The Art of the Novel

Part of Litquake’s Craft and the Creative Life series

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." – Jane Austen

How do novelists structure their writing and their writing day? How do they research their ideas? Must you only write about what you know? How do they find a community of fellow authors who can act as sounding boards during the process? Four novelists will discuss their art and craft. Featuring Tom Barbash, William Brewer, Jasmin Darznik, and Lee Kravetz. Moderated by Shanthi Sekaran.

—---------------------------

Tom Barbash is bestselling author of the novels The Last Good Chance and The Dakota Winters, the short story collection Stay Up With Me, and the nonfiction book On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11; A Story of Loss and Renewal. His stories and articles have been published in Tin House, McSweeney’s, VQR, and other publications, and have been performed on National Public Radio for their Selected Shorts Series. He currently teaches in the MFA program at California College of the Arts.

William Brewer is the author of I Know Your Kind, a winner of the National Poetry Series. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, and The Best American Poetry series. A former Wallace Stegner Fellow, he is a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. He lives in Oakland. The Red Arrow is his first novel.

Jasmin Darznik is the New York Times-bestselling author of three books, The Bohemians, Song of a Captive Bird, and The Good Daughter. She is an associate professor and chair of the MFA in Writing Program at California College of the Arts.

Lee Kravetz is author of the national bestselling novel The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., as well as acclaimed nonfiction, Strange Contagion and SuperSurvivors. He has written for print and television, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, The San Francisco Chronicle, and PBS. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Shanthi Sekaran is a novelist and television writer. She most recently made her middle-grade debut with The Samosa Rebellion (2021, Harper Kids), an Amazon Editor's Pick and winner of the Northern California Book Award. Her most recent adult novel, Lucky Boy, was named an Indie Next Great Read, an Amazon Editor's Pick and a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Barnes & Noble, Library Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She recently left a teaching career to join the writers' room of the acclaimed NBC medical drama New Amsterdam. She lives in Berkeley, California.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Southern Exposure, 3030 20th Street, San Francisco, United States