Our Blog

Around the World in 80(ish) Doughnuts for National Doughnut Day!

 

(Image via Flickr)

 

Forget love: doughnuts are the international language. And they should be celebrated! Though a holiday like “National Doughnut Day” generally implies we should only care about American ones, when it comes to doughnuts, it’s all about spreading the love far and wide. And in turn, everyone else should also share their doughnuts with us on this, our joyous holiday. It’s only fair. If you went on a doughnut expedition (or pilgrimage, depending on your feelings) around the world, what would you see and eat? Here are some of the doughy morsels you shouldn’t miss.

The Good ol’ USA: Since the National Doughnut Day thing started in the USA, we should start our tour there! Head into grocery stores or actual doughnut shops to taste the wonderful fried dough in varying shapes, sizes and flavors. I personally like plain hole-in-the-middle doughnuts with plain glaze, but maybe you’re the type that doesn’t want holes in their pastries and prefers them to be creme-filled.

Or maybe you like bite-sized and powdered. Heck, maybe you want them chocolate-flavored with extra chocolate icing and sprinkles. Whatever your preference is, you’ll find it somewhere. And you must, because, as Krispy Kreme says, you (the consumer) are “the center of the doughnut.” You fill in that void. (d’aww) Feeling extra adventurous? Try a Luther Burger (that’s a burger with doughnuts for buns, for the uninitatied and hungry).

Posted by Kristina Pino

Quirk Books’ “Looking For Love” Fiction Contest

Hello, writers. We’re Quirk Books.

We’ve brought you bestselling YA fantasies, Edgar award-winning mysteries, and masterpieces of zombie literature.

But looking back at all the weird and wonderful books we've published, we can't help but ask ourselves… where is the love

To answer that age-old question, we're announcing the Quirk Books “Looking for Love” Fiction Contest. First prize is $10,000 AND publication by Quirk Books. We’re looking for love stories that are fresh, fun, and strikingly unconventional. Boy Meets Girl. Girl Meets Girl. Girl Meets Shark. Shark Meets Pirate. Anything goes!

Except vampires. Sorry.

Win us over, knock us out, and show us what we're missing! The contest deadline is October 1st, 2013. For official rules and entry form, click the Download Entry Form button above. Good luck! 

UPDATE: I wanted to let everyone know that we've reached a decision regarding the Looking for Love Fiction Contest. If you haven't been contacted by a representative of Quirk Books, we encourage you to submit your manuscript elsewhere, and we wish you the best of luck placing your manuscript with another house. We would like to thank everyone for sharing their stories with us.

Posted by Eric Smith

Eight Literary Hats You Can Totally Crochet Yourself

Crocheters of the world, take heed! You don’t need Funny Hat Day as an excuse to look for new ideas. Browse no further than this handy list of literary hats and their corresponding online crochet patterns. The best part? You don’t need to be kid-sized to wear the finished products in the case of nearly every listing here. (Since one of my goals for 2013 is to improve my beginner-level crochet skills, I don’t have any patterns of my own to share, but I’ve got no problem highlighting the work of other brilliant yarnworkers).

Sherlock Holmes’ Deerstalker Hat
For those of you feeling a bit more mysterious, or even ingenious, you can download a free pattern designed by Colleen Sullivan (pictured above) and impress your friends with your elementarily excellent needle-ship. If you’re really really into the idea of solving mysteries, you could try out this advanced-rated pattern with no photo of what the finished product should look like. Are you game enough to find out?
The Cat in the Hat’s Hat
This is, perhaps, one of the most iconic literary hats in history–it’s right in the title! Dr Seuss’ famous Cat in the Hat character wears one of the goofiest hats around, and you’re just a few quick stitches away from joining him. Rebecca Goldsmith has an excellent pattern for sale at the Desert Diamond Etsy shop that comes with instructions on making the hat in four differnet sizes.

Posted by Kristina Pino

Four Literary Pub Crawls We Love

(Image via Flickr)

Nothing goes better with a book than a nice glass of wine. Or a cold beer. Or a shot of whiskey. I think some of our greatest authors knew that, too, and that’s why they spent much of their time in pubs. In some of the world’s great literary cities, you can take a tour of these bars and pubs, seeing where our most celebrated literary minds spoke, fought, wrote, and drank.

So I’ve pulled together a short list of my favorite cities for literary lushes like myself. But don’t stop here—after all, what pub crawl wouldn’t be better with a book in your back pocket?

Posted by Brian Morell

Macaroon? Macaron? Madness! Bake Them Both!

Potato, potahto, macaroon, macaron…

Have you ever tried a macaroon? You know, the sweet treat with coconut? Or you may think it’s the deliciously cute sandwich cookies made with nut flours. If you do some research on (I mean Google) the macaroons vs. macarons issue, you’ll find thousands of websites and blogs debating the difference between the two.  Some people argue that macaroons are both the coconut confection and the gorgeous almond flour treat, while others argue that the two should never be considered the same. But both accounts are right! Kind of. Macaroons and macarons may be very different, but they have one important thing in common—they’re delicious!

In anticipation of National Macaroon Day on 5/31, I spent last week doing what most people do before a big D.I.Y. project – pinning inspiration to my board on Pinterest. For the macaroons I decided on these delicious S’Mores Macaroon Bars and then took inspiration from this extremely helpful book to create S’mores Macarons. After procuring all of the ingredients I spent Sunday baking macaroons (err, macaroons and macarons).

I’ve made macarons before but had never tried my hand at macaroons. In a matter of 5 minutes they were in the oven, and just half an hour later I was enjoying these gooey treats…steeling myself up all the while for the precision and patience that is needed for macarons.

Posted by Nicole De Jackmo

Fast and Furious 6: The Fast and the Fuwious

This weekend, the long-awaited Fast and Furious 6 finally hits the screen. Fans of the franchise can expect plenty of fast-paced action, car chases, explosions, and perhaps a resolution of the sexual tension between Dominic Toretto and Luke Hobbs.

But did you know that this sequel is based on a popular children's book?

To get you pumped for an awesome, pulse-pounding 130 minutes of pure excitement, here are some samples from The Fast and Furious 6 Children's Story and Adventure Book. Because all roads lead to this! (They really don't).

Posted by Rick Chillot