Wednesday, January 18, 2006

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

I rang up my local Waterstones to see if they had a copy of "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers"by YiYun Li, winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story award and the subject of rave reviews.
"No, but we could order it for you....it will take about 10 to 14 days."

So I clicked on www.Amazon.com, and the book arrived in the following morning's post......is it any wonder the chairman of Waterstones has resigned?

Now I would quite happily have waited 2/3 days because I like going into Waterstones, I like browsing through their books. All they had to do was order it themselves over the internet......and give me a ring.
So, they have yet another lost customer.


Link:www.annshaw.net
www.zen2Go.blogspot.com

Monday, January 16, 2006

Art+Tech in the 21st century conference- update

Well, all our speakers are in place so now its time to drum up some publicity for the event.
The following press release has been sent out to the media.:

Art+Tech in the 21st century- Stirling conference
Artists working with digital technologies will be the subject of a one day conference to be held in Stirling.
It will take place in The Changing Room gallery on Saturday January 28th from 10.am – 5pm.
This is a NAN (Networking Artists Network) initiative organised by local artists Ann Shaw and Karen Howard.
The keynote speech will be given by Beryl Graham, Professor of New Media Art at Sunderland University who will talk on the role of New Media in the creation of art today.
Others taking part include Richard Brown artist- in- residence at Edinburgh University and Sarah Kettley who is researching computers implanted into jewellery to aid communication .
New Media Scotland, the arts charity set up to help artists in this emerging field, will also talk about their role in supporting artists.
Says Ann Shaw:” We aim to bring together as diverse a group as possible to show the breadth of work that is being undertaken by artists today whose use of New Technologies is integral to their creative process.
“We are also inviting artists who wish to attend to bring along some sample of their work, if they wish, either as digital photos, text, or on DVD to share with others in the group discussions.”
The conference is free but places are limited so booking is essential.
To reserve a place email: events@a-n.co.uk
Anyone wanting further information should ring either Ann Shaw (01786 832287) or Karen .Howard (01506.84.2419)
This conference is supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Artist Newsletter magazine, New Media Scotland and The Changing Room Gallery.