My muse is the ocean, which means I’m engaged in immersion journalism, literally. Both of my books – The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean and The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks – required reporting when wet; much time on sailboats and Jet Skis and surfboards and research vessels, underwater, in the water, and on deck, wearing bathing suits and wetsuits and a special armored flotation vest that might have helped me survive a tumble on, say, a 70-foot wave. Or not.

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In the literary world, MARY KARR holds the position of grande dame memoirista, a writer whose sassy, often hilarious voice and poet’s vernacular have won the admiration of millions of book lovers across America. [ read ]

Book agent JIM HORNFISCHER compares his job to wildcatting for oil, with lots of dry holes and rarely a gusher. [ read ]