Stephanie Gayle

I am tired and on the verge of a cold, I fear. Three days of attending and holding forth on writing workshops/panels at the Midwest Literary Festival takes a lot out of a person. But the weather was lovely, the people very congenial and I got to met so many amazing writers that it's a miracle I didn't wet myself like an overexcited puppy. (I didn't!)

Having never done a festival like this before it was all very new to me, but the highlight truly was getting to hang out with other writers. Because famous writers are a lot like non-famous writers! And we tend to talk about the same things when you put us together. Come along and I'll share what writers such as Andrew Gross, Megan McCafferty, and Camille DeAngelis discuss in the privacy of the super secret "Author's Room" or in a very loud Mexican restaurant:

Writing
Agents
Editors
Publishing perils
Book covers
Book titles
Royalties
The New York Times Book Review (see related: sexism, genreism, classism)

Wow, you're thinking. Writers are boring! Yes, yes, we are. But in addition to talking non-stop about our work we also discuss:

Rap music (particularly the deft wit of Kanye West)
Collecting creche figurines
Getting drunk
Pop culture magazine covers
Places we'd never live
Which absolutely hoochie mama outfit we'd choose from the hoochie mama clothing emporium
Casinos/gambling
Fear of clowns

I was sad to leave this stimulating talk behind, but very happy to be going home (alas, home needs a serious cleaning). And if I can find the business cards people gave me perhaps we can continue these and other fascinating dialogs.