Category Archives: travel

September 26, 2016   Jane   fun, inspiration, Jane, travel, vacation  
2

China!

great-wallOur trip to China was truly fascinating.  As you all know,  the country is huge, both geographically and in terms of its population.  Beijing has 22 million people; Shanghai has 25 million.  We saw so many amazing things—even a week after our return it is difficult to remember them all:

In Beijing, of course, we climbed The Great Wall.  Our guide took us to a part of the wall not visited by many tourists so it was relatively free of the hordes.  And in order to come down, we took individual toboggans—which was really thrilling. Being there was incredibly exciting.

We also visited The Forbidden City which is very beautiful and The Temple of Heaven which is both lovely and interesting. We had lunch in one of the old neighborhoods called Narrow Alley where our guide had grown up, and we rode on a pedicab.  We drove around Tiananmen Square with the huge picture of MAO still overlooking it.  I felt like I had taken a step back in history.

terra-cotta-1Then we flew to Xian—a city of nine million—where the huge number of high rises going up is simply astounding.  It was there that we viewed the army of Terracotta Warriors, a stunning archeological discovery made in 1974.

Among other things, we also had a lesson in Chinese Calligraphy which was great fun. And we saw the Wild Goose Pagodas which overlooks Xian and is simply beautiful.

Then on to Shanghai.  This city, whose modern section is no more than 25 years old epitomizes modern China—rushing headlong towards the future.  There are incredible innovations in fashion, finance, technology and transport which have helped make this a global hub with one of the world’s busiest ports.  We walked The Bund—a  famous waterfront area in central Shanghai—several times and visited both the historical buildings along the way as well as the towering skyscrapers (many over 100 stories high) just across the Huangpu River near the mouth of the Yangtze.  We explored the old British and French quarters, the Yu Garden, which is beautiful, and shopped (or tried to at least) on the famous Nanjing Road.  One of the highlights was seeing a thrilling extravaganza featuring innovative acrobatics, death defying stunts and the latest in high tech special effects.  (It was like the Big Apple Circus on steroids!)

img_2869This is an adventure we will never forget.  It was challenging in that there is a twelve-hour time difference and the language barrier prevented us from doing certain things we would have liked to do.  But we agreed that this was probably the most fantastic trip we have ever taken.

And, of course, I am thinking of some book ideas inspired by China, and hope to be able to move ahead with them in the weeks and months to come.

August 29, 2016   Jane   fun, ideas, inspiration, Jane, travel, vacation  
4

My impending trip to China and what I am hoping to learn from it

great-wall-of-china-814143_1920Over the last several years, my husband and I have become more adventurous in the places we travel to on vacation. We have been to Greece, Turkey, Israel and Jordan (five years ago), Australia, Kenya, through Peru and Machu Picchu, and on a cruise on the Amazon. This year, we are going to China (Beijing, Xian and Shanghai). Every time I travel, I hope to learn something that I can bring back with me to my regular life. When I returned from Kenya, I came back with a book idea and as a result we have a publishing contract which I am very excited about.terracotta-1028109_1920

In Beijing, we will go to The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, and we will of course journey to The Great Wall (and climb a bit of it). I am so excited to visit these historic places that I have only read about in the past. In Xian, we will see the Terracotta Warriors (both those which have been restored and the actual “dig” which is ongoing), the Great Mosque of Xian, and the Wild Goose Pagoda. In Shanghai we will have a full city tour including the Old Quarter, Yu Garden and the modern city. One night we are going to an “extravaganza” including acrobatics, death-defying stunts and the latest in high tech special effects!pexels-photo

Throughout all of this, I am hoping to learn about the people of China and their culture and maybe, just maybe, I might return with another book idea or two.
I wonder what you come back from your vacations with? I would love to hear.

July 07, 2016   Erin   books, diversity, Erin, Iceland, publication, Publishing, translation, travel, trends  
0

The Rise of Iceland In All Things – Even Publishing

For the past year or so, every time I open my Facebook home page, I’m barraged with another set of glorious vacation pictures from Iceland. I’m pretty sure fifty percent of the people I know have been to Iceland now—even Miriam went there. I’m jealous. It looks gorgeous, but mostly I’m fascinated with the way a tiny country has become popular in so many ways. And now, thanks to the amazing performance of their soccer team in the 2016 UEFA European Championship, there’s an even bigger acceleration of interest. And according to this article, their book trade has seen a boost from it.

It stands to reason that people would want to get to know the people of this amazing country that has become so popular, and what better way than through literature?

After taking a course in grad school covering translated literature, I’ve made it a point to read more translated works. I learned through the class how little I know about other cultures, and that the bulk of the books I was reading focused on American culture. Books are supposed to broaden your horizon, and yet, I was being fed the same stories over and over again, learning very little in comparison to when I read about different cultures. I found that through these completely foreign books, I could travel to another country from the comfort of my own home (and without the ridiculous flight costs). I developed a broader love for foreign rituals and traditions, discovered wars and conflicts I never knew existed, experienced new landscapes following characters that know them best, and most importantly, I became a better writer. Maybe even a better person.

So knowing that more Icelandic books will be translated thrills me. Reading an Icelandic book will take me one step closer to my dream vacation! Or at the very least, I may finally understand why Iceland is so cherished.

April 08, 2016   Amy Bishop   Amy, books, reading, travel  
2

Travel Reads

Perhaps something about longer days and more sunshine—although you wouldn’t know it this week—gave me the travel bug, and I was shocked to glance at my calendar and see that I’m traveling almost every weekend in April. This means a lot of long bus/train/plane rides ahead and I’ve been stocking up on public transportation reads.

Last weekend, I was in beautiful Washington D.C., with the trees all abloom and an abundance of flowers (although sadly, I just missed cherry blossom peak). For that ride, I brought along two reads: I LET YOU GO, a stunning thriller by debut novelist Clare Mackintosh and one from our own client list, IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma (repped by Michael Bourret). Both were fast bus reads, although I’m not sure I recommend reading I LET YOU GO right before you step off the bus in a city you don’t know very well.

Capture

I find that I gravitate towards YA or books that move quickly (like thrillers) for long rides. I tend to get bored/sleepy or distracted easily (people-watching! eavesdropping! all those phone games you can mindlessly play!) when I’m stuck on a bus or a train for 6+ hours.

Me on the bus.

Seeing as I have three more weeks of travel ahead of me, what do others find are good books to read on a trip? What makes a good bus/train/plane book in your opinion?

April 05, 2016   sharon   conferences, critiques, inspiration, panels, Sharon, travel  
3

Conference Tips

It feels like winter in NYC today so I’m dreaming of summer travel…and I’m excited to have a few writers’ conferences in my summer plans! I will be at Carnegie Books-in-Progress conference in Lexington, KY, and Killer Nashville in, well, Nashville in August! Conferences are wonderful opportunities for writers to learn more about their craft, connect with other writers for support, and meet industry professionals such as yours truly for advice and feedback. If you have a writers’ conference in your area I strongly suggest you consider attending!

But did you ever wonder what we, the agents, get out of it?

Hmmmm. Good question. 

After all, we’re giving up our time – our precious reading time! often our precious weekends! – to travel across the country and mingle with strangers! Well, I can only speak for myself, but I love getting out of NYC to see a different part of the country and meet editors and agents who might be based outside New York or whose paths I haven’t crossed yet. Most of all, though, I love meeting writers who are passionate about their stories and willing to spend their time and money to get better at telling them. As an agent, I’m always hungry for my next amazing project, and a conference offers me a veritable buffet of talent and hard work. Every project might not be to my taste, but I have pretty good odds of finding one or two or ten that I will be dying to sign up. The inspiration refill alone is well-worth a weekend of hotel coffee.

Candid shot of me, post-hotel coffee,
preparing to meet writers and hear pitches!

I always want to make sure, though, that I’m offering something valuable to the attendees who chose to meet me or attend my workshop or panel during their busy conference time! So I found this Tumblr post How to Panel Like a Lit Champ to be very detailed and helpful. I will for sure be bookmarking it to re-read next time I’m preparing for a talk or panel. And the final piece of advice applies to all of us, no matter what part of the industry we’re in, querying writer or autograph signer, editorial assistant or high-powered agent: “It doesn’t matter if you are the most famous or the least famous in the room / on the panel, be nice. Stay classy.”

 

Be nice. Stay classy. 

 

Now I want to hear from you. What do you consider most valuable when you’re attending a panel? Pet peeves or top tips from your conference experiences?  

August 17, 2015   Jane   fun, Jane, opinion, travel, vacation  
2

Recharging

So last week, I did something I don’t believe I have ever done before.  I spent a week at my country house by myself to recharge.

The concept of “recharging” has always been anathema to me.  The dictionary defines it as “regaining your energy and strength,” something I always assumed could be accomplished in a long weekend.  Last week, though, I proved (to myself) that my preconceptions were wrong.

While I was away I got lots of sleep, played some golf, had lunch and dinner with friends, went to concerts and simply enjoyed the beauty of the Berkshire Mountains.  And it worked. I came back last Monday re-energized and ready to go.

I think it is so important for us creative types to take some time every so often to do just this—leave our professional world and enjoy other things we like to do.  Only then can we gain the perspective and energy to return to our work lives and move forward.

Check out this piece I found about ways to recharge.  How do you all do it?

April 21, 2015   sharon   college, conferences, inspiration, travel  
0

Real live agents!

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with students at the University of Tulsa. The screenwriting program organizes this Agents’ Summit biannually to give students, faculty, and interested community members the chance to meet agents  – real live agents! – and learn about the ins and outs of finding representation for your book, screenplay, or theatrical play.

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It’s the most important part of any conference…the COFFEE

Or, as the coordinating professor told me, “Now our students get to see that you aren’t scary!”

He continued, “We want them to take their work seriously and understand its potential. We want them to realize they can apply for internships! We want them to keep writing!”

The visit was a very inspiring experience – the campus was beautiful, downtown Tulsa is full of amazing coffeeshops and interesting museums, and most importantly, the students were so bright, interested, and creative. They asked smart, thoughtful questions, like “What one quality are you looking for most in a query?”* and “How much should I change my book to fit what is popular right now?”**

It was a great reminder that in the daily grind of answering emails, reviewing contracts, and evaluating proposals, I also get to work with gifted writers who love putting stories on paper and sharing them with readers. Even when it’s hard or lonely work, even when they have to be brave enough to share the results of that work with “not scary” agents like me! And it’s exciting to know that there are a bunch of young writers out there getting ready to follow in their footsteps.

What questions have you always wanted to ask a “real live agent”? What keeps you motivated to work on your writing when you get discouraged? 

 

*We all said things on the variety of “Voice!” and “Characters we can’t forget about.” 

**Not at all! It’s important to be familiar with your category and think about where you would find your readers…but it’s also important to write the best book you can write, based on the inspiration that’s driving you. Don’t chase the market – it might be gone by the time you get there, and then you’ll be stuck with a book you aren’t invested in. 

April 17, 2015   Lauren   fun, Lauren, reading, recommendations, travel  
6

Armchair travel

Because the weather has finally turned to spring time, my mind is now turning to summer.  Maybe it’s how crazy busy things have been, but I’m thinking about vacation like a man stranded in a desert thinks about water.  In a little over a month, I get to go away for a weekend to one of my favorite places: a cabin on the Susquehanna River I’ve rented a few times with some of my closest friends.  The primary activity at that cabin is sitting reading books side-by-side in Adirondack chairs, and I’m already starting to fantasize about which books I’ll bring with me.

But there are other books I’m fantasizing about now, too: the kind that transport you to faraway lands without a plane ticket.  I’ve idly looked back at old vacation photos and all the bookmarked internet photo lists of beautiful places I absolutely must go to someday.  This year’s vacation is a family one that should be lovely, but won’t involve going to some foreign land or immersing myself alone in a culture and a place that I’ve never experienced before, which is my favorite thing about vacation.

So now I’m yearning for books to do it for me, and I need your recommendations.  Travel writing is a-okay in my book, but it doesn’t have to be non-fiction.  A well rendered novel about a far off land that will make me feel like I’ve been there will do the trick, too.  (I occasionally forget I haven’t been to Morocco because of how much Esther Freud’s Hideous Kinky sticks with me more than 10 years after reading it.)  So, what have you got for me???

April 16, 2015   DG&B   book fairs, great books, travel, Uncategorized, vacation  
1

London Calling

I’m off to London, catching the tail end of events connected to the London Book Fair and attending a conference on literary translation at Oxford. I love London unabashedly, with the kind of nostalgia-tinged enthusiasm folks reserve for the place that was their first trip abroad, their first experience with independent city life.  I studied in London as an undergraduate and have returned at every opportunity I could manage. (I still mourn the demise of the Virgin Atlantic 99£ fare, which bore me across the ocean on an editorial assistant’s salary.)  In London I find a wonderful mashup of my childhood fantasies (surely there is a wardrobe into which I may wander? A chance to swoop past Big Ben and fly straight on ‘til morning?) and the rich, contemporary, polyglot literary scene that exists atop it,  a palimpsest of history, language and cultures.  Like many bookish kids, I was an Anglophile. I grew up reading C.S, Lewis, E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, J.R.R. Tolkien, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Noel Streatfield, J.M. Barrie, and later Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Iris Murdoch, A.S. Byatt—and the list goes on. Although it dates me to admit it, I was already a full-grown muggle and working in publishing when a colleague brought me back a first UK edition of Harry Potter and urged me to read it. I was foolish enough to pass that copy along to a friend, who passed it to a friend, who passed it to a friend who never quite returned it, but I found my way back to Hogwarts later, and also found ample consolation in the magical landscapes of Philip Pullman’s Oxford, Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and in the less fantastical (but no less transporting) works of post-colonial experience—books by writers like V.S. Naipul, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, and Zadie Smith.

My own literary map of London would surely be less beautifully detailed than the one I found on-line, here and below. I’m not much of a cartographer and there are titles here that I’ve not read—but  it would be fun to make a personal version.  What books, or what city, would feature in your own literary map? What book would you nominate as the quintessential London read?