| NEWS
The Feel Good Jail
This story, about the work the Boulder Jail is doing to help reduce recidivism, was one that made me feel good about my work--and the good work of others. More people need to know about the strategies jails like Boulder are taking to treat inmates, well, as people.
ASJA Outstanding Article Award
In 20-plus years of freelancing, I've never researched and written an article on spec. In fact, I frequently tell younger writers never to put work into a piece unless they have a firm assignment. But all rules are made to be broken, and I broke the on-spec rule myself two years ago when I took the chance of attending the Aspen Food & Wine Classic (on my own dime), spending the weekend following Master Sommelier Richard Betts, and then writing a 5,000-word narrative about the experience. It was something I wanted to do and I didn't think I could get a firm assignment without knowing what the story was ahead of time.
Long story short, 5280: Denver's Magazine bought the story, that story led to several other fulfilling assignments for the magazine, and the piece just won the Outstanding Article Award for Profile Writing from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
The Napa Valley Wine Writers Symposium
I recently got the happy news that I was selected to receive a fellowship to the Napa Valley Wine Writers Symposium -- a week combining two of my favorite passions, wine and writing. Chances are excellent there will also be some good food thrown into the mix, food that is likely to put all the other writing conferences I've been to to shame. Another mark of distinction: no jeans are allowed. How unusual! How refreshing! How do I find the mall?!!
 Introducing... The Writers Block
After years of working home alone, two other writers and I decided it was time to get out of the sweat pants and see if we were still fit for human co-habitation. So, the three of us -- William Haywood Henderson, Gary Schanbacher and me -- went ahead and created a writer's co-working community known as The Writers Block, which officially launched in Denver on January 1, 2009. Check it out here.
Desperately Seeking Denver
On paper, it was a good idea: Spend the summer pinballing around Denver in an effort to define the personality of this tough-to-define city. In practice, capturing the essence of a city proved much more difficult. The results of my quest--where I met a diverse range of passionate Denverites--is captured here, in Desperately Seeking Denver.
Wine, Beer and Organ Donation
It's an unlikely trio of subjects to cover in one month for the same magazine, but that's what I love about this work.
--If you want to know about the controversy surrounding organ donation, check out The Crusader.
--If you want to know what vintner is producing the best Colorado wines, read Vine Snob (you'll have to buy the October 2008 issue of 5280 to get a copy).
--If you'd rather kick back and get a sense of what it's like to attend the Great American Beer Festival, turn the page to Beer Nuts.
Kid Rock
 Three years ago, I was in Telluride just before Christmas and happened to see the winter concert of the Telluride Rock and Roll Academy. The concert was outdoors, at the base of the ski mountain, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing--namely, 7-year-olds playing "Born to be Wild." I wanted to know more about this academy and what drew kids to it. The folks at 5280 shared my enthusiasm and this article was the result.
Uncorked
The Aspen Food & Wine Classic is a must-go event if you love food and wine and Colorado. Last year, I lucked out and spent the weekend at the Classic shadowing Master Sommelier Richard Betts, a rising rock star in the wine world. Uncorked was the first story I've done in which I had to keep reminding myself not to get drunk during the research. It wasn't easy.
T he Mommy Club
Knowing that I'm always on the lookout for crazy subcultures, an editor at 5280, Denver's monthly magazine, assigned me this piece on urban mommies. The cover line:
Where do urban moms turn to divulge their deepest fears and greatest challenges? One group of Denver women is turning to each other—and in the process redefining what it means to be a mother.
Colorado Book Award Winner!
WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? was just awarded the Colorado Book Award in the creative nonfiction category! It was a heady night at the Donald Sewell Ballroom -- and very nerve-wracking up until the point my name was called. After that, well, let's just say a happy little bottle of Veuve Clicquot made an appearance. For a list of all the winners, check out the Colorado Center for the Book.
 An Aria for Creepy Puppets
Perceptive Travel, the terrific website devoted to travel writing by people who aren't trying to promote the latest high-end spa or beach resort (in other words, by travelers not tourists) just published my piece on creepy marionettes in Prague. Tim Leffel, the founder and editor of the site, is a visionary. If you want to read some wonderful, feels-like-you're-there writing, check it out. The current issue also includes pieces by Robert Ward on meeting an ex-French Legionnaire with a secret identity, and a story by Chris Epting about visiting hotel rooms where rock 'n roll stars have died. In other words, a little something for everybody.
In the scary-but-true category...
I've just joined the YouTube generation, having been convinced by people much smarter (or perhaps more convincing) than I am that exposure on YouTube is a must for today's authors.
If you're dying to know how pigeon racing works, or just curious about the whole YouTube phenomenon, watch the video here.
Just Published:
 THE BEST WOMEN'S TRAVEL WRITING 2007
TRUE STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
This collection, published by Travelers' Tales, was just released. It includes my essay, Higher Ground, about traveling through China with my mother. The anthology also includes pieces by Barbara Kingsolver and Frances Mayes, and I'm thrilled -- thrilled I tell ya! -- to be in such stellar company.
Other notable authors include Diane Johnson, Tanya Shaffer and Kathleen Spivak. Check out this book, and other great Travelers' Tales titles here.
Or, read an excerpt...
 MORE SAND IN MY BRA
FUNNY WOMEN WRITE FROM THE ROAD, AGAIN
WHEN IN JORDAN... My essay about accidentally (really!) getting naked with an Arab man in a Turkish bath was just published in the latest edition of this popular Travelers' Tales collection of humorous women's travel stories. The essay originally appeared on Perceptive Travel. Other authors in the collection include Ellen one-of-my-personal-faves Degeneres, and Laurie Notaro.
On another note: The same essay just won the Colorado Authors League award for best personal essay. Woo-hoo!
Read an excerpt here.
News about WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?
 The Rocky Mountain News named WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? one of the Best Books of 2006!!
National Public Radio's Liane Hansen interviewed me about the book for a segment on Weekend Edition Sunday. (A dream come true!!) Listen here...
Psychology Today gave the book a thumbs-up review, calling it a "warm, funny anthropology of outsiders..."
Entertainment Weekly put the book on its Must List.
Canada's National Post (like the USA Today of Canada, "only better," according to its editors) published a full-page commentary about the book. Another reason to love Canada!
Powells.com (THE go-to site for lovers of books and independent bookstores) published an original essay about the motivation behind WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? Check it out.
What Really Happened was named a finalist in the Book of the Year Awards sponsored by ForeWord Magazine. (ForeWord is a major review house for books published by independent presses.) The book was a finalist in both the humor and -- oddly enough -- self-help categories.
Here's what Seth McEvoy, a reviewer for ForeWord Magazine had to say about the book:
"Columnist and creative writing instructor Shari Caudron would like us to look for the nugget of wisdom in every difficult experience. "What Really Happened" is her winning collection of essays; some of exotic travel, others more homespun, all of them intimate and warm-spirited."
 The Thong Also Rises -- Book of the Year Award Winner in the Humor Category!
An essay of mine, about traveling in the Czech Rebublic was included in this anthology of humorous women's travel stories published last year by Traveler's Tales. The book, which also includes stories by Laurie Notaro, Susan Orlean, Jennifer Cox and other laugh-out-loud women, reveals such "Ms.-Adventures" as learning how to go to the bathroom with a pig in Thailand, trying to explain that sex toy to customs while Mother is watching, and attending naked wedding ceremonies on Valentine’s Day in Jamaica.
Order now at Amazon.
 Writing, Etc.
More than 80 members of the Colorado Authors League (including me) put their heads together and came up with more than 250 tips on craft, marketing and the writing life. This friendly, you-can-do-it approach to writing belongs on every writer's bookshelf -- whether you're new to writing or have been chained to your computer for years.
Order now at Ghost Road Press, or Amazon.com.which contains trade secrets, success strategies and practical advice from over 80 Colorado writers. For more information, please visit Ghost Road Press or the Colorado A
uthors' League . Pamela is a co-editor of the book, which contains trade secrets, success strategies and practical advice from over 80 Colorado writers. For more information, please visit Ghost Road Press or the Colorado Authors' League.
|
