Dear Everybody by Michael Kimball
Recently I had the opportunity to talk to Michael Kimball, author of three novels, including Dear Everybody, and man behind Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story. He was really easy to talk to and a great sport.
I first asked Mr. Kimball about the creation of his project Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story, since it's such a unique experience pairing ordinary people with, in a sense, a biographer. The invention of the project has already been documented, but it was created almost as a joke at a performance arts festival when Mr. Kimball was asked by the curator what sort of performing art a writer could contribute. However, the joke proved to be a hit and Mr. Kimball has written the life story of dozens of people from all over the U.S. and the world. Mr. Kimball even had his life story written.
Mr. Kimball is also one of the hosts of the 510 Readings, one of Baltimore's few series dedicated to fiction reading. The series is once a month and features four authors reading their work. It is immensely popular and usually the authors read in front of a packed house.
Some of the authors participating in the 510 Readings do not have their books published by the larger publishing houses, but are excellent writers. Even in these tough economic times with many of the larger publishing houses declining to take on any new authors; Mr. Kimball sees it as a positive for independent publishers to gobble up the best new writers available. He further expressed the indie publishers are more effective in inexpensive Internet marking and promotion than their larger cousins, which is in turn closing the gap for readers of every genre. This could be the future of American literature.
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