Frequently Asked Questions

Will you sign my book?

Yes, I most certainly will.

Ways you can get signed copies of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE:
1. Come to an event! You can find a schedule of upcoming appearances on my website, under Events/Schools. I’ll happily sign and personalize just-purchased or much-loved copies.
2. You can contact me via email (jacqueline@jacquelinewest.com) and we may be able to make arrangements to send/return a book by postal mail.

Will you visit my school/library/bookstore/house?

Your house…probably not. Unless you kidnap me. (Please don’t kidnap me.) Your school/library/store…I will certainly try.

I love visiting with readers, and I frequently give talks/readings/writing workshops at schools and libraries. If you are a young reader, please ask your teachers, librarians, or administrators to get in touch with me if they are interested in arranging a visit. If you are a teacher, librarian, administrator, or bookseller, you don’t need to ask anyone. Just send me an email. Check the Events/Schools page for more information.

Will you read my book/short story/screenplay/epic poem involving dragons, ballerinas, and lasers?

I wish I could, and I really love dragons and ballerinas, but I’ve had to make a rule against reading aspiring writers’ work. If I promised to read and respond to all of it, I wouldn’t have time to get anything else done. Joining a critique group or attending writers’ workshops would probably be far more helpful anyway, and a quick online search should give you lots and lots of leads.

Best of luck with your writing. I mean it.

 What’s your favorite book?

I have far too many favorite books to name just one. I’ll give you a list instead.

For young readers:
- All of Roald Dahl, especially Matilda
- Everything that I’ve read by Eva Ibbotson is marvelous (Which Witch? might be my favorite)
- The Bunnicula series by James Howe
- All of the Calvin and Hobbes collections, by the brilliant Bill Watterson
- Alice in Wonderland, naturally
- The Hobbit
- Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury (I try to reread this every summer)
- Anne of Green Gables
- Everything by Kate DiCamillo
- A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories

For adults:
Everything by J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Sylvia Plath, the Brontes, and—even though it seems pretentious to say it - William Shakespeare.

For writers:
- Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird
- Stephen King’s On Writing
- Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing
- Everything by Annie Dillard, especially The Writing Life

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jacqueline {AT} jacquelinewest.com