The Art of the Obituary

"Novelist, short story writer, and essayist Ann Hood loves obituaries. She says that they are a difficult form to write, since they must bring a character 'back to life' in a very compressed space."

Elizabeth Floyd Mair of the Times Union interviews Ann Hood about her new novel, The Obituary Writer (2013):  http://www.timesunion.com/living/article/Telling-tales-of-two-lives-4298288.php

Ann Hood shares the stage with novelist Eugene Mirabelli tomorrow, Tuesday, 2/26:
http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/mirabelli_hood13.html

Read More......

On Losing a Child

No writer has confronted the reality of losing a child more bravely than Ann Hood, whose 2007 novel, The Knitting Circle, and 2008 memoir, Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, seek meaning and healing where both would seem unattainable-- in the death of her five year old daughter, Grace.

Hood, who visits the Writers Institute on 2/26, explores grief and loss and paths to emotional survival in all of her subsequent work, including her new novel, The Obituary Writer (2013).

Here is a 2011 article from Salon, "What I never told anyone about her death":  http://www.salon.com/2011/05/17/ann_hood_daughter_mortifying_disclosure/

More on her visit:  http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/mirabelli_hood13.html

Read More......

Writing About the Old; Gene Mirabelli on WAMC

Acclaimed novelist and beloved UAlbany professor emeritus Eugene Mirabelli (who reads on Tuesday) talked to WAMC's Joe Donahue about his most recent novel, Renato, the Painter: An Account of His Youth & His 70th Year in His Own Words.

Mirabelli says:  "I also wanted to write about someone who is old. Most novels it seems to me are about people in their 30s or 40s. At the time that I thought of the idea for this novel, I thought 70 was old. As it turns out now, I'm 11 years older than he is, and he seems like a young man."

Listen to the full interview here:  http://www.wamc.org/post/renato-painter

More about Mirabelli's visit with bestselling novelist Ann Hood:  http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/mirabelli_hood13.html

Read More......

Valentine's Day Cocktails from Women Authors

Bestselling novelist Ann Hood (The Knitting Circle) who visits the Institute 2/26, offers her favorite Valentine's Day cocktail:

“A lime mint Rickey: I recently returned from Cartagena Colombia and fell hard for their local concoction of fresh lime juice, mint and simple syrup over crushed ice. Also very tasty with dark rum in it!”

Cowboys Are My Weakness author Pam Houston, who visited in 2005, offers this: “Pretty in Pink: San Pellegrino (2 parts), pomegranate-cherry juice (1 part), slice of Meyer lemon, and lots of ice in a tall tumbler. It’s pretty, pink, and comforting (in case Valentine’s Day sucks).”

For more cocktails, go to http://www.prweb.com/releases/DrinkingDiaries/02/prweb10426112.htm

More on Hood's upcoming visit:  http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/mirabelli_hood13.html

More on Houston's 2005 visit: http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/houston_pam.html

Read More......