Lit Reactor Class

Salutations, literati:

How goes it, everyone?  It's been radio silence on my side, making the last tweaks on Fight Song, my new novel.  It will be at a bookstore near you in February 2013.  I'll post a tour schedule soon once we dial in all the dates. 

I'm teaching a 4-week class at LitReactor starting Sept 6th.  It's going to be about plotting tactics, though we'll also discuss conflict, dialogue, and some characterization.  The class is completely online, so whether you're in Antarctica,  Burma, or Costa Rica, come play with me.  I'd love to talk shop with you.  All the info is here.

It's a beautiful sunny afternoon in San Francisco, which means I'm gonna go sit in Dolores Park. I hope you're scribbling lots of pretty words on your side.

Cheers,
Josh

Fight Song

Greetings, literati:

I'm only poking my head up for a second before getting back to work.  I wanted to let everybody know that I've signed a deal with Counterpoint/Soft Skull for my next novel, "Fight Song."  The book is slated for release Winter '13.  More info soon.

Happy scribbling; be reckless on the page,
Josh

More CA tour dates

It's been so much fun getting out and reading from Damascus that we've added a bunch more California events.  I hope to see you at one of these fine soirees!!

Jan 11 - Radar Reading Series, SF public library with Michelle Tea's gang

Jan 17 - Pints and Prose, Fairfax, CA

Jan 19 - Inside Story Time, Cafe Royale, SF, CA

Jan 27 - A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland, CA

Feb 8 - Skylight Books, LA (Los Feliz), CA

Feb 11 - Vermin on the Mount Series, San Diego, CA

Feb 12 - Vermin on the Mount Series, LA (Chinatown), CA

Feb 13 - River Reader, Guerneville, CA

Feb 22 - Noisepop Festival (with Litquake kids) SF, CA

Feb 23 - Books Inc, Palo Alto, CA

Feb 25 - Books Inc, Alameda, CA

March 12 - S.H.A.R.P series, SF, CA

March 13 - Diesel Books, in conversation with Johnny Evison, Oakland, CA

Damascus in pictures

Check out this rad remix of Damascus, courtesy of Horn! Reviews. 

 

It originally appeared on the Rumpus. Huge thanks to Kevin for his amazing interpretation.

As the poet Pedro said in Napoleon Dynamite, I hope all your wildest dreams come true.

Happy new year,
Josh

"Beat-poet cool"

howdy, literati:

how are you on this lovely December day? it's clear skies in San Francisco, low 50s--one of the reasons i love this town so much... no seasons. 

i wanted to say thanks to the New York Times Book Review for their very generous write-up of Damascus:

"The author's jaunty voice [is] Beat-poet cool...Mohr nails the atmosphere of a San Francisco still breathing in the smoke that lingers from the days of Jim Jones and Dan White, a time when passionate ideologies and personal dysfunction intermingled and combusted."

happy holidays, everybody. i'm off to the Canadian tundra to scribble the days away and finish this weird fairy tale i'm working on.

until 2012,
Josh

PS: the fine folks over at All Sides recommend some yummy books. watch the vid of their discussion here.  they talk Damascus first. 

Brad Listi's Other People Podcast

There's this great guy, Brad Listi, who everyone should know about.  Not only is he the commander-in-chief over at The Nervous Breakdown, a great online culture magazine.  But he's a kickass author in his own right.  As if that doesn't keep him busy being awesome, he's started a new project called Other People, in which he chats with writers about their process and all kinds of odd byproducts thereof.  We just did one together.  It was a blast.



All Brad's podcasts are available on iTunes.

I've listened to previous ones with Ron Currie and Gina Frangello, and they're both fantastic.  And free.  And that's a winning combination.  Brad does a lot to support indie authors, so let's support him right back!

Happy early Thanksgiving, if you're into that sort of thing.  If you're not, I hope you spend the day doing something amazing that I don't even know about yet.

Josh

PS: Nice review of Damascus in this weekend's Wall Street Journal.
PPS: If you're in the Seattle area, I'm reading this Thurs, 11/17, with Johnny Evison at University Books; we'll all go out for drinks afterward.  I'd love to buy you a cocktail.
PPS: Here's a podcast of my reading from City Lights a couple weeks back.

My Dearest San Francisco

Why hello there, friends:

How are you?  I've been running around doing lots of readings in support of "Damascus".  And it's finally time for my favorite part of all this craziness: my hometown events. 

I'll be reading tonight at City Lights, 7pm.

And this Monday, the 24th, I'll read at Booksmith on Haight at 7:30.

Hope to whisper sweet nothings in your ear soon,
Josh

PS: The SF Chron has been incredibly supportive of "Damascus."  Here's a profile they ran on Tuesday.  And here's another piece they ran today.  Thanks for the local love!!

Happy Hour reading this Sunday

Hola, literati:

I hope to see you this Sunday afternoon for a late afternoon beverage.  I'll be reading at Vesuvio in North Beach with a bunch of talented folk from 4-6pm.  Event is free and I'll have advanced copies of Damascus.

Come through and say hi!!

Hope you're happy,
Josh

PS: If you happen to be down in Santa Cruz county tomorrow, I'm reading at the Capitola Book Cafe for a live taping of the Agony Column.  Event starts at 6:30.

Damascus tour dates

Friends:

I’ll be shoving off to do some readings in support of Damascus next month.  Many more dates to follow, but here are the ones that are already dialed in.  I hope to see you there.  I’ve met so many amazing people online, and it would be rad to actually introduce ourselves in person.  I look forward to shaking some hands and kissing some cheeks!!

Oct 2 – Brooklyn, NY:  Party hosted by Word bookstore (send me an email if you'd like to come)

Oct 3 – NY, NY: The Half King

Oct 8 – Capitola, CA: Agony Column live taping at Capitola Books Co.

Oct 9 – San Francisco: Vesuvio Bar, Litquake reading with Beth Lisick and Jack Boulware

Oct 13 – Portland, OR: PNIBA Nightcapper Event

Oct 15 – San Francisco: Litquake litcrawl reading, featuring Writing Salon authors

Oct 20 – San Francisco: City Lights Books: Damascus’ launch party

Oct 24 – San Francisco: Booksmith on Haight: Damascus’ launch party

Oct 28 – Oakland, CA: NCIBA event

Oct 30 – Chicago, IL: Katerina’s, TNBLE series

Nov 2 – Columbus, OH:  Capital University

Nov 3 – Cleveland, OH: Mac’s books

Nov 10 – Sausalito, CA: “Why there are words” literary series

Nov 17 – Seattle, WA:  University Books with Jonathan Evison

Dec 1 – University of San Francisco faculty reading

Dec 3 – San Francisco: The Cantina, The Babylon Salon series 

Dec 12 – San Francisco: The Make-out room, the monthly Rumpus reading

In my humble opinion, this would be an ideal time to pre-order Damascus... go ahead.  Why not?

New Damascus excerpt, UK love, SF Weekly

There's this cool mag over in the UK called Beat The Dust.  They just released their first ever issue that focuses on American writers that publish with indie presses--8 of us all told, including the talented Roxane Gay, Lindsay Hunter, among others.  There's also an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, Damascus, in the issue.  I'm crazy excited to share this book with all of you, and I hope you dig this little appetizer.  Why not pre-order your copy today?

Also, SF Weekly recommends 5 books by local writers for the fall, and they were nice enough to include Damascus.  Here's a pull from what they said:

A better understanding of our sweetly seedy city we could not ask for. Mohr wonders who might hang out in a Mission dive bar...as the Iraq war changes everything a world away and just outside.


Enjoy!!
Josh

PS: Did I tell you that I got engaged?