Birthdays: Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815), Herman Melville (1819), Paul Horgan (1903), Stanley Middleton (1919), Robert Waller (1939), David Gemmell (1948), Amy Friedman (1952), James Gleick (1954), Madison Smartt Bell (1957), James St. James.
Richard Dana, Jr. is best known for his memoir “Two Years Before the Mast”
Herman Melville is best known for his masterpiece “Moby Dick”
Paul Horgan won two Pulitzer Prizes in History.
Stanley Middleton won the 1974 Booker Prize for his novel “Holiday”
Rober Waller is best known for his 1992 novel “The Bridges of Madison County”
James Gleick has been a Pulitzer and Nat’l Book Award finalist multiple times.
Quote: “It’s easy to lose the energy that you need for a long piece unless the characters are surprising you and showing you something new every week, or even every month, or every other paragraph – however often it comes.” – Anne McDermott
Tip: This is national eye exam month. A writer’s eyes are almost as important as his imagination. When was the last time you had a good eye exam? If you can’t remember, schedule one.
Jumpstart: August is the only month without any sort of recognized holiday. You have been tasked with creating one. What or who will it honor? Why? Will it be national or international? Will workers get the day off?
Sparkling Book Reviews 