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Category: Research Notes

  • Forty-four American Boys

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, William Walsh writes about Forty-four American Boys from Outpost19. + A Boys Club Many years ago, I took one of my freshman comp classes to the library for a field trip.…

  • Best Worst American

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Juan Martinez writes about Best Worst Americans from Small Beer Press. + Necessary Photobombs The short stories in Best Worst American draw from, among other places, a flotsam of visual arcana…

  • The Young Widower’s Handbook

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Tom McAllister writes about The Young Widower’s Handbook from Algonquin Books. + When people ask how my wife feels about my having written a book about a young man’s wife dying,…

  • The Mean Bone in her Body

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Laura Ellen Scott writes about The Mean Bone in Her Body from Pandamoon Publishing. + The Mean Bone in Her Body is my most intentional mystery novel, the first of the…

  • Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Ruth Gilligan writes about Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan from Tin House. + They say that you should “write what you know”. And then they say it again. So for…

  • Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Kathleen Rooney writes about Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk from St. Martin’s Press. + The Margaret Fishback Papers Back in May of 2007, thanks to a tip from my best-friend-from-high-school Angela…

  • Sing The Song

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Meredith Alling writes about Sing The Song from Future Tense Books. + A big part of writing for me is note-taking. Most of the time a “note” is just a few…

  • Flamingos

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Grant Maierhofer writes about Flamingos from Itna Press. + The writing and unwriting of the manuscript that became Flamingos started with disparate elements and fragments, all guided by a thematic impulse…

  • The Bitter Life of Božena Němcová

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Kelcey Parker Ervick writes about The Bitter Life of Božena Němcová from Rose Metal Press. + It’s March 2003, flights to Berlin are less than $400. Why not fly to Berlin…

  • Repetition

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, James Tadd Adcox writes about Repetition from Cobalt Press. + I wrote the first draft of Repetition over a three-day period, from August 29th to September 1st, 2014. My goal, originally, was to write 30,000 words over these…

  • Reel

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Tobias Carroll writes about Reel from Rare Bird Books. + How Zines Got Me to Seattle As with plenty of things in my life, the road to my novel Reel started…

  • The Great American Songbook

    Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, Sam Allingham writes about The Great American Songbook from A Strange Object. + Research is fun, and also fun to ignore. When I was working on my collection The Great American…