June 12, 2022 – Niles, MI
writing
All posts tagged writing
Please join us April 14 in South Bend, Indiana, for a celebration of local poets and writing in Michiana.
We will have books for sale from The Backpack Press! Can’t wait? Can’t make it to SB? Look up top – My Bookstore has them all.
If you would like to try any of these books, please visit my bookstore – on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Born/e/B015EJGPXW
If you would like signed copies, let me know and I will be happy to send you one – or more! Write to bpackpress@gmail.com
If you have a book club that might be interested in reading with a talkback, I would be delighted to visit!
And look for the new TweedPod poscasts on TumbleweedPilgrim.com – stories of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Coming up shortly!
Greetings Writers!
One of the things I love about finding a writing community is the feedback and encouragement we get from each other. Writing can be a lonely road, but it’s much more enjoyable with someone by our side.
I am available to help get that book out of the drawer and into the hands of your readers.
Email me if you are interested. We can Video Chat or meet up in NYC. Short sessions to get you started or a series of 4-6 to keep you on track. And, if you are ready to go, but need an objective read to catch typos and errors, let me know – I love making sure the final draft is in fact the final draft.
Please let me know what YOU need! I’ve been working with essayists, short fiction writers, cover designers, and poets for the past two years and want to open up to new writers now. I can also help you write ad copy.
The first 15 minutes is on me. After that, $60/hr with a 20-minute min.
Anne Born
bpackpress@gmail.com
My notebook no longer contains…
My notebook comes along with me when I leave my house,
you never know when elusive inspiration will be found lurking
around the corner, down the block, over your shoulder.
When it will be better to write than to grieve or to laugh.
But now, my notebook doesn’t carry any of the thoughts I want to write
It holds the receipts, the holy cards, the phone numbers, bills for the car or the hotel.
The tiny note cards from the flowers.
Not one word can I write,
not one thought with any level of clarity
presents itself.
I know there is usual healing in words,
salve in poetry for the open wound
Or in some short narrative, a remembrance;
but it’s just not there.
Instead of being reminded that I am a writer –
by opening to a blank page,
Instead of being reminded that I take words at face value
to spin my stories, to tell my sorrows,
joys, memories –
I see only the shards, the detritus of my loss
and words simply pull farther and farther away.
My notebook no longer contains
Stories of today or plans for tomorrow.
That all stopped on Saturday.
Still
While I know this is as temporary as a life,
It is just as maddening.
If you’d like to read the Late Orphan stories, look at My Books for These Winter Months and These Summer Months.
Thank you to the lovely people who have written kind things about our new book!
Buen Camino! Tips from an American Pilgrim – available on Amazon, B&N, and by special order at your favorite independent bookseller.
All are FIVE STARS!
Great motivation book for the Camino de Santiago
PorCliente Amazonel 20 de enero de 2018
I really liked this book by Anne Born on the Camino de Santiago and was surprised how easy it is to read. Even though it is an information book, the story really flows and the anedocts are really interesting. I was able to go 3 times on the Camino this year, last time end of October. But this book made me want to go back as soon as possible 🙂
A wonderful book that transports you to Spain and then is your companion throughout!
ByKarenon 3 February 2018
Anne writes a delightful book that is a joy to read. She wets your appetite if like me you have never been a pilgrim and give you a mountain of helpful information that you would need for your trip. It is written in a warm style, offering you the opportunity to think about taking some time out from a busy life to walk, providing yourself with ample opportunity to relax, reflect and contemplate. Highly recommended to pilgrims and non-pilgrims alike.
A Small Gem Of A Guide To Walking The Camino
ByJ. Haskinson January 1, 2018
“Let me start by saying I love this book. It is interesting and informative and a wonderful read whether you are planning to walk the Camino soon, or are like me, thinking about putting it on your “Maybe One Day” list.
Anne Born’s voice is so warm and friendly it often reads like a memoir, but it is full of useful information. Anne covers everything you need to know right down to avoiding blisters and what to use if you get them. (Neosporin, Chapstick, and a nice big bandage)
She talks about why someone might want to do this, (there are so many varied reasons) and how to make it happen. She offers advice and information in a way you feel like you are sitting across the table from her.
In the chapter, “What Do I Need?” Anne leaves nothing out. Including the poignant reason you need to bring a small rock. (No spoilers)
I started reading this book and finished it the same day. I marveled at how much information Anne packed into such a small book with such a friendly, yet reverent tone.
The glossary at the end is very helpful to understand some of the unfamiliar words and how to pronounce them correctly.
Anne’s personal journey walking the Camino is fascinating and truly a joy to read. I heartily recommend this guide for the Pilgrim-To Be and the Wannabe-Pilgrim as well.
There is so much here to love.”
I loved the organization of the book and the simple titles …
ByAnonymouson January 6, 2018
“Anne Born has compiled a fundamental consolidation of all things one should know when planning a long walk across a country…not in an encyclopedic format, but as thoughtfully presented factual categories of information for your consideration and tidbits to inspire AND keep things in perspective. I loved the organization of the book and the simple titles of each chapter. Can’t get lost here! And you know exactly to where you should return when wanting to “read that part again”.
Once you’ve completed Buen Camino! you can go forward searching for more detail or other opinions, should you feel the need and Anne leads you to those resources.
Prior to my first camino, I craved all specifics about the camino, over and over again. Redundancy seemed soothing and Buen Camino! feeds this need. Anne has approached this book from the perspective of “A Day in the Life of a Peregrino”. So helpful ….and calming.
As a 36 day pilgrim trekker on my inaugural, followed 2 years later by a short 5 day journey from Samos to SdC and a 15 day hospitalera assignment in Ribadiso, I consider myself experienced enough. In Buen Camino! I learned more than a dozen tips I wish I had known prior to my first step, perhaps before I had bought my plane ticket. Glad to know them now as there are always caminos on the horizon!
I recommend this book for returning pilgrims, first timers and your family members to understand what is ahead for a pilgrims’ journey. Get your highlighter out and enjoy!”
A Must Read
ByStacey A. Quartaroon January 24, 2018
“I loved this book! It is informative and provides lots of helpful details for anyone thinking of taking a pilgrimage. Of particular interest to me were all the personal anecdotes spread through the book from Anne’s many trips to the Camino (and it was noteworthy that one can experience the Camino in a variety of ways). A must read!!!”
Greetings!
The Late Orphan Project is reopening for submissions starting November 2, 2016. Essays, journal entries, poetry, theater – all will be considered as long as the theme supports the Project.
The Project – to encourage writers to discuss the death of your parents. The easy story is to write about what happened. My mother’s long history with depression, my father’s heart ailments – easy to write because they tell a story that happened. This happened, that happened, and then they died. What the Project tries to do is not to discuss the details of the death or what led up to the death but rather what happened next?
How did this loss impact you?
When your mother or father dies, the impact is considerably stronger than other deaths in the family and the impact is frequently unpredictable.
How are you changed? What did you learn? When you picked up your life again, how was it different, or better, or worse? How did you chart your life without your parents?
What the Late Orphan Project was able to do in the first volume of stories was to show that the most personal story displays the most universal truths. The reader understands and feels empathy with the writer and the writers can sometimes find closure or healing or a deeper understanding of the events that followed the deaths.
This is not a sad project even though the stories will likely make you cry. Rather it is a celebration of real life through the telling of these very difficult stories.
Submission deadlines – November 2 to December 2, 2016.
Guidelines – All entries should be approximately 1000-1500 words.Shorter pieces will be considered but longer ones may not. One entry per person please. Stories should be accompanied by the following:
1) A 6-line author bio, written in 3rd person.
2) The name of the mother or father in the story, including birth and death dates and geographic location.
3) The word SUBMISSION in the subject line of the email.
4) All submissions to lateorphanproject@gmail.com
5) Identify please if your story has been published previously with a note that you have secured permission for The Backpack Press to republish if you story is selected.
If you have questions about submissions or the Project in general, please contact us at lateorphanproject@gmail.com.
The Backpack Press 