Toni Morrison turns 80

For those that are fans of Toni Morrison, you may want to brush up on her accomplishments as we wish her a happy birthday. She was born in 1931 and made her debut as a novelist in 1970 with her first novel, The Bluest Eye. She has been awarded a long string of awards and prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

If you are a fan you might enjoy taking the quiz at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/quiz/2011/feb/22/toni-morrison-80-quiz and see just how much you know about her.

You'll find her works in the library in the children's section in the Easy books and in the children's non-fiction section under 379.263, in the adult fiction section under MORRISO, and in the adult nonfiction section under 374.7326 as well as in the literature section under 808.8, 810.9803, 813.52 and 818.52.

Throwing Words Into the Water

With our writing contest finishing up and a new writing group for adults beginning in March, I thought it might be worth it to share some links to interesting conversations about the pleasures and difficulties of writing fiction.

http://bombsite.com/issues/108/articles/3305

In this first post we visit Bomb magazine for a lengthy interview with Nam Le, an excellent short story writer from Down Under. Interviewing Le is Charles D'ambrosio, who was the Hugo Visiting Writer at the University of Montana in 2006. They grapple with some deep, interesting stuff here, and it's a real treat to read what to they have to say about their craft. If you haven't done so already, make sure to check out their most recent books from the Staff Picks section of the library.

Also, if you want to try your own hand at writing, come join us and other aspiring writers at our first adult writer's workshop on Saturday, March 5th, from 10:00-12:00 in the Boardroom.

Image courtesy of torre.elena

Dick King-Smith

Sad to hear of the passing of that great author, Dick King-Smith http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12121506. He was an excellent writer of children's tales, probably the most well known being Babe: the gallant pig, which was made into the very popular movie. My personal favorite is Pigs Might Fly.

Let's hear which is your favorite and make a point sometime in the next month to read one of his tales. You'll find many of his books in the children's fiction section.