“Musings of A Memoirist: From the Slush Pile to the Bestseller List”
Come ready to laugh and maybe shed a few tears on March 3 when bestselling and critically acclaimed author Wade Rouse will share with us what it takes to be a successful memoirist today. Whether or not you are writing a memoir, you are sure to be entertained and learn something of value from Wade's incredible-but-true experience that turned his memoirs into bestsellers.
Wade is the author of five books, including his latest memoir, the IndieBound bestseller, It’s All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays and 50 Boxes of Wine (Crown/Random House). His work has been hailed by The Today Show, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today. He is an acclaimed speaker and member of the prestigious Random House Speakers Bureau.
In his speech to Guild members on March 3, Rouse will:
•Share his personal journey from the slush pile to the bestseller list, including how he landed multiple offers from literary agents without knowing a soul in publishing;
•His secret writing process, which is anything but textbook and formulaic;
•Writing tips, including what he terms the “3 H’s" (Humor, Heart and Honesty), which he learned from Erma Bombeck, his childhood idol and early role model;
•What it's like to hold contracts with three major publishers (for non-fiction, fiction and celebrity anthologies);
•And what memoirists must do today (in addition to writing a great book) to make themselves stand out in the crowd.
He is also the author of the bestselling Today show Must-Read: At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream; the Target Break-out Bestseller, Confessions of A Prep School Mommy Handler; and America’s Boy, selected by Borders as one of its "Best Literary Memoirs of the Year." He has quickly established himself as one of America’s favorite memoirists. He is “wise, witty, wicked” (USA Today), “laugh-out-loud-hilarious” (NBC’s Today show), “engagingly funny memoirist” (Chicago Tribune). Wade is an “impressive voice and original writer” (Washington Post) of “hilarious, riotously funny, catty” (Christian Science Monitor), “savage, touching memoirs” (Advocate) that “belong at the top of any reader's list” (Detroit Free-Press). You don't want to miss this rare opportunity to hear Wade in person!
A Northwestern graduate, Wade’s current book is the humorous dog anthology, I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship, which features essays from 11 New York Times bestsellers and one Tony winner, including a foreword by Chelsea Handler’s dog, Chunk, about their neurotic relationships with their rescue dogs. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Humane Society of the United States. He is a regular contributor to Michigan Public Radio, and is humor columnist for Metrosource magazine and TheBeachCoast.com. He lives in Saugatuck, Michigan, where he battles for bed space with his partner, Gary, and their mutt, Mabel, and they winter in Palm Springs. For more information, please visit: www.WadeRouse.com, www.WadesWriters.com or www.rhspeakers.com.
Note: Wade will also give an in-depth 3-hour workshop on memoir writing for the Guild on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at the UCR Campus.
Click here for the March 17th Memoir Workshop with Bestselling Memoirist Wade Rouse
Prepayment Registration Required.
