Collects inspirational essays celebrating the art of writing, including contributions from Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, and E.L. Doctorow.

Based on a profound understanding of the ways in which young children learn, this book shows teachers how to launch a writing workshop by inviting children to do what they do naturallymake stuff.

Twenty of America's bestselling authors share tricks, tips, and secrets of the successful writing life. Anyone who's ever sat down to write a novel or even a story knows how exhilarating and heartbreaking writing can be. So what makes writers stick with it? In Why We Write, twenty well-known authors candidly share what keeps them going and what they love most—and least—about their vocation. Contributing authors include: Isabel Allende David Baldacci Jennifer Egan James Frey Sue Grafton Sara Gruen Kathryn Harrison Gish Jen Sebastian Junger Mary Karr Michael Lewis Armistead Maupin Terry McMillan Rick Moody Walter Mosley Susan Orlean Ann Patchett Jodi Picoult Jane Smiley Meg Wolitzer

"Eleven-year-old Brian's summer turns out a lot less boring than expected when he encounters a huge, wacky house in the forest and befriends the eccentric family that lives there"--

In this pitch-perfect middle grade adventure, twelve-year-old Dagmar must endure a summer living off-the-grid with her family in a tiny home. The last thing Dagmar wants is to spend her summer vacation squished into a tiny house with her dad, her stepmom, and her annoying five-year-old half brother. But after a sudden financial setback, her family is evicted from their Oakland apartment, and that's just where they end up, parked among the towering redwoods of Northern California. As Dagmar explores the forest around their new and (hopefully) temporary home, she discovers they are living next door to an eccentric tech billionaire and his very unusual extended family. There's his brother, a woodsman who sets dangerous booby traps all over the place, and his sister, a New Age animal lover who meditates to whale songs in an isolation tank. And then there's the billionaire's son, Blake, who has everything he could ever wish for--except maybe a friend. But when a wildfire engulfs the forest, everyone--rich and poor, kid and adult--will have to work together to escape. And with both families at risk of losing everything, it turns out it's not the size of the home but the people you share it with that matters.

Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal--for an hour a day--to a parallel dimension in this spine-chilling middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society Twelve-year-old twins Colm and Mal might look identical, but they’re different in just about every other way. The one thing they can agree on is that neither brother wants to move to Chicago for a fresh start with their mom two years after their dad’s death. The boys soon discover that their new apartment building, Brunhild Tower, is full of strange quirks: a mysterious Princess who warns them not to wander the building at midday, eerie sounds coming from the walls, and an elevator that’s missing a button for the thirteenth floor. Then one afternoon, that button appears, catapulting the brothers and their inquisitive new neighbor, Tamika, into a parallel dimension and a twin building stuck in time, where the spirits of all the former residents of Brunhild Tower live on, trapped by an ancient curse. Now, Colm, Mal, and Tamika must race against time to solve the mystery of the phantom tower—or risk spending an eternity as ghosts themselves.

This national bestseller from celebrated novelist and memoirist Dani Shapiro is an intimate and eloquent companion to living a creative life. Through a blend of memoir, meditation on the artistic process, and advice on craft, Shapiro offers her gift to writers everywhere: a guide of hard-won wisdom and advice for staying the course. In the ten years since the first edition, Still Writing has become a mainstay of creative writing classes as well as a lodestar for writers just starting out, and above all, an indispensable almanac for modern writers.