An Interview with Isabel Allende by Lucy Hannau

By Lucy Hannau for Lost in Fiction


Lucy Hannau: Which of your characters do you feel more connected to? Why?

Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende: I heard once that the author is in every character and that every character represents an aspect of the author.  I don't identify with one character in particular but in most of my books the main female protagonist is a strong willed, independent and rebellious woman who struggles to beat the odds against her. She is also sentimental and passionate. I feel very connected to those protagonists.

LH: What does "writing" mean to you?

IA: Life. Telling stories is the only thing I want to do. Writing is like breathing. Literature has given me a voice, has given sense to my life and it has connected me with millions of readers worldwide.

LH: Getting published is always hard, how did you find Carmen Balcells?

IA: My first novel, The House of the Spirits,  was rejected by several publishing houses. One day the receptionist in one of those publishing houses told me that there was no hope of being published without a good agent and she mentioned Carmen Balcells. Later, Tomas Eloy Martinez, an Argentinian writer, gave me Carmen Balcells address in Spain and recommended her as the best agent for Latin American literature.

LH: In one of your interviews you said, you have a cinematographic vision when you write. New technologies are changing our lives today, almost everybody is on Facebook or tweets daily and then there is the e-book revolution: how do you relate to them both as an author and as a person? What do you think about e-books?

IA: I don't have Facebook and I don't tweet because I have no time: I am too busy writing. Usually I have a pile of books on my night table waiting their turn to be read. I like to touch and smell books, but I prefer e-books when I travel because I can carry as many as I want in my iPad. I think that in the future, books will be rare items for collectors and libraries and we will be reading everything on a screen.  

LH: It's been many years since you have been living in California where your "tribe" lives too. How do you keep your written Spanish so "polished," without even a minimal English interference in the vocabulary or in the syntax?

IA: Oh! I wish that were true! My Spanish has deteriorated gravely. Willie, my American husband, thinks that he speaks Spanish but his syntax sounds like Polish and when he doesn't know a word, he makes it up. After 25 years in his company I am writing the way he speaks. A young man in Spain, Jorge Manzanilla, corrects my manuscripts to eliminate Willie's pernicious influence.

Study Children's Writing & Illustrating with Gennifer Choldenko, Brian McMullen, Annie Barrows, Katherine Applegate and many more!

Book Passage Bookstore proudly announces the 6th annual Book Passage Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference. Both writers and illustrators of children's, young adult, and teen literature from across the country will convene at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, just a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, June 14-17, 2012.

This year's participants will spend four event-filled days in beautiful Northern California writing, workshopping, networking, and perfecting their craft with a celebrated faculty featuring prize-winning authors and illustrators including Brian McMullen (art director and editor at Dave Eggers' McSweeney's), Gennifer Choldenko (Newbery Honor Book Al Capone Does My Shirts),  Annie Barrows (Ivy and Bean series, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society), and Katherine Applegate (Animorphs series).

The conference will cover all aspects of writing and illustrating for children and young readers, from sharpening your skills and completing your manuscript, to the collaborative process between writer and illustrator, to finding the right agent and publisher. Participants will work directly with and receive advice from top professionals in the industry, including agents, editors, and publishers who will share market trends and insider tips and advice.

The conference is designed to meet the differing needs of those who write or illustrate for specific age groups.

Participants will spend mornings in workshop sessions focused on their area of emphasis, such as writing for picture books, early readers, young adult books or illustration. Afternoons will present a choice of panels, such as working with editors or marketing and promotion.

There will be many opportunities for faculty and participants to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas in workshops, lunches, and at evening events. Participants and faculty will dine together outdoors in the glorious spring weather the first evening, while subsequent evenings will allow for optional excursions to an array of outstanding dining options for which the Bay Area is so well known.

Alumna Nancy Coopersmith says, "The whole conference was wonderful; well-planned and well-executed. A wonderful assemblage of writers, illustrators, agents, editors and publishers we would never otherwise have had the chance to meet, under one roof.”

Conference faculty includes agents: Minju Chang (Bookstop Literary Agency), Laurie McLean (Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency), Lara Perkins (Publishing Manager for Literary Agent Laura Rennert), Amy Rennert (The Amy Rennert Agency), Andy Ross (Andy Ross Agency); publishers’ representatives: Shirin Yim Bridges (Goosebottom Books), Ginee Seo (Chronicle Books), Brian McMullen (McSweeney’s); editors: Naomi Kirsten, Summer Dawn Laurie, Amy Novesky; authors and illustrators: Andrea Alban, Katherine Applegate, Annie Barrows, Gennifer Choldenko, Ying Compestine, Michael Grant, Kathryn Otoshi, Lissa Rovetch, Barney Saltzberg, and Pam van Hylckama Vlieg.

The cost of the four-day Conference is $475. Optional 30-minute private consultations are available for $95. For complete details, a full schedule, faculty list, accommodations, or to register, please visit the conference homepage on the Web at http://www.bookpassage.com/childrens-writers-illustrators.... You may also contact Conference Coordinator, Kathryn Petrocelli, by phone at (415) 927-0960 ext. 239, or email bpconferences@bookpassage.com.

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Gennifer Choldenko, author of Al Capone Does My Shirts, says, "I’m not sure I would have ever been published if I hadn’t attended conferences like this one. It’s one of the few opportunities that allow you to pick the brains of writers who are actually making a living in this profession."

The author of Anya's War, Andrea Alban says, "The authors bond through lively discussion of the writing life. I head back to my studio more inspired to write."

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Book Passage has served the Bay Area for more than 30 years, providing the community with an array of author events, writing and language classes, and highly-respected, annual conferences. A New York Times-reporting bookstore, Book Passage offers a wide variety of books ranging from children’s literature to travel guides, from top-selling fiction to mystery novels, and the business continues to work diligently with community and nonprofit organizations. Book Passage has two stores, one in Corte Madera and a second in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

The week at Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store on just about any given day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking at the week, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

John Bateson presents The Final Leap
-- Sunday, May 20 at 4:00 pm

The Golden Gate Bridge, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this month, is one of the most beautiful structures in the world. It's also one of the most deadly. Weaving together drama, politics and design against the backdrop of Bay Area life, John Bateson’s The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge (University of California Press) is the first ever book on a tragic subject which has touched many lives, including the staff at Book Passage, who last year lost a member of our bookselling staff to suicide off the bridge.

John Bateson is Executive Director of the Contra Costa Crisis Center in Contra Costa County, California and the author of Building Hope. He has served on the steering committee of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In 2007 he was appointed to a blue-ribbon committee charged with creating the California Strategic Plan on Suicide Prevention.

Peter Carey reads from The Chemistry of Tears
-- Tuesday, May 22 at 1:00 pm

Two-time Booker Prize winner Peter Carey reads from The Chemistry of Tears (Knopf), a story of secret grief assuaged, an automaton, a man and woman who can never meet, an affair, and the fate of the warming world brought to incandescent life in a haunting new novel from one of the most admired writers of our time. Carey’s books include the bestselling Oscar and Lucinda.

Peter Carey is the author of eleven previous novels and has twice received the Booker Prize. His other honors include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which he has won 5 times. Born in Australia, he has lived in New York City for twenty years.

Captain Sully Sullenberger talks about Making a Difference
-- Thursday, May 24 at 7:00 pm

Captain Sully (Chesley) Sullenberger talks about Making a Difference: Stories of Visions and Courage from America's Leaders (William Morrow). One of the most captivating heroes of the last decade and a source of inspiration for many after his emergency water landing of a disabled airliner on the Hudson River explores the nature of leadership with some of our best and brightest.

Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III is a retired airline pilot, speaker, consultant and the author of the New York Times bestseller Highest Duty. He was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, and has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

Don Winslow - 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference Keynote Speaker

Don Winslow - 2012 Book Passage
Mystery Writers Conference Keynote Speaker

Book Passage is thrilled to announce Don Winslow will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Mystery Writers Conference, set to take place July 19-22 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California.

Winslow, the widely acclaimed, bestselling crime fiction writer, will deliver the Conference’s keynote address on Friday, July 20th at 7:30 pm. This special event will be open to both Conference attendees and the public.

Winslow is the author of the forthcoming The Kings of Cool: A Prequel to Savages, due out from Simon & Schuster in June. Winslow’s new novel is being published to coincide with the release of the film adaption of Savages, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone. Set to hit theaters in July, Stone’s widely anticipated film stars John Travolta, Blake Lively, Benecio Del Toro, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, and Salma Hayek.

In Savages, Winslow introduced Ben and Chon, twenty-something best friends who risk everything to save O, the girl they both love. Among the most celebrated literary thrillers in recent memory, Savages was selected as a "Top 10 Book of 2010" by Janet Maslin in The New York Times and Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly, as well as other publications around the world.

Now, in his high-octane prequel, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are. A series of breakneck twists and turns puts two generations on a collision course, culminating in a stunning showdown that will ultimately force them to choose between their real families and their love for each other.

Don Winslow is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Gentlemen’s Hour, Satori, Savages, The Dawn Patrol, The Winter of Frankie Machine, The Power of the Dog, California Fire and Life, and The Death and Life of Bobby Z. He lives in Southern California.

The Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference is the leading crime fiction writer’s conference in the United States. Now in its 19th year, this is the place where both published and aspiring crime fiction writers of all stripes gather to talk shop. It is also the place where careers are begun. Just ask its many published alumni.

Book Passage has served the Bay Area for more than 30 years, providing the community with an array of author events, writing and language classes, and its highly-respected, annual conferences. The store is nationally renowned for its large inventory, knowledgeable staff, and community involvement. Book Passage has two stores, one in Corte Madera and a second in the San Francisco Ferry Building, as well as an active website, www.bookpassage.com.

For more information, contact Karen West, Book Passage Director of Events & Conferences, at 415.927.0960 x238, kwest@bookpassage.com. Visit the conference online at www.bookpassage.com/mystery-writers-conference.

The week ahead at Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store on just about any given day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking at the week, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

Kevin Wilson reads from The Family Fang
-- Monday, May 14 at 7:00 pm

Kevin Wilson will read from and discuss The Family Fang (Ecco), his widely reviewed and wildly praised debut novel described by Ann Patchett as a "comedy, a tragedy, and a tour de force.” Named to the top 10 books of the year by TIME, Esquire, People and other publications, it tells the story of Annie and Buster Fang, who have spent most of their adult lives trying to distance themselves from their famous artist parents. When a bad economy and bad personal decisions converge, the two siblings have nowhere to turn but their parents. Sound familiar Girls?

Kevin Wilson is the author of an earlier collection, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, which received both an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Shirley Jackson Award. His fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, Tin House, One Story, and elsewhere. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee where he teaches fiction at the University of the South and helps run the Sewanee Writers' Conference.

Bill Bradley discusses We Can All Do Better
-- Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 pm

Bill Bradley discusses We Can All Do Better (Vanguard Press). In response to the financial meltdown and intensifying political gridlock which have overtaken the country, this widely admired former United States Senator, Presidential candidate and NBA athlete offers his own concise, personal review of the state of the nation. We can do better, he says, and here’s how.

Bill Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1997 representing the state of New Jersey. In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. He holds a BA degree in American History from Princeton University (where he played hoops) and an MA degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has authored six books on American politics, culture and economy. Prior to serving in the Senate, Senator Bradley was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and a professional basketball player with the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1977 during which time they won 2 NBA championships. In 1982 he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Augusten Burroughs talks about This is How
-- Saturday, May 19 at 7:00 pm

The one and only Augusten Burroughs talks about his new book, This is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decreptitude, and More (St. Martin's). From the bestselling author of Running With Scissors comes a groundbreaking book that explores how to survive the "un-survivable." At least, it will challenge your idea of self-help books.

Augusten Burroughs is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dry, Magical Thinking, A Wolf At The Table, Possible Side Effects, and a novel, Sellevision. His Running with Scissors remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two consecutive years and was made into a Golden Globe-nominated film starring Annette Bening. Twice named to Entertainment Weekly's list of the funniest people in America, Burroughs has also been the subject of a Vanity Fair cover story and a Jeopardy! answer. His books have made guest appearances in two James Patterson novels, one Linkin Park music video, numerous television shows, and a porn movie (which we haven't seen, only read about).

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

Laurie McAndish King Takes a Look at Elizabeth Gilbert’s "At Home on the Range"

by Laurie McAndish King

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray, Love was at the top of my reading list when I planned a trip to Bali last year. The memoir so impressed me that upon arriving in Ubud, I followed Gilbert’s path to meet healer Wayan Nuriasih in person, and tried her herbal jamu (traditional Indonesian medicinal concoctions).

And when I heard Gilbert and her latest book—a cookbook called At Home on the Range —would be the subject of one of the famous Book Passage Cooks with Books events at Left Bank restaurant in Larkspur, California, I looked forward to meeting Gilbert herself.

At Home on the Range was first published in 1947 by Gilbert’s great-grandmother, Margaret Yardley Potter, an early food columnist, beloved hostess, and reckless bon vivant. Gilbert characterizes Potter as a woman ahead of her time, “a dogged food reporter, an intrepid food explorer, and a curious food historian” at that “unfortunate moment in American culinary history when our country was embarking on its regrettable lover affair with…easy-breezy marshmallow salads.” Continue reading at The Women's Eye

Video: Paola Gianturco Talks About the Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference

Happy Birthday Peter Carey

Peter Carey

Happy birthday Peter Carey! The two-time Booker Prize winning Australian novelist was born on this day in 1943.

We here at Book Passage are looking forward to hosting the writer when he visits our Corte Madera store on May 22 at 1 pm. Carey will read from The Chemistry of Tears ($26.00), a story of secret grief assuaged, an automaton, a man and woman who can never meet, an affair, and the fate of the warming world brought to incandescent life in a haunting new novel.

Peter Carey is the author of eleven previous novels and has twice received the Booker Prize - once for Oscar and Lucinda, and once for True History of the Kelly Gang. He is one of only two writers to have won the Booker Prize twice, the other being South African–born J. M. Coetzee. Carey's other honors include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which he has won 5 times. Born in Australia, he has lived in New York City for twenty years.

Don't miss this special event!

The week ahead at Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store on just about any given day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking at the week, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

Benjamin Busch discusses Dust to Dust
-- Tuesday, May 8 at 7:00 pm

Benjamin Busch talks about Dust to Dust (Ecco), an extraordinary memoir about ordinary things: life and death, peace and war, the adventures of childhood and revelations of adulthood. Busch — a decorated infantry officer, actor on The Wire, and son of novelist Frederick Busch — has crafted a book to stand with the finest work of our finest writers.

Benjamin Busch was born in Manhattan and grew up in rural New York State. He is an actor, a photographer, a film director, and a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer who served two combat tours in Iraq. He played the role of Officer Anthony Colicchio on the HBO series The Wire and has appeared on Homicide, The West Wing, and Generation Kill. His writing has been featured in Harper's and has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has also been a guest commentator on NPR's “All Things Considered.”

Garry Marshall discusses My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir
-- Wednesday, May 9 at 7:00 pm

Garry Marshall discusses My Happy Days in Hollywood (Crown Archetype). Once called a "legend in his own time slot," Marshall has been among the most successful comedy writers, directors, and producers for more than five decades. His new memoir details his involvement with some of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all-time, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy.

Garry Marshall is a veteran producer, director, and writer of film, television, and theater. He learned his craft writing jokes for Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke, and Danny Thomas. He also directed some of America’s favorite romantic comedies including The Flamingo Kid, Pretty Woman, and The Princess Diaries.

For this special event, Garry Marshall will be in conversation with Lori Marshall, his daughter and co-author. Bay Area resident Lori Marshall has written eleven produced children’s plays, co-written two books, and contributed to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Like her father, she is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has, in fact, been writing with her father since the eighth grade, when he helped her punch up an English paper on Franz Kafka. 

“Thanks to my brother I have a life.  I’m sorry I almost ruined his during Laverne & Shirley.” ― Penny Marshall

Elizabeth Percer discusses An Uncommon Education
-- Friday, May 11 at 7:00 pm

Pushcart Prize nominee Elizabeth Percer reads from her debut novel, a coming-of-age story titled An Uncommon Education (Harper). A young woman learns that college isn't the bastion of solidarity and security she had imagined. Amid hundreds of other young women, she is consumed by loneliness — until the day she sees a girl fall into the freezing waters of a lake.

Elizabeth Percer is a transgenre author and a recovering academic, as well as a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and has twice been honored by the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Foundation. She received a BA in English from Wellesley and a PhD in arts education from Stanford University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship for the National Writing Project at UC Berkeley. She lives in the Bay Area.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

Cool pic of the day: A winsome Winterson

Pictured above is Jeanette Winterson, relaxing with feet up, in the events office at Book Passage prior to her recent event at the store. The acclaimed author was on hand to read from her just published memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (Grove Press). Winterson drew a big crowd, and we thought her rather winsome. Such a smile.... :)