 Best American Short Stories Anthology here.
UPCOMING READINGS
SPRING 2010
Wednesday, January 6
Thursday, January 7
Friday, January 8
Thursday, January 28
Monday, Februrary 8
Wednesday, Februrary 10
Thursday, February 11
Saturday, February 13
Writers with Drinks Reading Series
Thursday, February 18
Gemini Ink Autograph Series Reading
Chapman Graduate Center Auditorium
Friday, February 19
(followed by Q&A and book signing)
The Studio at the Pearl Brewery
Saturday, April 10
Tuesday, April 27
Drake Emerging Writer Award Reading
