A letter to a favorite writer, hand-delivered

I made a special trip to Boston earlier this week. The purpose of the visit was partly to see friends and family, but the timing was coordinated with a book tour by one of my very favorite authors of all time, Jeanette Winterson. On Monday night I heard her read from her stunning memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, though in her reading/talk she called it an experiment rather than a memoir.

I have often considered writing a letter to various authors (I've even blogged about such contemplation in the past), generally just to praise their books and say how much they meant to me. Surely writers like to hear that? And I would suppose they would appreciate the charm of a hand-written letter instead of an email? I don't know for sure, everyone is different, of course... but I had never written any author before. Part of this was because the prospect is daunting, and part is because I wanted to write to Jeanette Winterson before anyone else.



I was so excited when I read that Boston was included on her 10-city tour to promote the new book, and even more excited when it actually happened at a time when I could attend! The opportunity to hand-deliver a letter to her finally prompted me to write an intense and intensely thankful letter. I wasn't sure I'd actually give it to her until I did, but we waited in line to have the book autographed, and I handed her the letter after she signed our book. It was a pretty fast-moving line (and a long one!! We waited a long time!), but she did ask me how to pronounce my name and where it came from.

I don't know if she even read my letter, but she took it, and I hope my bumbling letter is more of a gift than a burden. I know she is very famous, but her books changed my life and I wanted her to know it.

Letters in the Mail: from famous authors, to you

I have never been a fan of the "buy a letter from me" gimmick that some folks employ, though really, - to each her own. However, this new little gimmick from The Rumpus looks pretty intriguing. Their Letters in the mail subscription gets you a letter from a famous author "almost every week." No, the letters are not personalized - everyone got the same letter from Margaret Cho, for example - but it is still an interesting idea, and a great way to give quality writers a little extra income between their publications, no? (I'll give you a little secret: those of you who know me very well already know that my best beloved is a writer, with a real-live hardback novel coming out in future months... but don't worry, I'll tell you ALL ABOUT IT when it's closer to publication. So I'm pretty down with supporting writers.)

Want to know more? I definitely did. Here's an interview with author Stephen Elliott that tells us all a little more about it.

I might try it. I haven't decided yet. [I admit it - curiosity got the better of me and I already signed up!] If you're a reader or a literary type, you might be interested, too. Anyone who's subscribed to Letters in the mail already? I'd love to hear from you about it.

Have you ever written a letter to a favorite author?

I have no photo for this post, which I know means exponentially fewer people will actually read all the words. C'est la vie.

I have often contemplated writing a letter to a favorite author. In fact, I have two specific authors in mind, both of whom are rather famous. One of them is even known to write with a fountain pen! I always thought, oy, they probably get absolute nutters writing to them all the time, and their publisher won't even forward the letter to them, etc etc. And it's not that I'm expecting a response at all, but I DO hope my words would reach them. But, through a lovely twist of fate, I am writing to a published author now whose books I've actually not yet read (though his latest sounds quite interesting, and I do intend to read it - you can check out his blog at bentpage.wordpress.com and get info on his books from there); I started writing to him through the fountain pen network, as we are both fountain pen aficionados, and his letters have become among my most interesting and cherished ones. (Gee, a professional writer who writes great letters: go figure!) Anyhoo, I just got another letter from him yesterday, and he answered my question in greater depth about what it's like to receive a letter from a reader, from the perspective of a bona fide published author. And he really encouraged me to go ahead and write those letters. I actually think I will, though I know I'm going to take ages and ages to craft them *just so*...

I haven't often turned questions on to my blog readers, but I will do so now, since you are all such an interesting and erudite bunch. Have any of you written letters to favorite authors? What has the experience been like for you? Have any of them actually [gasp] written back?