The highlight of the evening will be comedian (& One Story author) John Hodgman presenting 9 writers who published their first fiction with One Story. Each of these debutantes has selected a mentor to escort them in the procession:

• Sam Allingham, escorted by Dan Chaon
• Ramona Ausubel, escorted by Michelle Latiolais
• Nell Casey, escorted by Tamara Jenkins
• Amelia Kahaney, escorted by Michael Cunningham
• Cheston Knapp, escorted by Jim & Karen Shepard
• Grant Munroe, escorted by Jonathan Lethem
• Cote Smith, escorted by Deb Olin Unferth
• Patrick Somerville, escorted by (me!) Hannah Tinti
• Arlaina Tibensky, escorted by Victor LaValle

Part 2 of the night will include a DJ, dancing, food, cocktails, raffles, speeches, and most important: a Silent Auction of art inspired by issues of One Story.

I’ve always wanted to do a collaboration of writing and visual art. Since January, I’ve been visiting studios and matching artists from New York and beyond to create original work based on issues of One Story. All of this art has been generously donated, and will be put up for silent auction at our Literary Debutante Ball. You can check out the slideshow below or take a peek at our online gallery of the work. We’ve got everything from jewelry to photography, from ceramics to paintings. All bidding starts at 50-70% of Estimated Retail Value. Minimum bids range from $25-$1500.

Want to bid, but can’t make it to Brooklyn for the party? Just fill out the absentee bid form and email or fax it to One Story before noon on Friday, May 21st. All proceeds from the auction will go to keep One Story’s pages turning.

It’s been an overwhelmingly huge amount of work, and now, just 10 days out, I’m starting to wonder if we’re going to get everything finished in time. Guess it will seem real when I face the crowd. Wish me luck, folks. I’ll be the one with the flower in her hair.  

The view from Le Sirenuse

Since 2007, along with my mentor, author Dani Shapiro, and her husband, the screenwriter Michael Maren, I’ve been organizing a writer’s conference called Sirenland. A beautiful name, but even more beautiful is the spot where it takes place: Le Sirenuse Hotel in Positano, Italy. Our 2010 conference has just ended. Our Sirenlanders have flown back to their homes across the world. This year we were lucky to have master storytellers Jim Shepard and Ron Carlson teaching workshops along with Dani Shapiro. We also had a visit from One Story author Nam Le, who gave an excellent reading from his award-winning collection, The Boat. Other highlights, beyond the amazing view, exquisite food, and steam room (where I went everyday to try and clear a badly-timed cold) was a reading by Dani, Jim, Ron and our 2010 Sirenland fellow, Bruce Machart, whose first novel, The Wake of Forgiveness, will be published this fall. But my favorite evening was open mic night, generously hosted by the owners of the hotel, Carla and Antonio Sersale, at their home, where nearly every Sirenlander got up and shared a bit of their work around the fireside. There were even a few songs, and a play, where I was cast as a sadistic babysitter (I was killed by the children in the third act). It takes an enormous amount of work to put this conference together, but as soon as I arrive each year in Positano, it feels like coming home. This group of strangers, each struggling with their own writing, anxious and a bit jet-lagged, quickly comes together and forms a supportive community.

Palm Sunday in Positano

For the first time, I stayed in Positano for Palm Sunday, and witnessed a wonderful tradition. Instead of palm fronds, people carry olive branches, decorated with candy, small cheeses, salami, and even loaves of bread. The priest blesses them in the square, and after mass, the villagers break off branches and hand them out to friends, sharing the bounty. A simple act, but a lovely one. All of us at Sirenland this year went home with our own bits of branches, given to us by Antonio, Carla, Michael, Dani, Ron, Jim, Bruce and our fellow writers, covered with insights, inspiration, memories and new friendships. I can’t wait for next year to come.

Behind the Book’s mission is to excite children and young adults about reading. Working with low-income students in New York City’s K-12 public schools, Behind the Book brings authors and their books into individual classrooms to build literacy skills and nurture a new generation of readers. Behind the Book is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. To find out more, check out their website. And go here to find out more about the event on Oct. 28th.