Writers' Ink Blog

Zawadi Books, a Columbus Ohio independent retailer of special interest books, was a featured presenter at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival on October 8, 2011.

Owned by Olumola Akinwunmi, the book retailer can be reached by phone at 614-327-7131 or by email at zawadibooks@yahoo.com.

Attendees of the 2011 Columbus Book Festival at the King Arts Center on October 8, 2011 had an opportunity to meet Mr. Akinwunmi and purchase books.

Thank you for supporting the 2011 Columbus Book Festival.

Patricia Lawson, author of Hard Aspects, will be a presenting author at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival at the King Arts Complex on October 8, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio.  Please join us on Saturday.  More info.

J. Peder Zane, editor of W.W. Norton’s THE TOP TEN: WRITERS PICK THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS and former member of the National Book Critics’ Circle Board of Directors (2005-2007) has this to say about HARD ASPECTS by Patricia Lawson, an e-book available through the Kindle Bookstore at Amazon.com. (Free apps for PC, Mac, IPad, Blackberry, etc.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FCAIJQ:

“. . . . So yes, I learned a lot. But what will stay with me in the years ahead is the author’s gift for language. It is a beautifully written book with a line or phrase on almost every page that made me stop and re-read just to savor it. Keenly observed, deeply informed and lyrical, Hard Aspects is a timely, provocative novel that deserves a wide audience.”

In HARD ASPECTS, the presence of American off-shore academia in one of the fuel-propelled, rapidly developing Gulf states makes for violent culture clash. Canadian Eric James joins the army of expatriates hired to work in an Arabian Gulf city to serve the burgeoning oil economy. As dean of an American university’s new branch campus, he must extract an operating license from the local authorities. He quickly finds himself caught between his duty to his home administration, who want to cut costs and maximize profits far from stateside regulation, and his moral obligation to his students and staff. The large quantities of petrodollars in the Gulf (and the western university’s greed) leads to an inversion of values—the western university adopts eastern relativism and the easterners try to defend themselves with western absolutes.

The novel has multiple perspectives: that of James, who has just assumed his bewildering duties; his assistant dean and lover, a local-born British woman who has chosen the Arab world over England; the dean’s wife, an American free spirit who drives him mad with her philosophizing; a newly hired American art professor, who breaks every rule (and some of the laws) in this extremely conservative society; the president of the university in America, who is trying to keep his creaky organization financially afloat; and the university’s Syrian partner, whose single goal is to maximize profits. Above all, his own.

Patricia Lawson is a former science writer who turned to fiction after an eighteen-year stint overseas. HARD ASPECTS is her first e-novel.

Patricia Lawson will be presenting her books, available to sign copies and greet the pubic, at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival.  Please join us on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the King Arts Complex.  More info.

Clinton J. Friedley is a professional speaker, seminar presenter and author of several books on grammar and the English language.

Friedley will be available to meet the public at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival, to be held on October 8 at the King Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio.

Clinton J. Friedley’s books include:

101 Dumb Things We Write - Get-to-the-point quickly and eliminate the “garbage” in everything you write.  Garbage is defined by these expressions:  “I want to take this opportunity,”  “per our conversation,” and “please feel free.”

“I Feel Badly and Enjoyed Myself” Do You Talk Like This? - Grammar is stated simply and interesting.  You will laugh many times. If you say, “I feel nauseous,”  “I feel badly,”  or “That is real good”—DON’T!

Easy Spelling Chart - It shows how to add suffixes to many words such as picnic, sale, commit and travel. When to use principal/principle and aid/aide, plus 40 other words.

You can find more information about Clinton J. Friedley and his books on his website, IFeelBadly.com.

Friedley will be at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival to sell his books and meet the public.  Please join us on Saturday, October 8 at the King Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio.

Evening Street Press is centered on Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s 1848 revision of the Declaration of Independence: “that all men — and women — are created equal,” with equal rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It focuses on the realities of experience, personal and historical, from the most gritty to the most dreamlike, including awareness of the personal and social forces that block or develop the possibilities of this new culture.

The organization publishes a twice yearly journal of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and hosts three contests: Helen Kay Chapbook (poetry, year round), Sinclair Poetry Prize (every other year, this is the year) and Grassic Short Novel Prize (new). Details at  www.EveningStreetPress.com.

Evening Street Press will be presenting their books at the 2011 Columbus Book Festival.  Please stop by to meet the editors and staff behind the organization.