Events for The Last Mona Lisa

Event Time Place Adriana Trigiani Facebook Live (virtual event) Tuesday, August 10, 2021 6:00 pm (ET) Adriana Trigiani Live link here Jonathan Santlofer in conversation with Joyce Carol Oates (virtual event) Wednesday, August 11, 2021 8:00 pm (ET) Harvard Bookstore / Politics & Prose / Books & Books link here Jonathan Santlofer Reading / Q&A (virtual event) Monday August 16, 2021 9:00 pm (ET) Poisoned Pen Scottsdale, AZ link here  Jonathan Santlofer in conversation with Joyce Carol Oates (virtual event) Tuesday, August 17, 2021 8:00 pm (ET) Little City Books Hoboken, NJ link here Jonathan Santlofer in conversation with Book Reporter’s Carol Fitzgerald (virtual event) Tuesday, August 17, 2021 1:00 pm (ET) Book Reporter (check back for link) Jonathan Santlofer in conversation with Hank Phillippi Ryan (virtual event) Tuesday, August 17, 2021 4:00 pm (ET) A Mighty Blaze link here Jonathan Santlofer Reading / Q&A (virtual event) Wednesday, August 25, 2021 7:00 pm (ET) Cuyahoga County … Read more

92Y – Jonathan Santlofer in Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates

Explore the power of love, the pain of loss and the experience of moving forward with writer Joyce Carol Oates and writer and artist Jonathan Santlofer, as they discuss their work and the art of the memoir. After losing his wife, tragically and unexpectedly, Santlofer embarked on a journey of grief and self-discovery that he chronicles in his poignant new book, The Widower’s Notebook. Join him and celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates, who wrote her own memoir, A Widow’s Story, when they sit down for a heartfelt, inspiring conversation. “It is such an achievement, like running uphill against a strong wind,” says Oates of Santlofer’s book. Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Cunningham has called The Widower’s Notebook “A true tragic beauty.” Come learn how we can all run uphill in life’s most difficult moments. Click here for more info

Strand Books Event – Panel Discussion with Anthology Contributors

When: Tuesday January 16: 7:00PM – 8:00PM Where: Strand Books, New York, NY Just in time for the anniversary of the Trump presidency, this thought-provoking anthology features original short stories from thirty bestselling and award-winning authors. The literary world erupted in righteous anger whe Donald Trump became president elect in November of 2016. Many of America’s foremost writers and artists openly condemn the escapades of the new administration and they’re not about to meekly accept the new state of affairs. In It Occurs to Me That I Am America: New Stories and Art, dozens of the most acclaimed modern writers explore what it means to strive for a truly free democracy. Featuring artwork by some of the most politically active and concious cartoonists and graphic novelists today, this literary anthology is a must read for any citizen of this country concerned for the United State’s well-being. Join us in the Rare Book Room as a panel of … Read more

It Occurs To Me That I am America – Available January 2018

Now more than ever, we must ask ourselves: Who are the WE in We the People? In It Occurs to Me That I Am America, more than 50 bestselling and award-winning authors and artists consider the fundamental ideals of a free, just, and compassionate democracy through heart-stirring and often provocative fiction and art. I am proud to have contributed a piece to this unprecedented anthology, which is being published by Touchstone Books on January 16, 2018, in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) upon the one-year anniversary of the Presidential Inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington. Learn more and pre-order It Occurs to Me That I Am America at iamamericabook.com.

In Sunlight or In Shadow

Edward Hopper, that most American of artists: girlie shows, movie theaters, gas stations at night, that famous diner, strangers glimpsed in windows, the lonely streets, landscapes filled with yearning. Despite the isolation, or because of it, Hopper strikes a chord, touches us, draws us in. His subjects inhabit a world constructed entirely by the artist: lost in thought, still yet searching, his couples sit, stand, recline, sometimes side by side but never quite connected, the artist a master of isolation. I felt compelled to make drawings, this one of the artist and a few of his paintings. At first they were going to be two-minute sketches, but Hopper took hold of me and my pencil just kept going. I even added a touch of color. Of course Hopper is always about light and shadow, which brings me to the book, “In Sunlight or In Shadow, Stories Inspired By the Paintings of Edward Hopper,” brainchild of the legendary crime fiction writer, Lawrence Block, … Read more

Draw With Me in Italy

Imagine… Drawing in and around the hills of Assisi… Looking at nature, architecture, the figure, all the while soaking up Italian culture. Looking and learning from Giotto’s amazing & beautiful frescoes just a few steps away in the cathedral. All of this, and more. Like I’ve been saying: Come draw with me (sung to the tune of Come Fly With me). I can, and have taught anyone how to draw. Drawing will change your artwork, your writing, even (dare I say it) the way you view the world. So come. In the afternoons we’ll loll about, talking about art and writing and beauty or nothing in particular. In the evenings we’ll eat & drink and talk some more. For even more specifics, go to the website. http://www.artworkshopintl.com    

Food City

As most of you know, my wife, Joy, died suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago. At the time, she was close to finishing her 5-year book project, Food City: 400 Centuries of Food Making in New York. This epic, history-changing book is scheduled for release by WW Norton in June 2015 but there are still many things to be completed. Doria took it upon herself to create a Food City Kickstarter Campaign that is both pragmatic and a loving tribute to her mother. I know how hard she worked on this and how difficult it was emotionally. I hope you don’t mind that I offered your contact info to Doria. Of course you should not feel in any way compelled to donate, but we would appreciate it if you pass along the link so the word can spread. This is an important book, Joy’s life’s work, and we are making sure it gets the attention it deserves.

Summer Workshop at CFA

Dear Friends, I will be teaching a 4-day intensive short story crime fiction workshop July 13-16 at the Center For Fiction. My intention is to bring students from story inception all the way to a polished ready-for-submission piece of work. If you know anyone who has a crime story up their sleeve, wants to write it and get it published please send them my way. This is going to fun! Check details below and on the Center For Fiction website. Thanks. Jonathan Summer 2015 at The Crime Fiction Academy For the first time, The Center will offer a four-day summer writing intensive workshop at our Crime Fiction Academy. Join Jonathan Santlofer for this unique opportunity to polish your work for submission, from first draft to finished story. In addition to a daily workshop session, students will attend an evening panel with publishers and editors from prestigious print and online magazines to learn best practices for … Read more

Saul Bellow Centennial Celebration

A great night of Bellow readings to a SRO crowd at Housing Works NYC. Beena Kamlani, Saul Bellow’s last editor, who put the event together, introduced the evening with a few personal stories about working with the author later in his life. The poet and literary critic, Adam Kirsch, read an evocative passage from Henderson the Rain King. Romanian writer, Norman Manea, read from an interview he conducted with Bellow. The New Yorker fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, talked about editing Bellow and also read, proving she reads as beautifully as she edits; the terrific writer A.M. Homes read a beautiful short story; and the Irish writer Colum McCann was a knock out reading Bellow in his beautiful Irish brogue. Then it was my turn. I didn’t think it was quite fair to make me follow McCann, sort of like following Bono, which I actually said. Here’s the rest of what I said and read— My father was … Read more