AMERICAN AUTHORS CHALLENGE---Discussion of 2023 Selections

Another year looms...what shall we do with the AAC in 2023?



I'm inclined to a poetry month, a month of reading the work of former Presidents (whether written before or after they were in office), and a month of Ursula Hegi. Suggestions??

It is getting a little tough to remember who we have had and who we have not yet had since 2014, Linda, but I think the following are awaiting turn:

Erskine Caldwell
Theodore Dreiser
Julia Alvarez
Saul Bellow
Gertrude Stein
Ha Jin
Chris Bohjalian
Noah Hawley
Paul Bowles & Jane Bowles
Chester Himes
Michael Cunningham
Jonathan Franzen
Jennifer Egan
Richard Wright
Elizabeth Strout
Anita Shreve
Sharon Penman
Nelson Algren
Paul Auster
Richard Brautigan
Anne Applebaum

You're right, Paul, it is hard to keep track. Here's the comprehensive list of who we have covered in the past. And there's no rule against repeating someone, of course.

2022
JANUARY Graphic novels, comics and/or non-fiction
FEBRUARY Tess Gallagher
MARCH Bernard Malamud
APRIL Jennifer Finney Boylan
MAY 19th Century American Author of your choice
JUNE John Dos Passos
JULY Gish Jen
AUGUST Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
SEPTEMBER Pulitzer Prize Winners
OCTOBER John McPhee
NOVEMBER Native American authors, themes and history
DECEMBER Martha Gellhorn
WILD CARD: A book written about a place you have lived

2021
JANUARY All in the Family Spouses, partners, parents and children who all write.
FEBRUARY Ethan Canin
MARCH Roxane Gay
APRIL Americans Who Make Music
MAY Mary McCarthy
JUNE Ken Kesey
JULY Native American Authors and Themes
AUGUST Connie Willis
SEPTEMBER Howard Norman
OCTOBER Attica Locke
NOVEMBER Albert Murray
DECEMBER Young Adult
WILD CARD---You name it, you read it.

2020

AAC 2020 Wild Card--Sci-Fi/Fantasy
January: Charles Frazier
February: Grace Paley
March: David McCullough
April: Francine Prose
May: E. Lynn Harris
June: Jean Stafford
July: Wendell Berry
August: Robert Penn Warren
September: Dawn Powell
October: Ward Just
November: Ann Lane Petry
December: Tony Hillerman

2019

January: Chaim Potok
February: Louisa May Alcott
March: Jon Clinch
April: Jesmyn Ward
May: Jay Parini
June: Pearl Buck
July: Founding Fathers and Mothers
August: Ernest J Gaines
September: Leslie Marmon Silko
October: Drama
November: W. E. B. Du Bois
Wild Card - Genre Fiction

2018 (hosted by Mark)
January: Joan Didion
February: Colson Whitehead
March: Tobias Wolff
April: Alice Walker
May: Peter Hamill
June: Walter Mosley
July: Amy Tan
August: Louis L'Amour
September: Pat Conroy
October: Stephen King
November: Narrative Nonfiction
December: F. Scott Fitzgerald

2017 (hosted by Mark)
Octavia Butler
Stewart O'Nan
William Styron
Poetry
Zora Neale Hurston
Sherman Alexie
James McBride
Patricia Highsmith
The Short Story
Ann Patchett
Russell Banks

2016 (hosted by Mark)
Anne Tyler
Richard Russo
Jane Smiley
Poetry
Ivan Doig
Annie Proulx
John Steinbeck
Joyce Carol Oates
John Irving
Michael Chabon
Annie Dillard
Don Delillo

2015 (hosted by Mark)
Carson McCullers
Henry James
Richard Ford
Louise Erdrich
Sinclair Lewis
Wallace Stegner
Kent Haruf
Ursula K. Le Guin
Larry McMurtry
Flannery O'Connor
Ray Bradbury
Barbara Kingsolver
E. L. Doctorow

2014 (hosted by Mark)
Willa Cather
William Faulkner
Cormac McCarthy
Toni Morrison
Eudora Welty
Kurt Vonnegut
Mark Twain
Philip Roth
James Baldwin
Edith Wharton
John Updike
Larry Watson

>3 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks Linda. That is really useful.

Richard Powers (A Time of Our Singing and The Echo Maker)
and Benjamin Aliere Saenz (names on a map and The Inexplicable Logic of My Life),
as well as the Aristotle and Dante books - both authors would be welcome!

>5 m.belljackson: Powers is a good call, Marianne.

I am in favor of Richard Powers.

I'm more of a "theme" person myself. I feel it gives the "one-hit wonder" authors a bit of a chance. Some themes off the top of my head:

-American historians and biographers (David McCullough, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Barbara Tuchman, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Joseph Ellis, Ron Chernow, Walter Isaacson, etc.)
-Short stories/novellas
-Drama
-1900-1950 publishing date (following up last year's 19th century)
-Possibly a month or two for countries of North America other than the USA: Canada, Mexico and 20 other countries. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America
-Regional months (authors from New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Midwest, Plains, West Coast, etc.)
-American children's classics
-American immigrant experience, past and present

As to specific authors, some names on my shelves:

Saul Bellow
Bill Bryson
James T. Farrell
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Madeleine L'Engle
Bobbie Ann Mason
William Maxwell
Dorothy Parker
Katherine Anne Porter
I. B. Singer
Faith Sullivan
James Thurber
John Edgar Wideman
Richard Wright

One more theme:
AAC Redux--a book by an author featured in a prior year. Could be a month or the wildcard theme.

I'm loving all these suggestions. It looks like Richard Powers has clinched a spot.

I've been including theme months for the last couple years, I think inspired by the fact that it was difficult for us to get to libraries for a while, and it broadened our choices. I think 3 or 4 theme months works pretty well. And I was toying with the idea of making one of them Canadian authors this year. The question of whether Canada is included in "American" has come up a few times, and I always say "why not?" because the continent gives us a commonality with no political overtones.

I would also recommend we consider Mary Gordon, and Adria Bernardi.

I also prefer themes, maybe some less around "genre" and more around things that are important to the American story or identity (for good or ill) - immigration, the frontier, urban vs rural, bootstrapping, etc. I feel like that sort of thing could generate more discussion. I'm less in favor of obscure authors or ones with limited bodies of work.

That said, I haven't been a great participant so my two cents is probably worth less than even that!

>6 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - Good for Richard Powers - have you read Ben Aliere Saenz?

Why don't y'all chuck in a "Ladies of American Crime" chunk? Anna Katharine Green, Dorothy B. Hughes, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Craig Rice...all worthy of fame for their astounding abilities, many of their works are free on ereaders, and as the world comes out of the man-fog it's a good idea to boost a few of the foremothers into prominence.

I thought I read John Edgar Wideman's name in a comment suggesting it be added to the AAC 2023 honorees. But now I don't see it. Be that as it may, the current issue of The New York Review of Books, which arrived in my mailbox today, has a review that embraces eight of his books. Here's a link to the piece (but I don't know if there's a blockade to non-subscribers):
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/12/22/a-dream-of-a-great-burning-john-edga...
No, I have not read it yet.

>14 weird_O: I nominated Wideman in my message >8 kac522:. I've read 2 of his books, and have a third on my shelf.

And thanks for the link, although there's a paywall, so I could only read the beginning.

>12 m.belljackson: No I haven't Marianne and he would be entirely new to me too.

As would Linda's two suggestions Mary Gordon and Adria Bernardi.

>16 PaulCranswick: Paul - In Perfect Light joins Names on a Map and
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life for 4/5 Star reading,
as does one of the best YA ever: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

A whole new world to look forward to!

>17 m.belljackson: Yes I looked him up on wikipedia and fantastic fiction and he does look like an author worth taking notice of. Thanks for the tip, Marianne. x

>18 PaulCranswick: Ben A. Saenz also writes fun books for kids = I once sent Grandma Fina
to Joe for his little Fina.

The Wiki site is missing some of his novels.

Would be happy with Richard Powers (I'd probably do a reread).

I read my first Percival Everett this year and was impressed. He has quite a back catalogue.

My suggestion for a theme month is to pick a previous AAC year and revisit authors read that year. I'd start with 2014. If it's a hit, then in 2024 there could be a theme month to revisit 2015 authors, etc.

>21 cbl_tn:, I like that idea. It gives people who weren’t around in those months opportunity to read previous authors. Good idea!

>11 katiekrug: I think everyone has responded well to theme months, and I really like them.

>12 m.belljackson:, >17 m.belljackson: Sáenz recommendation noted. I read Aristotle and Dante last year at my daughter's urging. I didn't realize the extent of his body of work.

>13 richardderus: Aside from the fact that reading Ladies of Crime is no challenge (by that I mean "hardship") at all, that's a fine idea!

>14 weird_O:, >15 kac522: Wideman might have been on the consideration list before. Maybe it's his year now.

>21 cbl_tn:, >22 Kristelh: That is a terrific idea. Thanks!

>20 Caroline_McElwee: Percival Everett is new to me, so I'm game to give him a try.

We are getting some very good suggestions. I'll try to put together a list for final approval next week, so if anyone else wants to chime in, now's the time!

>2 PaulCranswick: I'm all for Sharon Kay Penman.

Absent any fervent disagreement, this is the list I will go with for 2023:

JANUARY: Children’s classics
FEBRUARY: Richard Powers
MARCH: Poetry
APRIL: Ursula Hegi
MAY: John Edgar Wideman
JUNE: Mary Gordon
JULY: US Presidents as authors
AUGUST: Percival Everett
SEPT: American Ladies of Crime
OCT,: Dorothy Canfield Fisher
NOV.: Canadian authors
DEC.: Benjamin Alire Saenz
WILD CARD: AAC 2014 REDUX

Looks good--thank you for including Wideman and Canfield Fisher.

Great list--I will try to chat more next year. I've been good at keeping up with the challenges but terrible at posting.

>26 kac522: You came up with such a marvelous list Kathy---I almost offered to turn the challenge admin over to you!

>27 AnneDC: Great, thanks! It is nice to hear a little chat over the selections. But even a "Hi, I read whatever" is welcome, if that's all you feel like.

Hi, Linda. I can't believe you will be going into your 5th year of hosting the AAC. You have done such a fine job, my friend. Unfortunately, I have been a crappy participant. It is tough to keep things fresh and interesting and I think the theme idea is the way to go.

>25 laytonwoman3rd: I like this list. I definitely want to read Percival Everett and the Canadian authors is a great choice.

>25 laytonwoman3rd: Only suggestion would be to hold Richard Powers over for 2 months -
his best books are pretty long.

>28 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda...You've come up with some wonderful ideas and you keep us interested and engaged. I particularly appreciate your vision with current authors; these days I'm mostly stuck in the 19th century.

>29 msf59: Thank you, Mark. I've learned a lot from doing this, and I enjoy it.
>30 m.belljackson: The monthly boundaries are very flexible, and since Powers is between Children's Classics and Poetry, I suspect there is room for him to spread over if necessary.
>31 kac522: Thanks, Kathy. As I said, I'm learning too, but the 19th century isn't a bad place to hang out, literarily speaking!

Best Challenge Selction Yet! > I only had to order three from abe:

Gordon, Everett, and Fisher. The balance rest on my shelves.

>33 m.belljackson: I see your recommendation of Benjamin Alire Saenz made it through, Marianne. I will definitely add something to my library to take account of that and join in.

>25 laytonwoman3rd: Looks like a good vintage to me. I don't read many children's books, so I will probably pick up from Feb. Some new to me writers, and I like having themes too.

Thanks Linda.

>34 PaulCranswick: In Perfect Light and YA Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets are good places to start.

The General Discussion Thread for the AAC 2023 is up. I'll be getting the January thread going in a day or so.