"New and Emerging Doesn't Necessarily Mean Young"

Video from Poets & Writers' "5 Over 50" reading and panel, featuring Madhushree Ghosh, David Santos Donaldson, Shareen K. Murayama, Jane Campbell, and Sari Botton.

Good news for those who were unable to attend Poets & Writers’ “5 Over 50” virtual reading and panel last week, celebrating five authors who published their debut books after they were 50: the magazine has now made the video available for everyone.

The evening began with a great series of brief, varied readings by memoirist and food writer Madhushree Ghosh, author of Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory, and Family; essayist and memoirist Sari Botton (aka “me”), author of And You May Find Yourself...; novelist David Santos Donaldson, author of Greenland; poet Shareen K. Murayama, author of Housebreak; and “proud octogenarian” short story writer Jane Campbell, author of Cat Brushing. It was followed by a lively discussion about the challenges—and blessings—inherent in publishing later in life, especially in a youth-obsessed field and culture. The evening was hosted and moderated by Poets & Writers editor-in-chief Kevin Larimer.

(Not only is Larimer a skilled editor and moderator—he also managed to edit out an F-bomb that an attendee accidentally issued early on, before muting! You’ll hear us joke about it at the end of the video.)

Poets & Writers capped off their annual “5 over 50” feature and the event by putting all of our books on a list in their virtual store at Bookshop.org—the wonderful alternative to Amazon that actually raises money for independent booksellers, rather than undercutting them and putting them out of business. Go grab the books!

Thanks to the more than 300 people who did attend! Being chosen for Poets & Writers’ annual “5 Over 50” feature is honestly one of the greatest honors of my career. Taking part in this event made it all the more exciting, and real.

I hope you enjoy the video, and that you might consider checking out our books! They’d make great holiday gifts…just saying.

- Sari