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Q & A with JAMES NL: How did you come to be involved with NewLit? JB: I met Joe years ago at a charity event that we both supported, and we became very close friends. NL: What are you most looking forward to in launching the James and the Giant Book Club? JB: So much of the great work NewLit does is not always visible to the public, as with creative work in general, like writing and reading: Selecting the JCO prize winner; working with grad students from Cal and Saint Mary’s to teach the creative writing workshops throughout the Bay Area; the bustling workshops; editing and publishing Simpsonistas; selecting Jack Hazard Fellows from across the nation, etc. My motivation for the book club is to create a public circle of readers who will benefit from NewLit and who will expand the community that supports our mission. NL: What’s the upside for joining your book club? JB: People will enjoy an excellent literary experience, learn about NewLit, and make new book-loving friends. NL: What makes James and the Giant Book Club different? JB: The leadership of a professional facilitator and the excellent inventory of NewLit authors drawn from the JCO Prize. Beyond that, good people in community, celebrating. NL: What are you reading lately? What is on your list to read next? JB: I just finished my 2nd reading of Devil Makes Three, and I am now on to James by Percival Everett. In the past few months, I read two books by Manuel Muñoz, The Consequences and What You See in the Dark. Joe also recommended I read What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria by Kim Dower (Red Hen Press) and said it was perfect for Valentine's Day.
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