About this project
In T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party," a character calls his wife's attempt at hosting a salon her "amateur thursdays." His telling of these gatherings is both hilarious and unforgiving. By calling our literary web show AMATEUR THURSDAYS we set the tone for humor, glamour and intelligence.
Each week we'll post a five-minute episode with writers -- upcoming and established, famous and unknown -- talking to each other about their current readings. The show will be available for free on our website, which will also feature independent video book reviews by a variety of readers.
To us and hopefully many others, reading is one of the great joys of life. We want to make a show as mesmerizing and fun as reading is to us. One of us worked on an entertaining and successful literature program in Italy and the other produced television and live events for PBS and The Daily Beast. With our collective production and editorial experience, AMATEUR THURSDAYS will be a literature webcast like no other.
And you'll be able to judge this book show by its cover, thanks to our director, Francesco Carrozzini, a fashion photographer and director who created the NYTimes.com "screentest" celebrity interviews. More recently he directed a video about Jane Austen that was shown at the Morgan Library. (Please see Francesco's website for more info about him.)
We've lined up an exceptionally talented production and editorial team but we still need to pay for camera and sound crews, equipment, insurance and editing. By producing exceptional pilot episodes we'll attract corporate sponsors that will help the series continue. We would like AMATEUR THURSDAYS to be around for a long time.
Be sure to check here for regular updates on BOOKS AVAILABLE at the $100+ PLEDGE LEVEL:
Nathan Englander, The Ministry of Special Cases
Maaza Mengiste, Beneath the Lion's Gaze
Stefan Merril block, The Story of Forgetting
Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe , The Fabric of the Cosmos
George Prochnik, In Pursuit of Silence
Antonio Monda, Do You Believe?
Lila Azam Zanganeh, My Sister, Guard Your Veil
Colm Toibin, Brooklyn . (Mr. Toibin will only be able to sign his books in November, so please be aware that you will have to wait until then if you choose to receive an autographed copy.)
Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation
Come to our AMATEUR THURSDAYS and listen to readers and writers discuss what they're reading, skimming or altogether skipping.
Thanks for your support!
Giovanna and Alison
P.S. Our special thanks to Vincent Liota, Alexis Maida and Marina Sagona
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on August 6, 2010.
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THRIFT, THRIFT, HORATIO. Kickstarter donors get an exclusive preview to the first two Amateur Thursdays shows.
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MAXIMUS IN MINIMIS: Get an exclusive preview of our entire website, including shows, book reviews and blogs.
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A one-year subscription to Tin House magazine (www.tinhouse.com)
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SWEETS TO THE SWEET: All of the above + a pencil with our logo on it.
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O,WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE: We'll post a link to your website from our blog.
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TO THE HAPPY FEW: An Amateur Thursdays gorgeous book bag, designed by artist Marina Sagona, is yours.
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MEDICINE FOR THE SOUL: A book autographed to you by one of today's most brililiant authors. Look to your left on this screen for a regularly updated list of available books.
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NEW REWARD: A book by Italo Calvino "autographed" by his newest direct descendent. See update #1 for visual evidence.
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BEWARE OF THE MEN OF ONE BOOK: You get not one but TWO autographed books.
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RARA AVIS: Our infinite gratitude and THREE books. You are set for your summer vacation.
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EVERY INCH A KING (or Queen): Give us $1000 and you will be listed as Associate Producer of our show.
Project By
Connected as Giovanna Calvino
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Giovanna Calvino is an adjunct professor of Italian and comparative literature at New York University. She produced Futurist evenings and other unruly literary events at Princeton, The Cooper Union and Off-off-Broadway. She also worked as a producer and host on two shows for Italian television. For the past couple of years Giovanna has been moderating a French book club at the Alliance Francaise in New York. She has a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania.
PRODUCER: Alison Snyder is a science journalist whose writing has appeared in Scientific American, The Scientist and The Lancet. She graduated from MIT with a degree in chemical engineering and studied botany at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand on a Fulbright scholarship. After earning a masters degree in science journalism at New York University, she worked as an associate producer for the PBS series NOVA scienceNOW, then as a producer for the World Science Festival and The Daily Beast.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Fabrice Rozié is a writer and diplomat who worked as the Literary Attaché and Director of Scholarly Exchange for the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in New York from 2004 to 2007. A specialist in policies that promote literary translation, he is on the board of Centre National du Livre (Paris) and on the faculty of the University St. Etienne and the Political Science Institute in Paris. His first play, Transatlantic Liaison, was staged at the Theatre Marigny in Paris, and at Harold Clurman Theater in New York in 2006. He writes for Le Monde des Livres and Die Zeit.
