October 2009 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review: New Novel By James Ciullo (Venezuela 1969-71)

Oct 30 2009

The reviewer, Don Messerschmidt (Nepal 1963-65) is a writer and magazine editor of ECS Nepal, and has published both in the United States and abroad, including non-fiction several books. Here Don reviews James Ciullo’s (Venezuela 1969-71) novel, Maracaibo, that mixes Washington D.C. and international politics with Columbian mercenary intrigue and Venezuelan oil. • Maracaibo by James Ciullo (Venezuela 1969–71) Mainly Murder Press September 2009 312 pages $15.95 Reviewed by Don Messerschmidt, (Nepal 1963-65) If you like fast-paced mystery novels filled with political intrigue in esoteric international settings, with an ex-Peace Corps volunteer character who has gone on (years later) to become a respected US Senator who becomes unwittingly mixed up with assassination and mayhem…, then this is a book for you. At first I thought it was a bit over the top. Could any of this happen? I asked myself. The characters in this novel are too wild (and one . . .

Review: The Brides' Fair by Hal Fleming (PC/W Staff 1966-68)

Oct 30 2009

Monica Mills (PC/W Staff 1995–01) was the Associate Director at the Peace Corps overseeing recruitment; she also ran the Recruiting Office for the Mid-Atlantic region from 1995 to 1999. At Bread for the World since 2006, Monica has led major efforts on reform of the farm bill and the way the U.S. delivers foreign assistance. Here she reviews another PC/W staff member Hal Fleming’s novel The Brides’ Fair. • The Brides’ Fair by Hal Fleming (PC/W Staff 1966-68) PublishAmerica May 2008 212 pages $24.95 Reviewed by Monica Mills (PC/W Staff 1995–01) A strong sense of foreboding permeates the book The Brides’ Fair by Hal Fleming. A wonderful premise, Fleming chooses a local, annual event where women are chosen as brides in the Mid-Atlas Mountains for his story. Disparate characters come together at the fair from Americans around the U.S. embassy, to women from a tribal village, to Arab police officers-even . . .

RPCV Rajiv Joseph Awarded 2009 Whiting Writers' Award

Oct 29 2009

Rajiv Joseph (Senegal 1996-98) the playwright of Animals Out of Paper, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and Gruesome Playground Injuries, has won the 2009 Whiting Writers’ Award in the playwriting category. He joins Mike Meyer (China 1995–97) another recipient of the award. A total of ten awards were given this year and RPCVs won two of them. The awards, which are $50,000 each, totaling $500,000, have been given annually since 1985 to writers “of exceptional talent and promise in early career.” Rajiv is the author of Animals Out of Paper, produced by the Second Stage Theatre and published by Dramatists Play Service; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, produced at the Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theater in Los Angeles and named Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts; and Gruesome Playground Injuries, currently playing at the Alley Theatre in Houston. He has received a . . .

Looking For An Agent? The “N” List

Oct 29 2009

Naggar, Jean Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. 216 E. 75th St., Suite 1E New York NY 10021 Children’s books, general fiction jnaggar@jvnla.com http://www.jvnla.com Naples, Mary Ann The Creative Culture, Inc. 853 Broadway, Suite 1715 New York, NY 10003 Memoir, cooking submissions@thecreativeculture.com http://thecreativeculture.com Nellis, Muriel Literary and Creative Artists, Inc. 3543 Albemarle St. NW Washington, DC 20008 General Fiction, Reference, Science www.lcadc.com Nelson, Craig Craig Nelson 115 W. 18th St., 5th fl. New York, NY 10011 History, Biography, Memoirs craig2@hotmail.com Home Nelson, Jandy Manus and Associates Literary Agency 375 Forest Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 General Fiction, Reference, Business/Investing/Finance, Health jandy@manuslit.com www.manuslit.com

RPCV Jesse Lonergan Writes Graphic Novel About Turkmenistan

Oct 28 2009

Joe & Azat by Jesse Lonergan (Turkmenistan 2005-07) is a graphic novel coming out next month. It is based loosely on Lonergan’s Peace Corps experience in the former Soviet Republic. This graphic novel is about an “American Joe” who finds in Turkmenistan a good friend, Azat, who is a Turkman dreamer. The novel is full of desert cab rides, vodka shots, secret girlfriends, and Turkman’s business schemes. Reviewers write that “Lonergan captures not only the bizarreness of living in a country where the president for life launches copies of his poetry books into space, outlaws gold teeth and renames the months and days, but also reveals that there is hope in seemingly hopeless situations.” Lonergan is the writer and artist of the novel and creates an “eternally optimistic and enthusiastic Turkmen who has an idealized view of America, plus grandiose dreams of business success and romantic love.” Sound familiar? Azat is a great character. . . .

RPCV Michael Meyer Wins Whiting Award

Oct 28 2009

RPCV Michael Meyer (China 1995-97) and author of The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed, published by Walker & Company in 2008 has been named a recipient of a 2009 Whiting Writers’ Award, one of ten given this year. The award, worth $50,000, is given annually to ” writers of exceptional talent and promise.” Mike, who will receive the award this evening, is leaving shortly for China to work on his next book. Whiting Writers’ Awards candidates are proposed by anonymous nominators from across the country. And the winners are chosen by a small anonymous selection committee of recognized writers, literary scholars, and editors, appointed annually by the Foundation. The Foundation accepts nominations only from the designated nominators. This year’s winners include several who have just published or will soon publish a first book. Although some were born in such far-flung places . . .

Looking For An Agent? The “M” List

Oct 28 2009

Maass, Donald Donald Maass Literary Agency 160 West 95th St., Suite 1B New York, NY 10025 Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Crime, General Fiction,Humor dmaass@maassagency.com Front Page Maccoby, Gina Gina Maccoby Literary Agency P.O. Box 60 Chappaqua NY 10514 General Fiction, Children’s, Reference gmaccoby@aol.com Malpas, Pamela Harold Ober Associates 425 Madison Ave. New York NY 10017 General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, History, Biography, Memoirs, Reference, Science, Health, Business/Investing/Finance, Graphic Novels, Children’s, Art, Mystery, Thriller pmalpas@haroldober.com http://www.haroldober.com Mandel, Daniel Sanford J. Greenburger Associates 55 Fifth Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10003 General Fiction, History, Religion/Spirituality, Business/Investing/Finance,Biography, Memoirs www.greenburger.com Mandel, Jay William Morris 1325 Ave. of the Americas, 11th Fl. New York, NY 10019 General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Memoir, Sports, History, Politics/Current Affairs, Children’s http://www.wma.com Mann, Carol Carol Mann Agency 55 Fifth Avenue New York, NY I 0003 History/Politics/Current Affairs, Humor, Business/Investing/Finance, Religion/Spirituality,Memoirs, Advice/Relationships, Reference,Parenting, Biography, Health carol@carolmannagency.com , Manus, Janet Manus and Associates Literary . . .

RPCV Lawrence Lihosit Launches Campaign To Save Peace Corps Books

Oct 27 2009

This is a letter that Larry Lihosit, who served in Honduras, is sending around to congress and the senate seeking to establish at the Library of Congress a Special Collection of Peace Corps books. He is particularly interested in books that are self-published and have limited circulation. This is a very good idea, I think. We need ‘places’ where researchers someday might turn to find out who, what, where, when and how of the Peace Corps. With the disappearance of books in our world, the Library of Congress is a good location. Or as Hemingway said, “a clear, well lighted place.” Larry wrote me: “I am taking this opportunity to continue my campaign to cajole for the creation of a Peace Corps Experience Collection at the Library of Congress. I sent the attached letter to my congressman, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, and Barack Obama. I intend to resend it . . .

Looking For An Agent? The “L” List

Oct 26 2009

Lange, Heide Sandford J. Greenburger Associates 55 Fifth Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10003 General Non-fiction www.greenburger.com Lansky, Vicky The Book Peddlers 15245 Minnetonka Blvd. Minnetonka, MN 55345 History, General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Parenting, Advice/Relationships, Health, Children’s www.bookpeddlers.com Lantz, Robert The Lantz Office 247 West 87th Street – 24G New York, NY 10024-2850 General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Art, Reference Rlantz@lantzoffice.com www.lantzoffice.com Larsen, Michael Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency 1029 Jones Street San Francisco, CA 94109 General Non-Fiction, Reference, Health larsen-pomada.com Laster, Owen William Morris 1325 Ave. of the Americas, 11th Fl. New York, NY 10019 General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Memoir, Sports, History, Politics/Current Affairs, Children’s www.wma.com Lazear, Jonathon Lazear Agency, Inc. 431 2nd St., Suite 300 Hudson WI 54016 General Non-Fiction, Health, Religion/Spirituality,Reference, Parenting info@lazear.com www.lazear.com Lazin, Sarah Sarah Lazin Books 126 Fifth Ave., Suite 300 New York, NY 10011 Pop Culture, Health slazin@lazinbooks.com www.lazinbooks.com Leavitt, Ned Ned Leavitt Agency 70 . . .

Does The Peace Corps Really Matter?

Oct 26 2009

I like this question–Does the Peace Corps Really Matter?– and the conversations and discussions that it provokes. It brings the idea of the agency back to mind. I have been hearing people since the Nixon years trashing the Peace Corps, all of us were ‘draft dodgers” Tricky Dick said. Eisenhower called us a “juvenile experiment,” and the Daughters of the American Revolution warned of a “yearly drain” of “brains and brawn…for the benefit of “backward, underdeveloped countries.” (A year after all of these “wise” pronouncements, Time magazine declared in a cover story that the Peace Corps was “the greatest single success the Kennedy administration had produced.”) It is good for the agency when the whole idea of ‘The Peace Corps” is in the public currency. The problem today is that while the agency is ‘Mom’s apple pie’ in the minds of most Americans, the next question most Americans ask is: ‘Does the Peace Corps still . . .

Water

Oct 24 2009

The following was the 1998 recipient of the Moritz Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award presented by Peace Corps Writers for the best short description of life in the Peace Corps. • Water by Rachel Schneller (Mali 1996–98) WHEN A WOMAN CARRIES WATER on her head, you see her neck bend outward behind her like a crossbow. Ten liters of water weighs twenty-two pounds, a fifth of a woman’s body weight, and I’ve seen women carry at least twenty liters in aluminum pots large enough to hold a television set. To get the water from the cement floor surrounding the outdoor hand pump to the top of your head, you need help from the other women. You and another woman grab the pot’s edges and lift it straight up between you. When you get it to head height, you duck underneath the pot and place it on the wad of rolled . . .

First National Advisory Council To The Peace Corps

Oct 23 2009

[Jim Sheahan (Sierra Leone 1963-65) was kind enough to send me this list of the first National Advisory Council to the Peace Corps. I thought you’d like to see who what was where when.] NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Honorary Chairman The Honorable William O. Douglas, Associate Justice I Supreme Court, United States Chairman The Honorable Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice President, United States Vice Chairman Dr. Mary Bunting, President, Radcliffe College David E. Lilienthal, Chairman, Development and Resources Corp. Rev. James Robinson, Director, Operation Crossroads Africa Thomas J. Watson, Jr., President, IBM Corp. Members Dr. Leona Baumgartner, Comm. of Health, New York City Joseph Beirne, President, Communications Workers of America Harry Belafonte, New York City Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Chaplain, Yale University LeRoy Collins, President, Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters Rev. John J. Considine, M.M., Director, Latin America Bureau National Catholic Welfare Conference Colonel Henry Crown, General Dynamics Corp. Dr. Albert Dent, President. . . .

Looking For An Agent? The “K” List

Oct 22 2009

Kaliski, Michael Omniquest Entertainment 1416 N. La Brae Ave. Hollywood CA 90028 Reference, Art, Business/Investing/Finance mk@omniquestmedia.com www.omniquestmedia.com Karchmar, Dorian William Morris Agency 1325 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10019 Memoir, Parenting (212)903-1100 dkar@wma.com http://www.wma.com Kartsev, Vladimir P. Fort Ross, Inc. Russian-American Publishing Projects 26 Arthur Place Yonkers NY 10701-1703 General Fiction, Reference fort.ross@verizon.net www.fortross.net Kier, Mary Alice Cine/Lit P.O. Box 802918 Santa Clarita, CA 91380 Reference, Art, Narrative Fiction, History cinelit@msn.com Kirkland, Linda Samuel French, Inc. 45 West 25th Street New York, NY 10010 General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Art, Lifestyle, Narrative Fiction, Religion/Spirituality, Business/Investing/Finance www.samuelfrench.com Klinger, Harvey Harvey Klinger, Inc. 301 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10017 Mystery/Crime Klingerinc@aol.com Knappman, Edward New English Publishing Associates P.O. Box 5 Chester, CT 06412 General Non-Fiction, Biography, Memoirs, Reference, Business/Investing/Finance www.nepa.com Knight, Deidre The Knight Agency P.O. Box 550648 Atlanta, GA 30355 Religion/Spirituality, Women’s/Romance, Children’s, Inspirational, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Advice/Relationships Home Knowlton, . . .

Looking For An Agent? The “J” List

Oct 21 2009

Jackson, Jennifer Dondld Maass Literary Agency 160 West 95th St., Suite 1B New York, NY 10025 Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Women’s/Romance, Graphic Novel, jjackson@maassagency.com Front Page Jacobson, Emilie Curtis Brown Ltd. 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003 General Fiction, Reference, Parenting, Children’s, History, Politics/Current Affairs, Sci-Fi/Fantasy EJj@CBltd.com www.curtisbrown.com Johnson, Greg Wordserve Literary Group 10152 S. Knoll Circle Highlands Ranch CO 80130 Memoir, Religion/Spirituality, Inspirational, Parenting, Advice/Relationships, Anthology, Narrative Non-Fiction greg@wordserveliterary.com www.wordserveliterary.com

An Idea For The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Corps

Oct 21 2009

Over the last year we have had a number of meetings taking place within the Peace Corps regarding the 50th Anniversary, meetings organized by the old administration and now with the new director, Aaron Williams. Some of these proposals for what to do on the Anniversary are on the Peace Corps website. Take a look. Representatives of the NPCA have been asked to attend the Peace Corps meetings, but unfortunately they have not been able to bring much influence or many ideas to the table. While the NPCA has a limited membership (maybe 4k) they have a good database of recent RPCVs. The Peace Corps’ lists are longer and more accurate, however. The Peace Corps didn’t track RPCVs until RPCV Carol Bellamy came into the office in 1993. She put together a data base then of about 90,000 names and addresses of RPCVs. The NPCA (since the 25th Reunion in 1986) has had reunions, but not since Kevin Quigley, the CEO and President . . .

Archive - October 2009