Three Atlanta champions of storytelling, A Cappella Books, Grocery on Home, and the Origin Stories podcast, join forces for a special evening with New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg.

On Thursday, April 30, Attenberg will join Origin Stories' host Matthew Shaer at Grocery on Home for a live taping of an episode about the writing life inspired by Attenberg's newest book, "1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round."

Together they’ll talk about creativity, persistence, and the daily practice of making things, followed by questions from the audience.

Reservations are required for attendance. A suggested donation of $30 includes a signed copy of "1000 Words." A Cappella Books will also be on hand with an additional selection of Attenberg's titles for sale and signing.

Please note: Although tickets are non-refundable, if you cannot attend, your ticket still entitles you to a signed copy of the book. A Cappella Books will hold your book for one month from the event date. You may pick it up in-store or call us to request shipping.

About the Book

Inspired by Jami Attenberg’s wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this “encouraging handbook” (Publishers Weekly) features essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado.

In 2018, novelist Jami Attenberg, faced with a looming deadline, needed writing inspiration. Using a bootcamp model, she and a friend set out to write one thousand words daily for two weeks straight. They opened this practice to Attenberg’s online community and soon hundreds then thousands of people started using the #1000WordsofSummer hashtag to track their work and support one another. What began as a simple challenge between two friends has become a literary movement—write 1,000 words per day without judgement, or bias, or concerns about writer’s block, and see what comes of it.

"1000 Words" is the book-length extension of this movement. It is about becoming—and staying—motivated, discovering yourself and your creative desires, and approaching your craft from a new direction. It features advice from more than fifty well-known writers, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and stars of the literary world. Framing these letters are words of wisdom and encouragement, plus specific strategies, from Attenberg on how to carve out a creative path for yourself all year round.

Paired with vibrant word art illustrations, "1000 Words" is an accessible and motivational craft book that allows you to open any page and get a quick and fulfilling hit of inspiration.

Featuring Roxane Gay, Bryan Washington, Susan Orlean, Maris Kreizman, Sara Novic, Rumaan Alam, Lauren Oyler, Emma Straub, Christopher Gonzales, Benjamin Percy, Mira Jacob, Laura van den Berg, Carmen Maria Machado, Courtney Sullivan, Rebecca Carroll, Ada Limon, R.O. Kwon, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Elissa Watusha, Alexander Chee, Maggie Shipstead, Deesha Philyaw, Jasmine Guillory, Kristen Arnett, Attica Locke, Megan Abbott, Min Jin Lee, Lauren Groff, Andrew Sean Greer, Camille Dungy, Megan Giddings, Isaac Fitsgerald, Hannah Tinti, Michael H. Weber, Celeste Ng, Elizabeth McCracken, Will Leitch, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Morgan Parker, Kiese Laymon, Melissa Febos, Alissa Nutting, Liz Moore, Laila Lalami, Megan Mayhew Berman, Rebecca Makkai, Meg Wolitzer, Mychal Denzel Smith, Josh Gondelman, and Dantiel W. Moniz.

About the Author

Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books, including "The Middlesteins," "All Grown Up," the recently published "A Reason to See You Again," and a memoir, "I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home." She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer and the USA Today bestseller "1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round," which "The Today Show" called the “Best Motivational Read for the New Year.” The Guardian declared her weekly "Craft Talk" newsletter one of the “Top 15 Literary Substacks” and she has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times, The Guardian and others. A new novel, "The Amnesiac," is forthcoming in 2027. She lives in New Orleans, LA.

About the Conversation Partner

Matthew Shaer is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, a fellow at New America, and a co-founder of the podcast studio Campside Media. He also hosts the weekly podcast "Origin Stories," which explores the creative processes of some of the world's best novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, and journalists. Shaer lives in Atlanta with his family and a beagle named Salty Dog.