I’ll start with a confession. I neither like nor enjoy most modern “literary” fiction. I’ve tried repeatedly to get involved with some Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner, only to throw it down with a combination of disgust and boredom within a few chapters. Not every single fictional character or family must suffer from such extreme dysfunction that they can barely make it through a day without booze or pills. A book needn’t feature only repellent people who have overpowering murderous urges toward their closest friends or family members in order to qualify as “literary.” But apparently, the gods of modern literature have dictated it must be thus, so bookstore shelves sag with a ponderance of these bleak modern novels. I’m not saying every book I read must be a variation on Pollyanna…simply that once in a while, I’d like to read a story of struggle, hope, ambition, and obstacles overcome that actually has a happy ending. Why can’t books about joy be considered as wort...

By Dani Greer, Founding Member We haven't begun to touch on the many awards for writers, and how one can use them to promote books. There are the big awards, like the Pulitzer and Man Booker prizes, genre awards like the Cybils and the Hugo award, and hundreds of awards for children's books. But the month is over, and hopefully we've given you some ideas and incentives. Check out the awards you might qualify for at this Wikipedia list, and do some research. Think about submitting your newest title for at least one book award this year! In February, we'll talk about things we love in the writing world. We had fun with this theme last year. I love what's happening in e-books with all the opportunities for authors to self-publish, getting old rights back and issuing titles to download for nominal fees, and even offering freebies so readers can try an author's writing style without a huge investment. As far as I'm concerned, it's a win/win situation ...