Books: Writing In a New Convertible with the Top Down by Sheila Bender & Christi Killien

by Missy Frye

Image © Agata Urbaniak

Poet and novelist Sheila Bender and children’s book author Christi Killien were two writers who tended to address their problems by writing books about them. After meeting and bonding at a writer’s conference, they returned to their respective cities and embarked on a correspondence that addressed their approaches to writing and the ways they use their personal lives as their starting place for new work. They wrote from their kitchen tables, from restaurants and airplanes, from high and low moods. And over time, they realized that through their correspondence, they were writing a book to inspire and guide authors.

Writing in a New Convertible with the Top Down continues to guide and inspire. This is the second edition of the book generated by Bender and Killien’s supportive—and empowering—relationship. Each shares freely about the writer’s unavoidable loneliness and sense of rejection—but also the breakthroughs and the joys of having written. They also offer practical tips, exercises, and articles for every writer struggling to “shift into creative gear” and “share the road’s bumps and treasures.”

Both authors have used the book in workshops and readings since publication of the first edition in 1992, and they hear frequently back from readers who credit it with helping them access metaphors about writing in their own lives.

The book, with a new introduction by Bender, is now available to read entirely for free on Libertary: Writing In a New Convertible with the Top Down. It is formatted for comfortable reading on the web, with a table of contents for easy navigation, a search feature, and a discussion forum for readers and writers who wish to share. The Libertary edition concludes with a selection of articles from Bender’s unique online guide to writing, Writing It Real, at http://writingitreal.com.

Readers of Writing In a New Convertible who want to own a bound version of the book will also have the opportunity to purchase a print-on-demand paperback edition from the site.

For more information contact Editor@Libertary.com.

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