It was a dark and stormy Friday the 13^th and the Thurber House Young Docents were creeping around graves in hopes of luring out James Thurber’s ghost. Ok, so it was actually a gorgeous, sunny and almost 70 degree Friday the 13^th and the docents were actually on a field trip to Greenlawn Cemetery to visit James Thurber’s gravesite, but that doesn’t sound as ominous.

As we raced against the setting sun, the docents and their families toured around famous graves and antique mausoleums, some dating back to the late 1800s! Cemetery volunteer, Sandy Latimer, was kind enough to stay till dark and give our Thurber loving group a tour and some very interesting behind the scenes information and gossip!

Of course the night wasn’t complete until we visited James Thurber’s grave. Eerily we were not alone…We looked down to discover his grave stone was covered in pennies. Who left all the pennies? And what was the significance? As the night grew darker, Sandy quickly explained that visitors often leave mementos on graves they visit. Who do you think left behind their piggy bank remnants on Thurber’s grave?

We ended the night back at Thurber House for cookies and hot chocolate but sadly, no ghosts joined us. Perhaps the magic day is November 17^th, the night the ghost got in?!

For more information about our Young Docent program, please contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org.

‘Tis the season to be…writing. Grab your pencils and imaginations because it’s time for our Writing Academy! This year our Writing Academy morphed into Writing Wizards, but don’t worry, we’re still offering amazing classes with phenomenal teachers.  We have comics and manga, creative nonfiction, sci fi and more!  If you’ve taken our Writing Academy classes in the past, love our summer camps, or just want some fun writing programs, then check out our Writing Wizards!

Taking a cue from James Thurber’s book, Many Moons, our wizards will be challenged to stretch their imaginations, problem-solve, explore new worlds, and put it in writing. Our Writing Wizards workshops for grades 2-8 will meet each Saturday from January 23 through February 27, and are limited to 15 students per workshop. Our brand new preschool child/adult workshops will meet for two Saturdays and are limited to eight child/adult pairs. Check out our website, www.thurberhouse.org, for full class descriptions, times and teachers. Don’t wait too long because the deadline for registration is Monday, January 11th.

Join us as our Wizards put pencil to page, and whip up stories that would take on Harry and Hermoine, any day!

Have you been working on a novel or short stories and want some critical attention from a pro? Or maybe you’re deep into a memoir and need that little extra something to finish it? Then the 2010 Winter Adult Writing Workshops may be the answer to your New Year wishes!

Beginning February 1 and running six consecutive Mondays until March 8, there are two new Adult Writing Workshops:

Personal Memoir Writing taught by bestselling author D.G. Fulford
Intermediate Fiction Workshop taught by Ohioana Book Award winner, Terri Paul.

These classes are not for beginners. They’re intensive workshops for adults 18 and up, and classes are limited to guarantee personal attention to your work.

Deadline for registration is Monday, January 25, 2010.

For details about time, cost, class content and teachers, and to download a registration form, go to: wwew.thurberhouse.org.

Start your New Year write!

Bruce Feiler

It’s amazing how fast this season has gone. We’ve had great authors for the Fall 2009 Evenings with Authors series and sure hope you’ve been able to catch one or two of them. On November 16, the Fall series will conclude with New York Times best-selling author, Bruce Feiler.

Author of eight books, including Walking the Bible, Abraham, and Where God was Born, as well as host of the PBS series Walking the Bible, Feiler will read from his latest book, America’s Prophet: Moses and the American Story. In America’s Prophet, he

shows how Moses has pervaded American culture and shaped the nation’s core values more than any other figure. Feiler examines how events from the Hebrew Bible still resonate throughout modern culture and politics, including how several of our presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Regan, and Barack Obama were inspired by the story of Moses.

Feiler will speak at the Columbus Performing Arts Center on Monday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. Order tickets online at www.thurberhouse.org, or call (614) 464-1032 ext. 11.

A special dinner with Bruce is also available before the event. For more information, call (614) 464-1032 ext. 10.

Our Winter/Spring Evenings with Authors season starts in January, and the line-up is shaping up. Keep checking our website, Facebook, and our blog for the most up-to-date information on a whole new season of sensational authors.

When: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Where: The Westin Columbus, 310 South High Street

Join us for a special evening to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Thurber House, featuring the author of I Love you Beth Cooper, the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor winner, Larry Doyle.

Both individual and corporate packages are available. For more information, visit www.thurberhouse.org

Rita Mae Brown

Animal lovers are sure to enjoy the next Thurber House Evenings with Authors! New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown returns to Thurber House to discuss her second memoir, Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small, Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m., at the Columbus Performing Arts Center.

Brown grew up with animals as her constant companions, and closest friends. “Looking back, I realized that my whole life has been lived with and through animals,” she has said. Funny and poignant, Animal Magnetism shows how these inspiring creatures, great and small, can bring out the best in us, restore us to our greater selves, and even save our lives.

Brown is the author of numerous books, including the popular Sister Jane Fox Hunting Series, and the Mrs. Murphy mystery series (co-written by her tiger cat, Sneaky Pie), her first memoir, Rita Will, and the acclaimed Ruby Fruit Jungle.

Brown will speak at the Columbus Performing Arts Center, Wednesday, October 28^th at 7:30 p.m. Order tickets online at www.thurberhouse.org, or call (614) 464-1032 ext. 11.

We are excited to have a new face at Thurber House! Katie Biggs, a sophomore at Columbus Alternative High School, will be joining us every Wednesday for her internship. Here’s a blog from her:

One year ago, I was told that I must begin searching for an internship at a non-profit organization that would begin my sophomore year at Columbus Alternative High School. As an impatient and scatter-brained fourteen year old girl who wasn’t fond of school and who was stuck in an “I-have-a-problem-with-authority” phase, the thought of choosing a single place to spend every Wednesday for the entire school year made me want to vomit. I asked my internship coordinator where to start and (not being the most competent choice for the position) she simply responded by thrusting a list of non-profit organizations at me. I stared back blankly at her, not sure what to do with it.

“I don’t care. Just pick one,” she said. “Something that interests you, I suppose.” Something that interests me? Okay, let me explain something. You know the kid that sits in the front of the class, turns in all their homework on time, is loved by every teacher, and brings home report cards as shiny and clean as a bar of Dove? Well, that kid isn’t me. I’m more likely to be found sitting in the back of the classroom, doodling a cartoon of my math teacher instead of taking notes, and then serving a detention for it after he catches me. So unless there was an internship site dealing with deliberately aggravating teachers for the sole purpose of entertainment, I didn’t feel like I was going to find something that “interested me”.

I scanned the list carefully, looking for something….anything. Nursing? No. Statistics? Absolutely not. Engineering? I’ll pass. Then I came across something on the list called “Thurber House.” Not knowing what in Sam Hill that was, I asked my trusty friend Google and found the answer. To my relief, I had finally found something on the list that didn’t seem to scream, “Come intern here if you’re looking to die of boredom!” Knowing that, I applied for an internship at Thurber House immediately.

Now, one year later, it is my first day on the “job”. (It’s not really a job since it’s technically volunteer work, but you get my drift.) As a student interested in comedic screenwriting, I have a great appreciation for the emphasis that Thurber House puts on humor in writing, and the abundance of junk food and exciting ghost stories don’t hurt either. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to spend Wednesdays here. I’ve only been here a few hours and my horizons have already been broadened by a plethora of knowledge about Mr. James Thurber and his imaginative silliness. My future at Thurber House looks bright, and I can’t wait to keep coming back every week.

Are you passionate about sharing your love of writing with students?  Do you have trouble carving out time in your busy schedule to focus on researching that new book idea or solving that plot issue?  Do you tell the kids you’re running errands and duck into the spare room in order to get some quiet time?  Wouldn’t it be great to have four weeks away from your daily routine with nothing standing between you and the characters that are driving you crazy?

Consider this – Thurber House is accepting applications for our Residency in Children’s Literature for 2010.  This annual residency, generously sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, is awarded to a talented author of books for middle grade children.  We are looking for emerging writers’ (at least one book published and one in contract) who also love to teach creative writing to kids.

The resident will spend four weeks during the summer of 2010 staying in the third floor apartment at Thurber House  (where the bed famously fell on James Thurber’s father) located in Columbus, Ohio.  As part of the residency, the writer will also spend up to ten hours per week teaching children the joys of writing in both a community-based agency and as part of the Thurber House Summer Writing Camp for children.  If that isn’t enough, the resident receives a stipend of $4,000 and the gift of time to focus on his or her writing.

If your curiosity is peaked, then visit our web site at http://www.thurberhouse.org/program/adlt_resid.html and print out the details on how to submit your application, which is due by Friday, December 11, 2010.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain so start putting your application together today.

Ian Frazier became the first two-time winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor on Monday, October 5. Frazier was the first recipient of the Thurber Prize in 1997 for Coyote vs. Acme. He won this year for his novel, Lamentations of the Father. The award reception, hosted by Alan Zweibel (2006 Thurber Prize Winner for his novel, The Other Shulman) was held in the Algonuin Hotel in New York City.

Finalists for the 2009 Thurber Prize included Sloane Crosley for her first novel, I Was Told There’d Be Cake, Don Lee’s hilarious, Wrack and Ruin, and Laurie Notaro’s must read, The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death.

Julia Glass

Fall has finally come to Columbus. As the weather continues to cool outside, come and enjoy Thurber House’s Evenings with Authors. We’ll introduce you to some great authors and good new books to curl up with on these blustery fall days.

Thursday, October 15^th, Thurber House presents Julia Glass, reading from her new work of fiction, I See You Everywhere. Glass gained national recognition for her debut novel, the National Book Award winner for fiction, Three Junes. Glass has also written the novel, The Whole World Over.

I See You Everywhere is a beautifully written story that explores the relationship of two sisters over the course of 25 years. This semi-autobiographical story mimics the relationship that Glass had with her sister, as well as pondering the question: “Ever wonder how sisters, when they aren’t best friends, make particularly vicious enemies?”

The format for the evening’s event is special with Margaret Quamme, frequent book reviewer for The Columbus Dispatch, moderating and hosting.

Glass will speak at the Columbus School for Girls, Thursday, October 15^th at 7:30 p.m. Order tickets online at www.thurberhouse.org, or call (614) 464-1032 ext. 11.

A special dinner with Julia is also available before the event. For more information, call (614) 464-1032 ext. 10.