Elizabeth Benedict on Books, Money, Hair, Mothers, Gifts & What Not

Huffington Post ran the introduction to What My Mother Gave Me on its Books Page , which you can read here  and buy here .

Thanks to Slate.com for previewing Dahlia Lithwick's wonderful essay from What My Mother Gave Me , "The Plant Whisperer."  The book is out next Tuesday, April 2, but available now in many indie bookstores. The buzz on the book is great. The essays are - in my completely biased view - totally awesome. Huge thanks to all the contributors and the publications that have been running the first serials. 

I'm heartened to see so many early, positive reviews of What My Mother Gave Me already on-line, including this from ForeWord Reviews :  “A single gift can easily tell the story of an entire life,” writes Elizabeth Benedict, editor of and contributor to the anthology What My Mother Gave Me . In the book’s case, a single gift has the ability to tell the story of two lives: mother and daughter. Here, thirty-one women writers spanning five generations essay their way into the stories of their relationships with their mothers, with a particular present serving as the writer’s muse. The impressive lineup of novelists, poets, columnists, journalists, and essayists includes both a National Book Award and MacArthur Fellowship recipient, a US poet laureate, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic, a television producer, and a civil rights activist." I'm particularly thrilled by the kind words of Book Diva , who writes: " I highly recommend this book to everyone, it is not o

The pub. date for my new anthology is April 2nd. In the run-up to it, and once it's published, you're invited to post photos of your favorite gift, with its story, from your mother, on this tumblr site . In the meantime, take a look at the gifts the writers' mothers gave them! So far, Joyce Carol Oates' mother's quilts are posted, along with a sexy pair of leopard skin ankle boots, from Charlotte Silver's mother. They are both contributors to the anthology. You can go to the tumblr site to read more about the book and pre-order a copy. It's an original paperback, and lists for $15.95.

When asked her advice to young writers, Grace Paley said: "Keep your overhead low." For some practical advice and war stories on living as a writer mostly outside the academy, please join me and a raft a wonderful writers, Sat. March 9 at the AWP in Boston, for the panel I'm moderating: ART vs. COMMERCE: WRITING FOR LOVE & MONEY. My fabulous fellow panelists are Maud Newton , Stephen McCauley , Steve Almond , and Stephen Elliott . 3:00 to 4:15pm, Room 210, Hynes Center, Boston.