Craft Chats: Writing Literary Humor
Sunday, May 7 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PMResidence Inn Berkeley - Ballroom 2
- Literary
- Writing & Publishing
They say it’s easier to make people cry than to make them laugh—in this session, we’ll put that theory to the test with three authors who effectively deploy humor in their recent and forthcoming novels. In this craft-focused session led by writer and interviewer Michael Shapiro, we’ll engage deeply with each author’s writing, first doing a close reading of specific passages that exemplify their brand of humor and then learning more about how that comedic sensibility informs the totality of the work. In Tell Me the Truth About Love, a modern-day comedy of manners set in the cutthroat world of San Francisco arts philanthropy, Erik Tarloff delivers a smart, sexy exploration of love and lust, with no shortage of sophisticated comedy. Kathryn Ma, in The Chinese Groove, also sets her sights on present-day San Francisco—but in this case her focus is on a Chinese immigrant whose misadventures are, according to People magazine, “guaranteed to have you and the aunties laughing and crying along.” And in debut novelist Cecelia Rabess’s Everything’s Fine, a recent college grad lands a job at Goldman Sachs, and her experience as the only Black woman on her floor is both alienating and painfully funny. Given how witty these three authors are on the page, we can’t wait to hear their repartee in person!
Book signing information: Sausalito Books by the Bay, at the venue
