Mighty, mighty pen: LitPAC is a coalition of authors that is planning a series of readings around the country to register voters and raise money for liberal candidates in the upcoming congressional elections.
Among those involved are Dave Eggers (“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency), Jane Smiley (“Horse Heaven,” “Thousand Acres”) and Daniel Handler, aka “Lemony Snicket.”
“We feel we can raise $75,000 in hard money for congressional candidates, at $5,000 apiece,” says LitPAC executive director Stephen Elliott, who has written four novels and a political memoir, “Looking Forward to It.”
“We’re not George Soros; we’re not going to make a massive impact. But if you ask any non-incumbent candidate if $5,000 is a big chunk of money, they’ll tell you it’s a very big chunk of money.”
Other LitPAC authors include Mary Gaitskill, whose “Veronica” was a finalist for the National Book Award, Tobias Wolff (“Colected Stories,” “This Boy’s Life”), Rick Moody (“Garden State,” “The Diviners”) and Anthony Swofford (“Jarhead : A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.”)
What’s interesting to me is these authors are, except for Swofford, not overly political in their writing. They certainly are not militants. But it’s still way cool that they are doing this, so if they come to a bookstore or school near you, go.
