National Writers Series founder and best-selling author Doug Stanton

Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never Ending Story Never-Ending Story Plot:Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Development of the National Writers Series Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never Setting: Obscure Northern Michigan city Never-EndingStory Never-Ending Ending Story Never-Ending Story Theme: Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never How author Doug Stantons great idea is turning heads in the publishing industry and launching Ending Story Never-Ending Story the next generation of Michigan writers.Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story Never-Ending Story[ Never-EndingStory Never-EndingStory Nev ]
Text by Jeff Smith

VIDEO COLLECTION: Interviews With Visiting NWS Authors

mynorth.com/NWSinterviews

n many ways, from a financial viability standpoint, and even from a 21st-century American cultural plausibility standpoint, the remarkable success of Traverse Citys National Writers Series doesnt make sense. For context, just pretend for a moment you are trying to explain the series to somebody who has never heard of either T raverse City or the National Writers Series, like, say, somebody from St. Louis, who youve met in an Atlanta airport bar. So you might say, T raverse City is this tiny town about six hours drive north of Chicago, the last couple of hours drive mostly through cornfields and the woods. And in this little town we have this thing called the National Writers Series, and it brings in writers from all over the nation, about one a month, sometimes two. And most of them speak in this ornate, 19th-century opera house in our little town. And these writers are not obscure, I mean, we are talking people like Tom Brokaw and Sebastian Junger and Mitch Albom, Mary Karr and David Sedarissome of the biggest selling authors in the history of our nation, Pulitzer Prize winners, writers like that. Heck, even producers and scriptwriters for the TV show Mad Men. And people from this tiny little town fill the opera house every month600, 700 people. They pay from like $5 to $35 a ticket and come out on, say, a 20-degree night in February, to sit in the opera house and listen to a conversation with a writera writer of all things, I mean, how boring does that sound compared to playing Halo or watching Monday Night Football or uploading photos of your dog to Facebook? And the people laugh with the authorbecause most of these authors are funny and entertainingand the people ask questions of the author and they buy their books and have them signed. And really, its not too grand a thing to say, not too literary a thing to say, that the people of our

town are getting special, custom insight into the tales of our time, the stories of our day. And guess what, thats only part of it. Many of these national writers take time to go into local schools and talk with kids about writing as a career, a life journey. And the organizers are taking that education piece even further, putting together a creative writing program for high schoolers that will tie into the whole visiting writers thing. Theyll serve up a big dose of affirmation for kids who want to write, put together a whole training and support program for young writers. I mean, itll still be nothing like the intense training or huge resources that high school football players get, but still, it will be something ... something really, really amazing. And, yeah, like I say, its happening in this little town six hours drive north of Chicagodid I already say the last couple hours drive are mostly through the woods? So, yeah, pretty cool. Does your town, does St. Louis, have something like that? But of course, that persons town doesnt have something like the National Writers Series, because theres really nothing quite exactly like it in America today. And T raverse City has the National Writers Series because of Doug Stanton, a TC-raised author who has had two nonfiction booksIn Harms W ay and Horse Soldiersspend six months and nine months respectively on the New York Times best sellers list, and now, Stanton wants to give back to the community that nurtured him. There are a number of moments and events that led to Stanton conceiving of the National Writers Series, but one of the most important ones happened decades ago when he was a teenager who kindled a vague but undeniable notion that he wanted to be a writer. I grew up in a blue collar family, where people made a living with their hands, he says. Writers were nearly mythical
Traverse, Northern Michigans Magazine | FEB12
31

beings to him; their words appeared on the page, but since hed store appearances, where they sit at a table, chat with customers never met one, they didnt seem real. His dad, however, happened and hope people buy their book. But the National Writers Series to have gone to grade school in Reed City, Michigan, with poet events are designed to be a conversation, a conversation in which and novelist Jim Harrison. One day Stantons dad introduced the the guest writer engages with both the interviewer on stage and teen to Harrison, and the older author helped Stanton keep his the audience. The conversation touches on specific books and writing desire alive and helped open the door to Esquire magazine, certainly the writers most recent book, which they are working where he became a contributing editor at the age of 28. hard to sell, but the conversation ranges more widely than that, Today, when teen writers call Stanton, he says, I always call so the audience learns about the individual writers process and them back, because the only reason they have called me is that life story, gets a taste of their humor and spirit. I tell all the visIve done these books, and the only reason Ive done these books iting writers, this isnt English class, Stanton says. The events are is that people like Jim Harrison paid attention to me when I was intended to be fun, entertaining, enlightening and informative. young. The only thing I ask of the kids who call is that when Just as Stantons personal experience lies at the heart of the Front they are older, they return calls from students too. Street Writers Program, his experience on book tours shaped the A similar notionhelping young people see writing as a real structure of the event piece. During his first big national book tour, careerwas behind Stantons desire to name the high school writthe tour for In Harms W ay, he hit 50 cities, and did a multitude ing program The Front Street Writers Project and to find a space of media interviews, many on national TV and radio shows, but that is in fact right on Front Street, downtown Traverse Citys also dozens with local print, radio and TV reporters. The tour, primary commercial thoroughfare. Its important to me to bring all arranged by the staff of his publisher, brought in thousands of art and literature to Main Street and make it seem as easy or as people to his appearances and helped sell hundreds of thousands normal as watching TV, Stanton says. By putof books. Flash forward to his 2009 tour for Horse ON TAP ting this on Front Street, with a big window Soldiers, and Stanton found an entirely different facing the street, it says to everybody walking world. The revolution in media combined with Winter & Spring by that we value this as a community, that litthe recession meant all the book review editors Author Lineup, National Writers Series erature and writing is a part of the daily swirl had been fired, Stanton says. of commerce that goes on downtown. Meanwhile publishers had begun to hold book February 4: An Evening with Vince Gilligan (CreThe Front Street Writers Program will kick tours to a tougher financial standard. When ator of Breaking Bad) off this fall and would have to be considered a your publisher calls the day after a bookstore March 12: An Evening dream class for any aspiring young writer. What event and says, how many people showed up with Jodi Picoult (with speI want it to do is replicate for high school stuand how many books did you sell, and you say, cial guest Paula McLain) dents my two years in the writing program at 47 people and I sold 12 books, they arent going April 5: An Evening with the University of Iowa Writers Workshop, Stanto invest in your book tour, he says. And book Alan Cheuse (with special guest Geraldine Brooks) ton says. The program will bring in a masters in tourseven for big name authorsare not perMay 2: An Evening fine arts graduate student to teach the program forming like they had previously, in part because with Michael Sandel each year and will augment with workshop time local media coverage has essentially vanished, and May 14: An Evening with offered by nationally renowned writers who it is so much more difficult to get the word out. Anna Quindlen (with speare stopping through for the speaking events. Take for example James Bradleys experience cial guest Susan Casey) Helping run the program will be Michael Delp, on his book Flyboys. Bradleys first book, Flags of June 21: An Evening with author and recently retired writing instructor at our Fathers, was a gigantic best seller about the raisNatalie Bakopoulos (with special guest Elizabeth Kostova) Interlochen Arts Academy who has managed a ing of the flag at Iwo Jima. His follow up book, similar MFA-based teaching program at InterloFlyboys, was about the first President Bushs harFor background on the authors and to check the chen for years. rowing experiences when shot down as a World autumn lineup when it The Front Street Writers Program will be War II flyer. When Bradley went to Houston becomes available, check tied to Traverse City schools. During the week, Bushs home statefor his book tour, he disonationalwritersseries.org. students will be able to leave their schools and vered that the media opportunities had largely head downtown to study writing on Front Street, evaporated, Stanton says. classwork for which they will receive credits. Of the two pillars Publishers have replaced local media interviews with giant the National Writers Series stands onthe writer events pillar and national media interviews, so on the Horse Soldiers tour, Stanton the high school workshop pillarthe high-profile writer event found himself speaking to, in one instance, 28 million people on series has understandably overshadowed the educational piece a SiriusXM nationally broadcast satellite radio show. But he found of the program, but for Stanton, what the program does for kids the lack of human contact on the book tour very troubling. He will be the programs true legacy. kept asking himself, Where are the people? It takes a little context to understand what it means to say Puzzled, he asked the people who squired him around cittheres nothing quite like the National Writers Series in America ies on his book tour which author events were most successful. today. There are similar programs, to be sure, where people gather They always said cookbook authors, Stanton says. Why cookto hear writers. But they most commonly are readingswriters book authors? Their events werent readings, they engaged the stand on a stage and read their work with a little chitchat and audience, they did something on stagein this case, cookedand background to glue it together. Or authors do traditional bookthey kept it light, entertaining.
32

Clockwise from left: Sebastian Junger, Mary Karr, Paula McLain.

Love You Back

Sebastian Junger, best-selling author of The Perfect Storm and War and collaborator on the film Restrepo. One of the powerful reasons we write is to be well received and be appreciated for our work. And sometimes that goes with a big paycheck and sometimes it doesnt, but it is always a thing of great value. And there is nothing like going to a hall, sitting in a hall filled to bursting with people who love writing, reading and who love the book you just wrote. You dont get that everywhere.

We asked authors and publishers why the National Writers Series is working for both writers and their readers. Here are a few snippets.
They organized a tour of Hemingway haunts for me, a personal tour of the Hemingway family cottage, which is not open to the public. Its a level of care and thought and professionalism that is really unmatched. Jeremy Chamberlin, author and Associate Director of the English Department Writing Program at the University of Michigan. They realize people dont go to events to hear an author present the work. People want to hear about being a writer in the 21st century, hear them make jokes, hear them hanging out as if they were at a dinner party with this person. Mary Karr, best selling author of The Liars Club, Cherry and Lit: A Memoir I think the caliber of the audience, the preparedness of the interviewer the level of dialog and conversation, the q/a, the signing of books, theres just such a depth of understanding and experience.

Kathy Daneman, Assistant Director of Publicity, Farrar, Straus & Giroux A lot of writers they really like to engage with the audience. You spend all this time in a room writing alone. Its nice to share it, celebrate it. There was a reason you wrote it. Lets take it one step further. Paula McLain, best-selling author of The Paris Wife They are almost freakily well organized, they run it seamlessly, and they know what writers need.

When Stanton returned to Traverse City in May 2009, after his Horse Soldiers tour, he and his family held an event at the City Opera House that became the template for the National Writers Series. They filled the house, had food, and made it a conversation. A special guest on stage was one of the officers who was central to the Horse Soldiers story. It was very fun, but also very emotional, Stanton says. At the closing of that event, Stanton announced that this was so much fun, were going to do this again. And the National Writers Series was born. Stantons wife, Anne Stanton, and his friend Grant Parsons agreed to be co-founders. Today theres even a small, hard-working staff, led by director Megan Raphael, but still no office. To date, 42 writers have participated in the National Writers Series, including writers who agree to serve as the interviewers; events are typically at the City Opera House. And the writers have loved the event. Theyve been wowed by Traverse Citys hospitality and community embrace, and several have offered to

return to serve as interviewers. Their publishers have taken note too. My publisher called me and said, Youve been invited to this event and you WILL go. This is a plum, says Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife, a best seller about Hemingway and his first wifes life in Paris. Sebastian Junger, the author of The Perfect Storm and more recently the journalist who collaborated on the Afghanistan war documentary film Restrepo, is a seasoned veteran of the book tour world. It is a writers heaven, he says of the National Writers Series event. It is physically beautiful there, everyone is incredibly hospitable, and everyone seems to love booksthe questions were really smart. For me, as an American writer, I really love finding a real community, a community of real people, that has a love of books. That is a wonderful combination. Jeff Smith is editor of Traverse, Northern Michigans Magazine. smith@traversemagazine.com
Traverse, Northern Michigans Magazine | FEB12

MyNorth.com

33