Julie Fogliano’s first picture book began as a late-night thought sent to a friend: “First, you have brown.” Fogliano, a New York Times bestselling children’s author who has lived in West Shokan for 20 years, was then raising two young children and trying to find her voice through a daily writing practice. The thought became […]
Books
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Overlook
Peter Pan’s Catskills Connection Highlighted in New Essay Collection
A new essay collection published by Purple Mountain Press highlights an unexpected connection between the Catskills and one of literature’s most enduring characters: Peter Pan. “Peter Pan in the Catskills and Other Historical Essays,” released last month, gathers 33 essays first published in Catskill Tri-County Historical Views, a journal of the Gilboa Museum and Juried […]
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Woodstock
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Abigail Thomas Part 2
Abigail Thomas, a Woodstock resident for the last 22 years, has had a remarkable 60-plus-year literary journey as an award-winning author of memoirs, novels, short stories, essays, poems and children’s books. Early in her career, Abby worked as a “slush reader” for Viking Press, a book editor, and a literary representative. She has also been […]
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Woodstock
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Abigail Thomas
Abigail Thomas, a Woodstock resident for the last 22 years, has had a remarkable 60-plus-year literary journey as an award-winning author of memoirs, novels, short stories, essays, poems and children’s books. Early in her career, Abby worked as a “slush reader” for Viking Press, a book editor, and a literary representative. She has also been […]
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Shandaken
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Rebecca Rego Barry
Rebecca Rego Barry is a bibliophile, a book historian, library preservationist, archivist, magazine editor, and the author of hundreds of articles, essays, book reviews, and two books. Rebecca lives in Chichester, a hamlet of Shandaken, with her husband Brett Barry, the host of the popular Catskills’ podcast “Kaatscast.” The couple recently became part owners of […]
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Overlook
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Mikhail Horowitz
Mikhail Horowitz is a poet, writer, journalist, musician, satirist, performance artist and activist who has written more than 3,000 poems (“maybe 25 are any good,” he says), along with book reviews, spoofs and satires. His work includes “Spoon River Apology,” performed at the Woodstock Community Center last June. Horowitz lived in the Town of Saugerties […]
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Olive
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Martha Frankel
Martha Frankel is the ultimate storyteller. Founder of the Woodstock BookFest, producer of Woodstock’s Story Slams, a book writer, book reviewer, essayist and celebrity profiler, writing teacher and editor, she does it all. In her conversation with The Overlook, Martha reflects on her love for personal storytelling and her life as a multi-venue storyteller, “I’m […]
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Woodstock
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Elizabeth Lesser
A longtime Woodstock resident, New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Lesser is the co-founder of the Omega Institute, a two-time TED speaker, and one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100—a group of leaders recognized for using their voices to elevate humanity. In her conversation with The Overlook, Lesser reflected on her literary and spiritual journey, […]
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Woodstock
Bob Dylan Might Be His Father. His Mother Is the Story.
When Sam Sussman stood in the doorway of his mother’s farmhouse in upstate New York one summer evening, nothing could have prepared him for what she had concealed. A blue dress hung from her gaunt shoulders. Her auburn hair was now fragile and gray. Just 24 hours earlier she had told him she had cancer […]
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Woodstock
Woodstock Library Fair Marks 94th Year With Parade, Music, and Community Spirit
The 94th annual Woodstock Library Fair returns this Saturday, July 26, from 10 am to 5 pm, bringing music, food, children’s activities, and a vibrant sense of community back to the “Forever Green” Library Lawn at the Woodstock Public Library. More than just a fundraiser, the fair has become a cultural institution—rooted in local history […]
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Hurley
A Life in Search of Wholeness: Gail Straub’s Memoir Bridges Worlds, Inner and Outer
Gail Straub stands in the meditation room of her A-frame home perched above the Ashokan Reservoir in West Hurley, as she does most mornings. Soft light filters through forested round windows, revealing the green expanse of the southern bowl of the Catskills. It’s a meticulously curated retreat for Straub and her husband, the social change […]
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Author Adam Snyder to Discuss “Kingston 76” at Book Event
An event will take place Sunday, April 13, at 12:30 p.m. at Mountain View Studio, featuring a conversation between author and musician Adam Snyder and journalist Peter Aaron. Snyder’s debut novel “Kingston 76” is set in working-class Kingston, New York, in 1976. While 12-year-old Timothy Miller’s mother and her new partner host a women’s support […]
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Martha Frankel Is Hosting a Dinner Party of Sorts for Books—And She Wants You to Come
Once told she’d never be a writer, Martha Frankel turned rejection into reinvention. From celebrity profiles to poker addiction to the beloved Woodstock Bookfest, her story is one of second acts, community, and above all, books.
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The Body Is a Doorway: Sophie Strand’s Radical Reframing of Illness
In her new memoir, the Woodstock writer challenges conventional narratives about healing and finds wisdom in sharing ideas.
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Lisa Phillips on Teen Love, Heartbreak, and the Conversations Parents Should Have
The author and SUNY New Paltz professor discusses her new book “First Love,” which guides parents and teens through relationships, breakups, and communication.
