Carol Rifka Brunt

At long last, news of book two!

Carol Rifka Brunt — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:10:46 +0000

I never thought it would take ten years to get to this place, but because of all kinds of real life mayhem and also because I found it nearly impossible to find a new project I could truly fall in love with (not for lack of trying), it has taken this long to finally be able to announce that a second book is really and truly in the pipeline. So, without further ado, here’s the announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

NYT bestselling author of TELL THE WOLVES I’M HOME Carol Rifka Brunt’s MARY ANN, a historical novel pitched as inspired by the life of Mary Ann Bevan, known for many years as “the ugliest woman in the world;” the story of a woman born into poverty in Victorian London who achieves everything she most wanted (a loving husband, a rewarding career, children, financial stability), only to lose it all when her body begins to coarsen and distort mysteriously in middle age—an intimate and moving novel about motherhood, beauty, and what it means to live in a body you no longer recognize, to Whitney Frick at Dial, in a pre-empt, for publication in early 2024, by Mollie Glick at CAA (NA). Translation/film: CAA

This Louis Wain cat kind of expresses how I’m feeling at the moment. In my own head, trying to get this story out in the best way possible, and slightly grumpy (though also quite happy underneath it!) This novel is a big challenge in many ways and is pushing me into all kinds of new territory as a writer. But I love this project. I love Mary Ann and I love the way her story is inspiring me. And so, once again, I’ll say that this is the quiet part…for now.

This is the Quiet Part

Carol Rifka Brunt — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:39:02 +0000

It has been a long–and I mean very long–time since I’ve popped in here to update this place. It’s a lot of fun to post updates when a book is freshly on the shelves–there’s news to link to, stuff is happening–but once all that is over, things quiet down and life goes back to normal. For me, that means a lot of time writing, which is, well, pretty boring for the outside world.

I’ve had so many readers write to ask about my second novel. It’s wonderful to know that there are readers out there waiting. Really fantastic. A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to get in touch. I can say that I am working on that second novel. I’m a slow writer, so I can’t give any real sense of when to expect my next book, but I am writing all the time and trying to work my way to a novel I am happy to share with the world.

On a slightly more exciting and less quiet note, I’ve also been doing some work on a Tell the Wolves I’m Home screenplay. I hope to have more news on that project soon. Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy the quiet and best part of writing…the writing!

PS–Apologies to anyone who saw my October 2013 events listed here and understandably thought they were October 2014 events. I really really hope nobody has turned up at those venues expecting me.

Bestseller?!!??

crb36-admi1n — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:33:05 +0000

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d be writing: Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a New York Times bestseller! I just had word from my lovely editor that it has made the trade paperback bestsellers list at #18. Making the list is the longest of longshot things for any book, but for a little geeky character-driven debut novel it is an absolute miracle. I want to say that it’s a dream come true, but, really, it’s so far from my wildest expectations, so not the kind of thing that happens for books like Tell the Wolves, that the possibility never even entered the realm of my writerly fantasies.

If I knew the secret to finding your way onto the list, I would happily share with you all. To me, why one book gets there and another amazing book doesn’t, seems mostly mysterious. Even more mysterious than you might think because of the NYT’s secretive calculation methods. One thing I do know is that without the massive support and enthusiasm of everyone at Random House—editorial, art, sales, marketing, publicity— without my terrific agent Mollie Glick and without amazing readers who have spread the word about this book right from the start, there’s no way it would have happened. So, here’s to everyone! A huge round of thank yous!!

Alex Award

crb36-admi1n — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:31:53 +0000

I am so thrilled to hear that Tell the Wolves I’m Home has been honoured with an American Library Association Alex Award. This is one of my absolute favourite awards. It focuses on adult books with special appeal to teens. I love the broadness of scope of the award. It includes novels, short story collections, non-fiction, graphic novels, memoir and more. I have plundered the past winners list many times when I’ve been at a loss for what to read next. You can have a look at the current and past winners here:

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/alexawards/alex09

A particular favourite of mine is The Oxford Project by Stephen G. Bloom from the 2009 list. Bloom photographed residents of a small Iowa town in 1984 and then went back again in 2005 to document the changes over 21 years of participant’s lives. Very compelling and highly recommended.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home: A playlist

crb36-admi1n — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:33:48 +0000

When David Gutowski, aka Largehearted Boy, asked if I’d like to do a Book Notes playlist for Tell the Wolves I’m Home I was over the moon. Everyone has their ‘things’, and getting asked to do a Largehearted Boy Book Notes piece for my book was one of mine, not only because David has great taste and I love the books he chooses to support, but also because music played a huge part in my writing process. It was my time machine back to the place and time and emotion of my story. Whenever I felt a bit detached from the world of the book, whether because of time away from writing or just things in real life taking over, I knew I could rely on my Spotify playlist to take me back there. By the way, this is an excellent tip for any struggling writers out there. Make yourself a playlist. Works every time. So, here’s my annotated list of some of the music that helped form Tell the Wolves:

http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2012/07/book_notes_caro_3.html

The First Reading Group Event

crb36-admi1n — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:29:07 +0000

A little while ago I received news that Macmillan, my UK publisher, was going to be launching a really interesting new program. They were running a competition to find twelve enthusiastic readers to form a reading groups panel. Panelists would get free books, meet authors and come in to London to discuss their take on books that seemed like they would have special appeal to reading groups. Editors and the rest of the publishing team would listen to what the readers would like to see as additional material in paperback editions and panel members would actually write some of that content themselves. I loved this idea, so when my editor gave me the news that Tell the Wolves I’m Home was going to be the very first book in this new program, I was thrilled.

Last week I finally got the chance to meet the panelists (a lovely bunch of readers) and hear their thoughts on Tell the Wolves. Some very interesting stuff came out of it. For instance, I was completely surprised by the level of dislike the group had for Danni. As a writer, I understood and appreciated all my characters, so I was a bit blindsided by that, but still very intrigued. It’s not often writers get a chance to be a fly on the wall during a discussion of their book. You can see the playlist the panel came up with here: http://www.panmacmillan.com/tellthewolves and you can read their profiles of Greta, June and Danni and read their excellent list of discussion points in the back of the UK paperback. Here’s a great one they came up with: Greta is the true hero of the book. Discuss…

Tell the Wolves I’m Home Reading Group playlist

crb36-admi1n — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:25:04 +0000

Suggested by the Pan Macmillan Reading Group Panel:

‘Vox Vulgaris’ by Stella Splendens

‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ by Gotye

‘You’ve Got a Friend’ by James Taylor

‘Perfect Day’ by Lou Reed

‘Martha’s Harbour’ by All About Eve

‘Learning To Fly’ by Pink Floyd

‘The Last Good Day of the Year’ by Cousteau

‘You Never Know’ by Hattie Longfield

‘Howl’ by Florence & the Machine

‘The Show Must Go On’ by Queen

‘The Sound of Silence’ by Simon & Garfunkel

‘Marching Bands of Manhattan’ by Death Cab for Cutie

Listen to the playlist in Spotify (some tracks are missing because they are not available on Spotify)