Cheap Wine, Plastic Chairs: John Green and Neil Gaiman at Carnegie Hall

January 22, 2013

A weekly series that celebrates everyone’s favorite part of the author reading: the Q&A. This week, John Green and Neil Gaiman impart some advice onto aspiring novelists.

Twit Wit: Doug Coupland on Attention-Getting Head Gashes

By Kate Gavino

January 17, 2013

If brevity is truly the soul of wit, then your Twitter feed is the Algonquin round table of today's digital Dorothy Parkers and Ogden Nashes. Here's a selection of our favorite tweets from the week; nominate yours by submitting to @blackballoonpub with #twitwit.

Cheap Wine, Plastic Chairs: George Saunders at Greenlight Books

By Kate Gavino

January 15, 2013

A weekly series that celebrates everyone’s favorite part of the author reading: the Q&A. This week, short story writer George Saunders explains why we need a new definition of the word "novel."

Twit Wit: Dan Guterman on Betting on the Wrong Horse

By BBP Intern

January 10, 2013

If brevity is truly the soul of wit, then your Twitter feed is the Algonquin round table of today's digital Dorothy Parkers and Ogden Nashes. Here's a selection of our favorite tweets from the week; nominate yours by submitting to @blackballoonpub with #twitwit.

Twit Wit: Ken Jennings on the Meaning Behind Outdated Holiday Decor

By Kate Gavino

January 03, 2013

If brevity is truly the soul of wit, then your Twitter feed is the Algonquin round table of today's digital Dorothy Parkers and Ogden Nashes. Here's a selection of our favorite tweets from the week; nominate yours by submitting to @blackballoonpub with #twitwit.

Twit Wit: Teju Cole on the Four Most Beautiful Words in the English Language

By Kate Gavino

December 20, 2012

If brevity is truly the soul of wit, then your Twitter feed is the Algonquin round table of today's digital Dorothy Parkers and Ogden Nashes. Here's a selection of our favorite tweets from the week; nominate yours by submitting to @blackballoonpub with #twitwit.

I See a Voice: Furbish

By James Rickman

December 19, 2012

A weekly series that explores a featured theme — this month, it's "tongues" — by pairing classic quotations with urgent images. What recent news items inspired these textual/visual sets? Leave your guesses in the comments, and check back next Wednesday for the answers.

MishMash: Feliz Navidad

By Manjula Martin

December 18, 2012

Sights, scenes, and sounds from San Francisco's Mission District. This week, our unwitting subjects discuss the best place to post a racy 2013 wall calendar.

Cheap Wine, Plastic Chairs: Tracy K. Smith at the Strand

By Kate Gavino

December 18, 2012

A weekly series that celebrates everyone’s favorite part of the author reading: the Q&A. This week, Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith explains where her love for poetry began.

Going Out: Flirting

By Kayla Blatchley

December 17, 2012

Going Out is a weekly attempt to investigate overheard utterances, made at the restaurant where I work, that reveal something about desire. This week, a cautionary tale about an overfamiliar customer.