New York: Time Books / Henry Holt, (2003). SIGNED hardcover first edition - More than 40 contemporary writers explore the literary life in a this collection of inspiring essays. "The pieces ranges from taciturn, hilarious advice for aspiring writers to thoughtful, soul-wrenching reflections on writing in the midst of national tragedy. William Kennedy talks about the intersecting lives of real and imagined Albany politics; Susan Isaacs reveals her nostalgia for a long-retired protaganist; and Elmore Leonard offers pithy rules for letting the writing, and not the writer, take charge." Other contributors include Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, Ann Beattie, Geraldine Brooks, Frank Conroy, Chitra Divakaruni, Allegra Goodman, Kathryn Harrison, Mary Karr, Elinor Lipman, David Mamet, Patrick McGrath, Arthur Miller, P. J. ORourke, Ann Patchett, Anna Quinlan, James Sallis, Amy Tan, and Edmund White. Introduction by Jane Smiley. SIGNED by TWO authors at their essays: Ann Beattie and David Shields. 265 pp. ISBN: 0-805073612.