Helene Wecker's Blog

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Hey, Chicago! I’ll be attending the 2016 Nebula Awards, speaking on a couple of panels, signing books at a FREE mass autographing event, and presenting the Nebula for 2015’s best novel. Take a look at the awesome list of nominees and the conference schedule, and I hope to see you there!




Also: John Hodgman is this year’s toastmaster! [image error]

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BAY AREA: I’ll be onstage (and reading something new!) at Writers with Drinks on Saturday 3/12, as one-fourth of a crazy-diverse lineup including Noah Smith, Peter Tieryas, and Charlotte Shane. For those unfamiliar, Writers with Drinks has been part of the San Francisco lit scene since 2001, thanks to dynamo emcee and award-winning writer Charlie Jane Anders. Her reader introductions alone are the stuff of legend. If you haven’t been to WWD before, and you have the chance, take it. I promise it’ll be a hell of an evening.

Saturday, 3/12 at 7:30 pm  

Make-Out Room 

3225 22nd St, San Francisco

The post Saturday, 3/12: Writers With Drinks appeared first on Helene Wecker.

I’ve been a little remiss in updating my site, so here’s some news that might have passed you by:

There will be a sequel to THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI.

Mark your calendars (if they go out that far) for THE IRON SEASON, due out in 2018 from HarperCollins.

A few questions, answered:

1) Why such a long wait?

Well, I have to write it first. After THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI came out in 2013, I spent over a year on touring and promotion. It was a total blast, but didn’t leave much time for writing. Once all that calmed down, I had to get back in the saddle, a process complicated (in the best way, of course) by the two small humans that had somehow snuck into my house. And of course I had to figure out what to write about, and how. Sequels, it turns out, are tricky things. You have to recap just enough to remind readers what happened in the first book — and give new readers a thread to hold onto — without boring everyone to death. In short, I had two massive false starts before I arrived at something that felt sequel-worthy. I sent my wonderful editor at HarperCollins a detailed outline and a few sample chapters, and she did me the immense favor of agreeing to publish it once it’s written.

2) So it’s going to take you three years to write this thing?

Two, hopefully. Then it’ll be in HarperCollins’ hands. The publishing process takes about a year.

3) I heard that John Grisham/John Scalzi/Joyce Carol Oates can write a book in a year/month/supermarket checkout line.

Yep, and there are days when I wish I could do the same. But I’m a slow writer by nature, and I get a lot of ideas from my research, which takes time. Maybe I’ll get faster as I go, but to be honest, I kind of doubt it. (See above re. two small humans, etc.)

4) What can you tell us about THE IRON SEASON?

Here’s the official description:

“Set in World War I-era New York, Helene Wecker’s THE IRON SEASON, a sequel to her bestselling novel THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI, tells the continuing story of Chava the golem and Ahmad the jinni, as they encounter other beings of their own kind, only to realize that their close ties to human beings have forever altered them.”

For now, I think that’s all I’m allowed to say! If you’re interested in periodic updates, the best thing to do is “like” this page (gah, hateful Facebook terminology), and I’ll pop up in your feed every once in a while with the latest. I might also put together an occasional newsletter, with behind-the-scenes stuff about my writing process (such as it is), interesting research bits, and other mostly relevant info. If that materializes, I’ll let you know here on Facebook.

So stay tuned, everyone. The next few years are going to be really interesting.

The post A Little Overdue News appeared first on Helene Wecker.

BAY AREA FOLKS: On Monday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. you can find me at Kepler’s in Menlo Park, where I’ll be talking with Michelle Adelman about PIECE OF MIND, her amazing debut novel. 

Lucy, PIECE OF MIND’s narrator, is a 27-year-old survivor of brain trauma whose quirks include a distrust of the larger world, a preference for animals over people, and a pitch-black sense of humor. When tragedy throws Lucy’s comfortable patterns into chaos, she’s forced to stretch herself in new and perplexing ways. Already PIECE OF MIND has racked up praise from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews calls it a “portrait of a subject who struggles to grasp complexity.” Me, I call it a fun and fantastic read.  

The post Monday, 2/8: Talking with Michelle Adelman about PIECE OF MIND appeared first on Helene Wecker.

On Saturday, 07/18 at 3:00 p.m., I’ll be at the fabulous Borderlands Books in San Francisco with esteemed sci-fi author Wesley Chu. Wes will be reading from his new book TIME SALVAGER, which has already been optioned for a film by Michael Bay. I’ll be reading from the usual, but come anyway, because rumor has it that Wesley and I are going to go head-to-head in a rap battle. Will we destroy each other with our rhymes? Or will we chicken out and quote lyrics from “8 Mile” at each other? Stop by and find out! Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia St., San Francisco.

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Huge thanks to the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey (JFNNJ), which chose THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI as its community read for this year. The JFNNJ has planned a full and fascinating roster of book-related events over the next few months, including a talk on the history of New York’s Jewish Lower East Side, a screening of the 1920s silent film THE GOLEM, and a Syrian cooking demonstration. I’ll be at the culminating event on the evening of May 14th at Temple Emeth in Teaneck, talking to readers and answering questions.

The post The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey chooses THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI as its “One Book, One Community” read of 2015 appeared first on Helene Wecker.

Here’s some news that I’m deliriously happy about: THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI is the winner of this year’s VCU Cabell First Novel Award! I’ll be flying out to Virginia this November to accept the award in person. Massive gratitude to everyone at VCU who was part of the voting process.

The post THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI wins 2014 VCU Cabell First Novel Award! appeared first on Helene Wecker.

Next Wednesday, 5/28, at 1 pm EST I’ll be over at Reddit Books, answering whatever question you might fancy to ask. See you there!

The post WEDNESDAY, 05/28: Reddit AMA appeared first on Helene Wecker.

This coming Wednesday, 03/05, I’ll be in Santa Cruz, talking at 7:00 pm at the fabulous Bookshop Santa Cruz. I might even go surfing afterwards. (Well, probably not.) Stop by, say hi! Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

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This Monday, 03/03, I’ll be in Corte Madera, talking at 7:00 pm at Book Passage. Would be great to see you there! Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA.

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