Movie Magic: Filming at David's House!

Crew members film The Judge in David's driveway.
Image credit: Bella English/Globe Staff

With yesterday's article in the Boston Globe, it appears the cat is out of the bag: for the past few weeks, David's home in Milton has been one of the filming locations for The Judge, a new movie starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Robert Duvall (among others)! That's right – the house that Robert Duvall's character lives in in the movie is in fact David Godine's house in real life.

"How did this happen?!" you might ask. Essentially, people connected to the film were scouting locations around Massachusetts and happened to come across David's house. They liked it, so they asked if they could use it in a movie – it didn't take a whole lot of convincing for David and his wife Sara to say yes.

The movie will be released in 2014, and the synopsis, according to the Internet Movie Database, is:

A successful lawyer [Downey, Jr.] returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father [Robert Duvall], the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

I got to visit the set myself, and witness firsthand the craziness that comes along with filming at a residential location. The morning I was there, they spent hours filming a single scene that will probably only be about 30 seconds long in the final movie (assuming it is not cut). They made sure to film every angle imaginable - a close up on Robert Downey, Jr., focused on him but from a little further away, over his shoulder looking at his neighbor, a close up of the neighbor, etc. (I can't give away details about the scene, though, sorry!) They ran each shot at least 3 to 4 times, and RDJ seemed to be improvising variations of his lines in a few of the takes.

L to R: Stunt coordinator Keith Campbell, David, and David's wife, Sara Eisenman
Image credit: Bella English/Globe Staff

At one point during the morning, David and I were in his kitchen when one of the movie's Production Assistants came in to see if David would let them use some of his mugs – apparently the ones they had planned to use were no longer making the cut. The PA looked through David's cabinets and picked out a few options. She remarked that she couldn't use most of the mugs because they had logos or images on them that they would have to receive permission to use and David steered her toward a mug with the David R. Godine, Publisher name and logo on it. "I'm in charge of permissions," I told her, "and I can officially grant permission for you to use the mug with our logo." She laughed, but she took it as one of three options – "we'll see which one Robert Downey, Jr., picks" – and that was that. Rumor has it that RDJ actually did pick the Godine mug, so keep your eyes peeled when you see The Judge in theaters next year!

If you missed the article in yesterday's Globe, you can read it online here.

An Artist in Venice: Starred Review in PW!

We are very excited to share that one of our newest books, An Artist in Venice by Adam Van Doren, has received a starred review in Publishers Weekly! The review praises Van Doren's "majestic prose" and calls the book "a love letter to Venice":

Architect and artist Van Doren offers a love letter to Venice in this elegant and slender volume, and he sings his praise to the city through majestic prose and 23 beautiful watercolor paintings of Venice. He quickly discovers, after wandering into San Giacomo di Rialto, perhaps Venice’s oldest church, that the city has one "great transformative advantage: Mediterranean light," which offers a new way of seeing the city’s architecture, the history of art, and his own painting. Van Doren praises numerous artists from whom he draws lessons as he explores the city. James Whistler captures the "sweet serenity [of Venice] with perfect pitch." He admires deeply John Singer Sargent’s watercolors of Venice that exhibit his "supreme confidence with color." Van Doren takes John Ruskin as his model, confessing that Ruskin was an "artist of architecture" whose writings convinced him that he could become a painter. In all of his paintings, he has attempts to keep in mind the lesson of one of his teachers: "Keep it simple. Don’t try to make it more complicated than it already is." Clearly, he’s learned his lesson well. Illus. (Jan.)

We gave you a sneak peek of this beautiful book back in October, and it is now available at stores everywhere. You could also buy a copy on our website today!

Meet the Newest (and Furriest) Member of Our Team...

...Mops! She sat in on a meeting with us yesterday, but is more of a silent partner, if you will.

Mops, hanging out with David.

Mops, perusing our most recent inventory report.

Wesley McNair 2013 Events

Wesley McNair, Godine author and current Poet Laureate of Maine, has a busy year ahead of him - he already has readings planned through July 2013!

McNair is the author of five books of poetry with Godine: Fire, The Ghosts of You and Me, Lovers of the Lost, Talking in the Dark, and The Town of No & My Brother Running. Donald Hall of the Harvard Book Review said of McNair: "He has a gorgeous ear for the rubbing-together of adjacent words. . . McNair is a New England poet, preserving the speech and character of a region intimately known. Because he is a true poet, his New England is unlimited. Whole lives fill small lines, real to this poet and real to us."

Want to know where you can catch him? Take a look at the calendar below:

2/4/13 - New dates and locations added!

January

• January (dates, times, places to be announced): one event per week for last three weeks; Poetry Out Loud coaching sessions for Maine students.
• January 24: Maine Poetry Express stop at the library, Swan’s Island, ME (sans poet laureate), 7 pm.
• January 24: Reading from memoir, The Words I Chose at Gibson’s bookstore in Concord, NH, at 7 pm. Contact: gibsons@totalnetnh.net.
• January 31: Official Maine launch of memoir, The Words I Chose, at the Portland Public Library, 6:30 pm. Contact: director@mainewriters.org.

February

• February 2: Interview on my literary friendship with Donald Hall at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. Afternoon time TBA. Contact Maryli Tiemann at tiemann@comcast.net.
• February 5: Reading from The Words I Chose at Booksellers in Farmington, ME, at 7 pm. Contact: kenny@ddgbooks.com.
• February 26: Maine Poetry Express stop at Camden Library, Camden, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Ken Gross, kgross@librarycamden.org.
• February 28: Maine Poetry Express stop at Patten Library, Bath, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Leslie Mortimer, lmotimer@patten.lib.me.us.

March

• March 7: Reading of poetry at York Community College, 4:30 pm. Contact: Doreen Rogan, ydrogan@yccc.edu.
• March 14: Maine Poetry Express stop at the Waterville Library, Waterville, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Pat Burdick, paburdic@colby.edu.
• March 21: Maine Poetry Express stop, 7 pm at the Cobscook Community Center, Trescott, ME.
• March 26: Maine Poetry Express stop at the Turner Library in Turner, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Betty Twitchell, btwitch@megalink.net.

April

• April 1: Reading at the Maine Historical Society at noon. Contact Larissa Pickard, at lvpicard@mainehistory.org.
• April 6: Master Class at the 2013 New Hampshire Writers' Project Writers Day, Southern NH University, Manchester, NH. Contact: Carla Gericke, nhwp.carla@gmail.com.
• April 9: Maine Poetry Express stop at the York Public Library, York, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Kim Meyers, kemyers@york.lib.me.us.
• April 11: Annual address as poet laureate at the Blaine House, with launch of Take Heart: Poems from Maine, based on the Take Heart newspaper column, with reading by Maine poets.
• April 19: Keynote address at the 2013 Terry Plunkett Poetry Festival, UMA, Augusta, ME, 7 pm; group reading from poetry anthology,Take Heart, April 20, time TBA. Contact Ellen Taylor, ellent@maine.edu.
• April 25: Maine Poetry Express stop at the Solon Meeting House, Solon, ME, 7 pm. Contact: Barbara Sullivan, solonoid@tdstelme.net.

May

• May 2-5: Poetry workshop at the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance (MWPA) Black Fly Retreat in Grand Lake Stream. Contact: Joshua Bodwell, Executive Director of MWPA, director@mainewriters.org.
• May 14: Maine Poetry Express stop at the Space Gallery in Portland, ME, 7 pm.
• May 24: Reading of poetry at the Young Writers Conference of Champlain College in Burlington, VT. Contact: J.C. Ellefson and Lesley Wright, Ellefson@champlain.edu.

June

• June 29: Maine Poetry Express stop on Chebeague Island, ME. Contact: Deborah Bowman, cheblib@hotmail.com.

July

• July 20: Poetry as storytelling at the Western Maine Storytellers Festival, Farmington Public Library, time TBA. Contact: Rob Lively, lively@maine.edu.
• July 25 (date subject to adjustment): Reading and workshop in The Early College Creative Writing Program, time TBA. Contact: David Stankiewicz, dstankie@hotmail.com.

Crime and Puzzlement - Now an App!

The Crime and Puzzlement App as it appears on the iPad Mini and iPhone 5.

We are thrilled to announce our very first app! Crime and Puzzlement: 24 Solve-Them-Yourself Mysteries by Lawrence Treat is now available for just $0.99 on the AppStore for the iPhone (including full compatibility with iPhone 5 / iOS 6) and the iPad (including the iPad Mini). Many thanks to AppEndix, LLC, who developed the app for us.

It’s not just another hidden objects game; Crime and Puzzlement by award winning mystery author Lawrence Treat lets you discover detecting powers you never dreamed you had.

Who stole the Van Bliven necklace? Did Mrs. Fallwell really fall out of her twelfth-floor window? Where did little William go? YOU find out!

* Read the story 
* Ponder the picture 
* And solve it yourself!

View this brief video demo to see how it works:


Here are a few screenshots from the iPad:

 
The app is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese. Find it in the AppStore here.

Holiday Gift Guide!

Still finishing up your holiday shopping? There's something for everyone here at David R. Godine, Publisher, and we've put together a holiday gift guide to help you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Take a look below!2012 Holiday Gift Guide



For more ideas, you can also view our full catalog:

Direct Mail 2012

All books can be purchased through www.godine.com, by emailing order@godine.com, or by calling 1-800-344-4771.

Happy Holidays from everyone at David R. Godine, Publisher!

Joe McKendry Author Events!

Attention fans of beautifully illustrated children's books! Joe McKendry, author and illustrator of One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World, has several author events coming up over the next week. If you live in or near New York or Massachusetts, you won't want to miss out on your chance to meet this award-winning artist.

• Saturday, December 1st: Books of Wonder, New York, NY, 12-2 pm. Joe and seven other talented authors and artists will discuss their middle-grade books, take questions from the audience, and sign copies of their books. A free event; more information here.
• Saturday, December 1st: Museum of the City of New York, NYC, 3-4:30 pm. Joe will discuss his artistic process and sign copies of the book. A free event; more information here.
• Monday, December 3rd: Porter Square Books, Boston, MA, 7 pm. Joe will discuss his artistic process and sign copies of the book. A free event; more information here.
• Friday, December 7th: Back Pages Books, Waltham, MA, 7 pm. Joe will discuss his artistic process and sign copies of the book. A free event; more information here.

 We hope to see you there!

Joe McKendry at the NYT Best Illustrated Awards

Earlier this week, the 2012 New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book winners gathered in New York at the Times headquarters to celebrate their honors. Joe McKendry was in attendance to accept his award for One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World and he's shared a few pictures with us. Congratulations again, Joe, and to all of this year's winners!

Here's a few words from Joe about the event:

On Monday, Nov. 13th I attended the awards ceremony for the "Best Illustrated Books 2012" as chosen by The New York Times. It was a fun event and a great opportunity to meet some other fantastic illustrators. Illustrators are usually holed up in our studios working, so getting the chance to meet Albertine, illustrator of Little Bird, Henry Cole, author and illustrator of Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad, Oliver Jeffers, author and illustrator of The Hueys in the New Sweater, and Chris Raschka, this year's Caldecott winner for A Ball for Daisy, was a real treat. All in all it was a great time, attended by a group of really interesting people. 

Joe McKendry, left, with Henry Cole, author and illustrator of Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad.

Joe McKendry, far left, with the group.

And don't forget, you have until the end of the day tomorrow, November 16th, to enter our One Times Square giveaway! You can enter on the blog by commenting on the original post or by emailing info@godine.com. Details and original post can be found here.

Three Chances to Catch Ernest Hebert

Ernest Hebert, author of Never Back Down, is making the rounds across New England this week. If you've never seen him speak in public we highly recommend attending one of these events - or perhaps even all three!

• Thursday, November 15th: Hancock, NH, Town Library, 7 pm. Free and open to all. Ernie will read from Never Back Down and talk about the book. More information here.
• Friday, November 16th: Author's Night at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, VT. Ernie, along with authors Howard Coffin and Katharine Fisher Britton, will discuss their writing, process, and read from their books at a wine and cheese event to benefit the library. 5:30pm-8:00pm, $35 per person. More information here. 
• Saturday, November 17th: Ernie will read from and sign copies of Never Back Down at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, VT. The event starts at 4 pm and is free. More information here.

One Times Square Giveaway!

We just recently surpassed 600 "likes" on our David R. Godine, Publisher, Facebook page, so we wanted to thank all of our wonderful readers by offering a book giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a free copy of One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World by Joe McKendry. You may have noticed that One Times Square has been getting a lot of attention lately - so far this year, it has been selected to the Society of Illustrators' "The Original Art 2012", named one of The New York Times' Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012, and been chosen as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Nonfiction Books of 2012! It is a beautiful book that tells the story, through words and pictures, of the history of Times Square. The New York Times called it "a handsome and highly readable book, one that will be pored over cover to cover by young New Yorkers, real and aspiring."

To enter, all you have to do is tell us, in 20 words or less, why you love Godine books. There are two ways to enter:

--By commenting on this post (but be sure to include your email address), or
--By sending an email to info@godine.com. Be sure to mention this contest in the subject line.

We'll select one entry at random and will notify the winner through email. The contest will end on Friday, November 16th, so make sure to get your entries in before then!

One Times Square Named One of Publishers Weekly's Best of 2012!

It's another day and another award for One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World by Joe McKendry. The book, which has already been selected to the Society of Illustrators' "The Original Art 2012" and named one of The New York Times' Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012, was just named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Nonfiction Books of 2012!

Congratulations, Joe, on this tremendous honor!

You can buy a copy of One Times Square on our website or at a retailer near you. 

One Times Square: A NYT Best Illustrated Children's Book 2012!

We couldn't be more excited to confirm that One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World by Joe McKendry has been selected as one of The New York Times' Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012! Although the official press release and article have not yet been released, Pamela Paul from the Times tweeted the news yesterday. Edited to add: The article is now available online here.

Best Illustrated 2012 Winner: “One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World,” by Joe McKendry (David R. Godine)
— Pamela Paul (@PamelaPaulNYT) November 1, 2012

Please join us in congratulating Joe McKendry on this fantastic accomplishment! The full list of winners is currently available on The Horn Book's website.

You can purchase a copy of One Times Square on our website or at a bookstore near you.

Barbara Paul Robinson on "Real Dirt"

Barbara Paul Robinson, author of Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, was featured on Ken Druse's "Real Dirt" radio show on Friday! You can listen to the podcast on Ken Druse's website, here.

From the article accompanying the podcast:

The gardens Barbara Paul Robinson has created with her husband, the painter Charles Robinson, have become quite well known. But when they bought their 18^th century weekend house in the northwest corner of Connecticut in 1971, the idea was to just do some “tidying up.” But Charles began a vegetable patch. It was the miracle of sprouting seeds that awakened a passion in Barbara she didn’t even realize was there.

In 1991, Barbara took a one-month sabbatical from her position as a partner in a New York City law firm to go to England to work for the late designer and author Rosemary Verey at the world famous gardens of Barnsley House in the heart of the Cotswolds. Not only did Barbara learn at the side of Mrs. Verey, they became lifelong friends until the end of her life in 2001. (Robinson with Verey at her eightieth birthday celebration – photo Charles Robinson.)

“There was nothing low-maintenance…about Rosemary’s style of gardening,” writes Barbara. “In her view, good gardening meant hard work: the garden was to be watched and managed every day with careful attention to dead-heading and tidying. Hers was a high maintenance approach that required careful planning and strict adherence to a schedule of ongoing planting, pruning, lifting, and replanting to keep the garden looking beautiful throughout the year.”

Barbara Robinson has written a biography of her mentor – Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, which was published by David R. Godine in 2012.

Mrs. Verey began making her garden in middle age (above, photo by Jerry Harpur). As an economic necessity after the death of her husband, David, she started to write for newspapers, magazine and books. In 1980, at the age of 62, she published her first of 18 books, The English Woman’s Garden, with Alvilde Lees-Milne. Her other works include The American Woman’s Garden, The Scented Garden and The Garden in Winter.

Despite being a self-taught amateur, Rosemary Verey became sought after as a garden designer, planning gardens for luminaries like Oscar de la Renta, Sir Elton John and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who became a close friend. One month before her death, she was designing a garden in Kentucky. She loved America (and America loved her).

You can buy a copy of Rosemary Verey on the Godine website, as a Google ebook, or at a retailer near you.

Profile of Eddie Chuculate

Black Sparrow author Eddie Chuculate was recently profiled in High Country News, a Colorado-based magazine that focuses on the culture and environmental issues of the Western United States. In the profile, Chuculate, author of Cheyenne Madonna, describes his writing style and how, despite his Oklahoma roots, the West is in his blood.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Dear Shorty" describes a young Creek/Cherokee man who wanders across the Southwest, in and out of trouble with alcohol and the law, all while writing letters to his dad. It's from Chuculate's first book, Cheyenne Madonna, a tale of Oklahoma grit and Native wanderlust. Creek poet Joy Harjo praised it, noting how the author "investigates the broken-heart nation of Indian men. The epicenter of action is the tenuous meeting place between boyhood and manhood, between fierce need and desire."

Chuculate, who is Creek Indian and Cherokee, first learned how to spin a tale at the family dinner table. "There were only three channels on TV. We'd spend the evenings acting out what happened that day, or we'd mimic how someone walked or talked." After high school, Chuculate worked as a local sportswriter for a few years, but eventually decided he would "die if I had to cover one more Little League tournament or trout-fishing competition."

And so, in 1994, after a friend told him about the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, he hopped a Greyhound to the heart of the Southwest. His love affair with the West began on that journey. "In the morning, the sun came up behind the Sandias -- that was the first time I saw mountains." At the Native contemporary arts school, Chuculate thought he'd be a museum studies major until he took a fiction class and discovered an outlet for his natural inclination for story. "Our first assignment was to write a story about a memorable character in our family," he says. "So I started writing 'A Famous Indian Artist' based on my uncle. Then I started writing about my dad, my grandma and grandpa. Their characters are all over (Cheyenne Madonna)."

You can read the rest of the article here. Pick up your copy of Cheyenne Madonna today!

Nan Parson Rossiter Book Signings!

If you live in the Connecticut area and are a fan of beautiful picture books, you're in luck. Nan Parson Rossiter, author of The Fo’c’sle: Henry Beston’s “Outermost House” and Sugar on Snow, has not one, but two book signings coming up this weekend!

On Friday, October 5, at 6:30 pm, she will be at the Merwinsville Hotel Restoration Fine Arts & Crafts Show in Gaylordsville, CT.     

Busy Friday? No problem - you can also catch her on Sunday, October 7, at 2 pm at the Bank Street Book Nook in New Milford, CT.

We hope to see you at one (or both) of these events!

Calling All New Hampshire Writers

This Friday and Saturday, September 14-15, the New Hampshire Writer's Project is hosting the Monadnock Region Literary Festival. Our own Ernest Hebert, author of Never Back Down, will be leading a fiction writing workshop Saturday from 3 to 5 pm.

From the NHWP's website:

Novelists often get tripped up when devising a plot. Another pitfall is finding a voice. Then there's point of view. Ernest Hebert says forget about plot, story, voice, and point of view. Start with character and everything else will fall into place. Hebert will show you how, including an exercise that will help you find enough characters to last through a long career. Open to all. REGISTER NOW.

 This is a great opportunity to learn from a wonderful author and writing instructor - don't miss out!

One Times Square: High Brow and Brilliant

It's no secret that we here at Godine think One Times Square, written and illustrated by Joe McKendry, is pretty awesome. In recent weeks, it has become clear that the rest of the publishing world is in agreement. In addition to spectacular reviews from The New York Times and the Regional Plan Association, the book was also selected by jury to be a part of the Society of Illustrators' show "The Original Art 2012."

This week finds One Times Square sitting pretty once again: in New York Magazine's Approval Matrix. We've always thought One Times Square was both high brow and brilliant, but now it's official.

Click to enlarge

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Image from article. Flickr/Simon Cocks

There are many different types of readers out there, but thanks to The Atlantic Wire's "What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide," you can now pinpoint exactly which category you fall under. 

From the article:

The New Yorker's Page-Turner blog includes a book-reader coinage that got us thinking about our own reading styles. There, Mark O'Connell confesses his dirty little reading secret: He doesn't finish books; he's a "promiscuous reader," a book abandoner. He writes, "I’ll start a book, get about halfway through it, and then, even if I’m enjoying it, put it down in favor of something else." But it's not the books, it's him. "I like reading too much. I can’t say no," he writes. "I’ll be reading a novel and thoroughly enjoying it. Then I’ll be in a bookshop and I’ll see something I’ve been anticipating, and I’ll buy it. I’ll start reading the new book on the bus home that evening, and that will be the end of the original affair. I’m certainly invested in the relationship with the book that I’m currently reading, but I can’t help myself from pursuing whatever new interest happens to turn my head. Perhaps that’s just a tortuous way of admitting to being a pathetic serial book-adulterer who’ll chase after anything in a dust jacket." He justifies his behavior in the end, as you'd expect of a "book cheater," by saying that maybe occasionally this is a good thing. When he finally meets the book whose fickleness meets his own, well, perhaps he's met his match. 

We understand. We, too, have occasionally set one good book down and picked up another, and forgotten the first nearly entirely, even though we'd been quite smitten with it before. Sometimes we engage in threeways, fourways, or even orgies of reading, in which there are so many books involved, well, we might not even be keeping track. It's horrible, isn't it? But, for as many books as exist, there are also any number of different reading types a book lover (or even a book hater) might demonstrate. What kind are you?

So, friends, where do you fall? I'm a Chronological Reader, with a little bit of Delayed Onset Reader #1 thrown in, myself.

Godine's End-of-Summer Sale Continues!

Looking for a good book to read? We've always got you covered, but now is an especially great time to browse our website, thanks to our end-of-summer sale. Most markdowns are 50% or more, and some discounts are even deeper! They won't last long, so act fast.

Monday Blues?

Monday got you down? We have just the video to put a smile on your face. If only everyone were as friendly as this little girl at the Copley Place Mall.

Bye!