Archive - July 25, 2012

In February 1962, Earle and Rhoda Brooks (Ecuador 1962-64) left home in Illinois to become PCVs in  Manta, Ecuador. Their book  The Barrios of Manta: A Personal Account of the Peace Corps in Ecuador was published by New American Library in 1965. It was one of the first two books written by Peace Corps Volunteers. The other was To The Peace Corps, With Love by Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961-62) published by Doubleday also in 1965. Earle and Rhoda begin their story with their decision to enlist as PCVs. They were assigned to a community development project in Manta, a fishing village on the coast of Ecuador. The jacket of their first edition (a photo of Rhoda embracing an Ecuadorian woman,) was on the cover of National Geographic Magazine in September, 1964 (Vol. 126, No. 3). That issue featured the Peace Corps, Sarge Shriver, Earle and Rhoda Brooks, as well as PCVs in Bolivia, Tanganyika (as it was . . .

As editor of Mediabistro Publishing, Jason Boog (Guatemala 2000-02) curates publishing events, and shapes the digital publishing curriculum at MediaBistro.com. He also edits the GalleyCat blog, and hosts the daily Morning Media Menu podcast. Before MediaBistro.com, Jason was an investigative reporter at Judicial Reports, and a publishing blogger for Know More Media. His work has appeared in The Believer, Granta, Salon.com, The Revealer, and Peace Corps Writers. As part of Mediabistro Literary Festival & Workshops, Jason will be leading a conference session via on How To Build A Social Media Platform for Your Book. Unfortunately registration for the workshop is closed.