Mimi Power and Magnifico: an author's blog

Christmas came for me in November this year, when Magnifico won the 2008 F.G. Bressani prize in the novel category. I was thrilled to be able to attend the awards ceremony at the Italian Cultural Centre (can you see it in my face?). A few days later, I gave an email interview to Anna Foschi, founder of the prize. Here's what she asked, and my replies: What was your first reaction when you learned that you had won the 2008 Bressani prize for the novel category? I am tremendously glad that there is such a prize that connects heritage with literature. For me, the Bressani award is an affirmation of time well spent. It makes me feel that the year I lived every extra moment working on the story was worthwhile. Once a book is published, it goes beyond the author and all that matters is whether it captures the reader’s heart and interest. A prize says this must have happened with the jurors, and they have discovered a book they would like others to know about. There is something else,...

By now you know what a bad blogger I am, that it has to be a really BIG deal to get me to update my blog. Anyone who's done a Barbie cake for the first time knows what I'm talking about. You can't wait for the party to be over so you can throw a picture up on the web, even if your blog is about books, you will do anything to diverge from the subject and show your Barbie cake to the world. There are dozens of websites chronicling the trials and tribulations of doing a Barbie cake. This is just my proof that if I can do it, you can to! All it takes is about $60 of upfront supplies (you could do it for less, but if you are like me and have fear of failure, you will buy more supplies than you need) a night to bake and then the next night to decorate. Give not up if the first hour of decorating leads to a steady strain of self recriminations of the "why did I decide to do this" and mental comparisons to the much better cakes your mother made for you. Persevere! It'...