the Scott Stein

I have a novel coming out in February 2007: Mean Martin Manning.

So how do you break through the static of all the books released each year? How do you get your novel to stand out? How do you find readers, with all of the competition for their attention?

Who the hell knows? Here's what I'm trying:

I have created four sites that bring the characters from my novel to readers, for free, and that give them some entertainment value outside of the novel itself. Some of the characters on these sites are from the novel, such as Mean Martin Manning, Caseworker Alice Pitney, and Dr. Karen. Other characters, such as the students running Mean Martin Manning for President, are not in the book, but exist in a setting that takes place some time after the book's events. Confused? I'm only getting started.

Characters from the novel and sites will be blogging and will be visiting other people's blogs to comment on threads, leaving links back to the sites. Readers will be able to participate in the sites, not just by commenting on the blog, but by adding to the content on the sites on interior pages.

All of this will make a lot more sense after you've visited the sites. Give them a good tour. There's lots of content on the interior pages and opportunities to play along (you can join mmm4prez.com and post a campaign button on your site; report a recent sighting of Mean Martin Manning to itsdrkaren.com; make suggestions for Mean Martin Manning's list; and more). Then pass on the links and this post to your friends and readers.

Mean Martin Manning's home page
Mean Martin Manning for President
It's Dr. Karen
Caseworker Alice Pitney's blog

I think you should be able to follow along even if you have not read Mean Martin Manning yet.

Don't be shy. The sites are now live. Check them out and blog about it. And feel free to participate in my little fictional circus. Thanks!

Oh, and if you run a blog that seems appropriate for my characters to visit, I hope you won't mind if my fictional creations make an appearance or two. Hopefully, you and your readers will have fun with it.

This time, about something really important.

TV Land's The 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases Hits the Air With a Comprehensive List of TV's Most Memorable Expressions Over the Past 60 Years

What did they leave out? What should they have left out? Can the nostalgia market handle any more of this?

If you haven't read anything by Milton Friedman, you must. I recommend both Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose. It is unfortunate that many highly educated people who disdain the free market, or have strong opinions on issues like the minimum wage, have never even tried to understand the actual arguments for the positions they oppose. Friedman's are not the only arguments out there worth engaging, but they're a good place to start.

Since Friedman's death last week, much has been written about him. Below are two new pieces from Reason that are worthwhile:

It's Milton Friedman's World: We're Just Living Freely in It
The economist who advocated "Power to the People"

Milton Friedman, Archliberal
Why the great free market economist was no conservative

"The world is indifferent to tradition and past reputations, unforgiving of frailty and ignorant of custom or practice [...] Success will go to those individuals and countries which are swift to adapt, slow to complain, and open to change."

Read the whole thing: European universities fear "Americanization"

David R. Slavitt will read from his books Change of Address: Poems New and Selected and William Henry Harrison and Other Poems. The reading will be held at Drexel University on Wednesday, November 29th, at 1 p.m. in the University Club (sixth floor of MacAlister Hall at 33rd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia). It is free and open to the public, so bring a friend.

David R. Slavitt is the author of eighteen volumes of poetry in addition to his many translations from collections from Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. His translation of the Theban Plays of Sophocles is published by Yale University Press, available in March of 2007. His nonfiction includes a book on Virgil (also published by Yale) and Physicians Observed, Doubleday, as well as his account of running for office, Blue States Blues, published in April 2006 by Wesleyan University Press. He is the author of eighty-seven books, and is the recipient of an Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Slavitt, who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will also read on November 28 at 7 p.m. at Drexel University in the Per Contra Celebration. The reading on the 28th will be in The Anthony J. Drexel Gallery on the Third Floor of the Main Building at 32nd and Chestnut Streets. Other readers that night are: Richard Burgin, Paula Marantz Cohen, Daniel Hoffman, Lynn Levin, and Elaine Terranova. Per Contra: The International Journal of the Arts, Literature and Ideas is published quarterly online. The reading and book signings are free and open to the public.

The reading on the 29th is sponsored by Drexel University's Certificate Program in Writing and Publishing in the Department of English and Philosophy, Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences, and Magnificent Minds, who, with the Drexel Collection, also join with Per Contra in sponsoring the reading on the 28th.

Maxine at Petrona has a post about book lists (hat tip, Books, Inq.). A while back, Drexel University asked faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences to submit lists of fifteen books. No specific criteria was provided and a few of us listed far more than fifteen books. The explanation is here and the full CoAS list is here (not that everyone participated). I discussed my list in a short piece called "The Dream Team." I also took anal retention to a new level and posted my (more or less) complete book shelf. Lists of "the greatest books of all time" and such are obviously subjective, often silly, though there is likely a reason certain books are consistently mentioned. In any case, I make no claims of infallibility for my Dream Team list, which already would be different (and longer) were I to be compiling it today. Anyway, feel free to comment.

I got the below e-mail from a former student who graduated last year. Because this post seems self-serving (even to me), let me be clear: I claim no credit for Julia Curcio's accomplishments--she could already write really well when she first came to my creative writing class, had studied with others and developed her substantial talent on her own. I just told her how good she was, gave her some things to think about, and taught her how to submit her work for publication. Obviously, as a teacher, I take some pleasure in being told that my class is appreciated by a student and in seeing a student succeed beyond school, just as you (I hope) take some pleasure in your work. I know that creative writing classes are maligned in some quarters (and sometimes for good reason, no doubt). Whether or not creative writing can be taught and whether or not there is value in formal instruction are questions I intend to address at some point.

Anyway, congratulations to Julia Curcio, a talented writer just beginning. We can all remember that first acceptance letter. I have a feeling she'll be receiving more of them.

Professor Stein,

I was in your Creative Writing class at Drexel last Spring term. I'm writing to you to brag that a story I wrote for your class called "The Mustache" is being considered for publication in The Apple Valley Review and that I just received an acceptance letter for my original short story "The Knitting Madonna" in The Liguorian (my first published story!).

I just wanted to write and say "thank you" because I basically learned how to start sending out submissions in your Creative Writing class and you gave us (what I learned) was really good advice. I got a bunch of rejections (and I know I'll keep getting them) for months and when I got this acceptance letter today it was insanely exciting. So thanks a lot for that workshop you gave us on how to get started and what to expect. I really learned a lot and I'm really happy to take the first baby steps to being a "real" writer.

I am keeping an eye out for your book Mean Martin Manning and I hope things are going well at Drexel!

Sincerely,
Julia Curcio

Note: Julia gave permission to use her e-mail on this blog.

I am not looking forward to reading papers handed in by students a few years from now, especially if we go the way of New Zealand. It's hard enough getting students to write complete sentences as it is.

New Zealand students may 'text-speak' in exams.

... in the new issue of Liberty: Our Allies, the Conservatives. Make of it what you will.

This review of H.L. Mencken on Religion might be of interest. The book came out in 2002, but the review by Garin K. Hovannisian is from the December 2006 issue of Liberty.

...any less crazy:

Identity politics? The Radical Deaf

Freedom of what? Borat Film Banned in Russia as `Offensive' by Movie Regulator.

... of this?

CNN.com is now featuring a piece each week from the Onion. As noted at the top of the piece:

Editor's note: This may look like a real news story, but it's NOT. It is from the The Onion, a humor publication that calls itself "America's finest news source." CNN may beg to differ, but we do enjoy a good laugh, and hope you will enjoy a weekly selection of their satire.

And I don't mean, what do you make of the Onion piece? If somehow you're new to the Onion, visit it at www.theonion.com. I mean, what do you make of CNN partnering with a satirical "newspaper" in this way? You can find the link in a box on the righthand side of the front page of CNN.com. Just scroll down.