dear internet

what is a good cafe in marin for writing / hanging out at?

for the fiction writers

Announcing
the Amanda Davis
Highwire Fiction
Award.

- - - -

The Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award is a $2,500 grant given in memory of Amanda Davis. Amanda Davis was a very gifted writer and close friend of ours who passed away in March of 2003, at the age of 32. She was an irreplaceable person, one who created and nurtured communities wherever she went. She loved to write, loved being a writer, loved to read, loved the existence of books, and wanted happiness—personal, professional, spiritual, shoe-related—for everyone. She really did.

This memorial award is intended to aid a woman writer of 32 years or younger who both embodies Amanda's personal strengths—warmth, generosity, a passion for community—and who needs some time to finish a book in progress. The book in progress needn't be thematically or stylistically close to Amanda's work, but we would be lying if we said we weren't looking to support another writer of Amanda's outrageous lyricism and heart.

Requirements and Guidelines

Applicants should send a work in progress, between 5,000 and 40,000 words, and a statement of their financial situation. You may list any and all ridiculous jobs performed to facilitate your writing, and you may include two other short pieces, published or otherwise, if you feel they would help in the understanding of your work generally. The reading group will consist of McSweeney's editors and a handful of writers and readers close to Amanda. The award will be given in one lump-sum grant, with no strings attached. The deadline is May 1, 2008. Winners will be notified by September 1, 2008. Send materials, with SASE, to:

The Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award
849 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110

getting out of town - two days in a row!!!

this summery sort of balmy awesome i can haz summer dress weather is lighting my fire for a second day in a row.
yesterday it was down highway one to enjoy the air, the view and the recording songs in a moss beach basement. today it is going up highway 101 and finding a nice cafe with free wifi and apparently lots of bicyclists. i may have overdrawn my account getting gas to get here - but the change of scenery, the nice breeze, the blues band playing at the cafe when we got here - it's all totally worth it. marin coffee roasters in fairfax - you are charming me. i wish i had more than a dollar left after we pooled our cash for two iced coffees. but this is good.

going to transcribe new song lyrics and work on some ideas. rooster is scripting. people in various levels of relaxed summery garb are billing about. sometimes marin makes me crazy. and sometimes it feels like this nice getting away from the hectic urban pace. to me fairfax is one of the more relaxed places and so i am full of yay. originally we were gonna head to point reyes station but it's too far for how expensive gas is.

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home with a little bit of sunstroke and a little bit of ick
heading out soon to oaktown to sit on a porch, drink some cold whiskey and maybe play my accordion
maybe i should just take the guitar... it is lighter...

marin was nice but the rich elderly people who looked like they ate something sour took some of the wind out of my sails
the other folks though with their comfy and slouchy walkin and super cute dogs - they added a lot of good back in
it's all about balance right?
just don't fall off that railroad tie and you're doin alright

(no subject)

in oakland tonight i drank on a front porch, watched the dog play, got [data embargo] on me... EW, and recorded more music - this time just for kicks. managed to leave SF just in time to run run run from the fog. oakland stayed sunny though a bit cold. home late and need to go to bed for the day job in the morning. below is an example of why i heart oakland. btw - anyone on this list have experience reading that book "a new earth" i can't figure out what i think of it yet. but i only just started it.