Help me create the most comprehensive list of movies about writers online. Here’s what I have so far…(my husband, Jason, helped me with this list–I only got to about 50 on my own).

A couple of notes about this list: I have not seen all of these films, so sometimes I am relying on research. Let me know if anything on the list does not involve or revolve around a writer.

Many if not most of these films, are not appropriate for children. Just FYI.

I did not include broadcast journalists, just writers: tv writers, screen writers, mystery writers, children’s writers, playwrights, comedy writers, poets, novelists, you name it.

(* indicates writer mama movies, not always flattering portrayals)

1. Motherhood (2009)*
2. Driving in Cars with Boys (2001)*
3. The Prize-winner of Defiance Ohio (2005)*
4. Running with Scissors (2006)*
5. Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)*
6. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)*
7. Capote (2005)
8. Infamous (2006)
9. As Good As It Gets (2003)
10. Freedom Writers (2007)
11. Mrs. Parker & The Vicious Circle (1994)
12. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
13. Adaptation. (2002)
14. Shakespeare In Love (1998)
15. The Hours (2002)
16. Romancing The Stone (1984)
17. Deathtrap (1982)
18. Wonder Boys (2000)
19. Finding Forrester (2000)
20. Finding Neverland (2004)
21. Alex & Emma (2003)
22. Before Sunset (2004)
23. Quills (2000)
24. Almost Famous (2000)
25. The Lost Weekend (1945)
26. Tom & Viv (1994)
27. Isn’t She Great (2000)
28. My Left Foot (1989)
29. The Whole Wide World (1996)
30. Author! Author! (1982)
31. Little Women (1994)
32. Sex & The City (HBO Series 1998-2004 & films 2008 & 2010)
33. Rich & Famous (1981)
34. Old Acquaintance (1943)
35. Some Came Running (1958)
36. American Splendor (2003)
37. Sophie’s Choice (1982)
38. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
39. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
40. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
41. Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
42. All The President’s Men (1976)
43. The Stoning of Soroya M. (2008)
44. The Ghost Writer (2010)
45. Julie & Julia (2009)
46. Misery (1990)
47. The Shining (1980)
48. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
49. Naked Lunch (1991)
50. Sylvia (2003)
51. Total Eclipse (1995)
52. Sleuth (1972)
53. Martian Child (2007)
54. Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
55. Scoop (2006)
56. Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
57. Henry and June (1990)
58. Stand By Me (1986)
59. The World According to Garp (1982)
60. Barton Fink (1991)
61. Cross Creek (1983)
62. Shadowlands (1993)
63. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
64. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
65. It Happened One Night (1934)
66. Stevie (1978)
67. Bright Star (2009)
68. A Mighty Heart (2007)
69. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
70. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
71. Shattered Glass (2003)
72. Marley & Me (2008)
73. Miss Potter (2006)
74. Iris (2001)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. Impromptu (1991)
77. Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
78. Wilde (1997)
79. The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999)
80. A Face In The Crowd (1957)
81. The Front (1976)
82. In a Lonely Place (1950)
83. Permanent Midnight (1998)
84. The Muse (1999)
85. The Dying Gaul (2005)
86. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
87. My Favorite Year (1982)
88. The TV Set (2006)
89. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
90. Sideways (2004)
91. Slipstream (2007)
92. My Brilliant Career (1979)
93. Angel at My Table (1990)
94. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
95. Deconstructing Harry (1997)
96. Il Postino: The Postman (1994)
97. Henry Fool (1997)
98. Barfly (1987)
99. Before Night Falls (2000)
100. Factotum (2005)
101. Mother (1996)
102. Chasing Amy (1997)
103. Funny Farm (1988)
104. Funny People (2009)
105. Becoming Jane (2007)
106. Heartburn (1986)
107. The Accidental Tourist (1988)
108. The Edge of Love (2008)
109. Gentleman Broncos (2009)
110. Swimming Pool (2003)
111. Closetland (1991)
112. Her Alibi (1989)
113. Nora (2000)
114. Topsy Turvey (1999)
115. Jules and Jim (1962)

What’s missing? Anything? Please feel free to chime in!

Thanks to my move, scads of books have come out since January that I would have loved to buzz but haven’t because I have been too busy schlepping boxes or updating addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails or some other wonderfully unappealing task.

I’d much rather spend my time buzzing books!

So here’s my catch-up list. Enjoy!

Today is my daughter’s eighth birthday and also the third anniversary of the publication of my first book, Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids from Writer’s Digest Books.

And in honor of this momentous occasion, I’m giving away five signed copies of Writer Mama on Saturday, March 20th, to five lucky subscribers or reviewers.

All you have to do to be eligible to win is write a book review on any book review site about Writer Mama OR subscribe to my e-zine, The Prosperous Writer OR subscribe to this blog via Feedburner. Any one of these things will make you eligible, though you are welcome to do them all.

Be sure to comment here, in this post, that you accomplished one of these tasks, and then on Saturday, I will choose five winners and announce them on Monday, March 22nd, right here.

If you’ve read Writer Mama, you know that I feel a strong connection between my writing career and being a mom. I also feel that I set a strong, healthy example for my daughter of what a woman following her calling looks like. Most importantly, I cultivate my career in a balanced way, deeply authentic way, not at all like the way moms are portrayed in this article that recently appeared in The New York Times.

I’m not a brand. I don’t view myself as a brand. And I don’t build my brand instead of caring for my daughter’s needs. My name is Christina Katz. I’m a woman, a wife and a mother. I’m a freelance writer, teacher, speaker and author.

Above all, I view myself as a professional. I’ve built my writing career slowly and steadily. My creativity is my work, my job, and it belongs to me, not some corporate sponsor or group of corporate sponsors. Not even to my publisher, whom I view as a partner, not a make-me-famous machine.

I get to have this amazing career because I serve others and support their desires to publish quality writing. The other important job I do is to train others to slowly and steadily cultivate their own writing careers, so that they can also produce quality writing with integrity and authenticity.

I’m proud of the work I do. It’s extremely gratifying and that reward comes regardless of the way women and mothers are portrayed by the media.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it, NYT. And try to be more careful next time you generalize about mothers who write and blog. If you are not going to conduct a thorough investigation, then perhaps you should not generalize at all. Certainly you should not imply that mothers who write neglect their children. Unless, perhaps, you’d like to come over here and interview my daughter.

I think you will find that she is quite the opposite of neglected and that creative, communicative mothers actually make quite decent parents.

Even though you won’t read about it in The New York Times, it IS possible to have a writing career and balance it with motherhood. It’s not easy. But what is? And naturally it takes time and sustained effort.

And I can’t think of anything lasting and worthwhile that doesn’t also take time and effort.

Can you?

Ho-ho-Hanukkah and merry holidays!

Here’s a roundup of all the writerly gifts I could find for the 2009 holiday season:

My list of gifts for the 2009 Holiday Season

Another good idea: Nude writers calendar from Oregon Writer’s Colony. I just heard there are only a few left in print. Better hurry!

Here’s some book recs from Deb Ng. I just ordered Crush It. I saw Gary V. speak at BEA and he was great. Totally authentic. And I see a couple more books I want here.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi always does a great job with her holiday gift list (and her blog). This year in THREE parts: one & two & three.

In fact, she comes up with such good ideas, let’s go back and see what else she recommended in 2008 & 2007. I want that Charlotte’s Web bag.

Jane Friedman from Writer’s Digest was way ahead of us all. She listed her gifts for writers in October.

For the writer mama in your life, may I recommend my book, classes, and—coming in 2010—writer mama spa retreat (tentatively slated for October, more details in the New Year).

I also recommend gift cards for books, caffeine, office supplies, smelly soapy things, or dinners at a writer’s favorite restaurant.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Photo by zizzybaloobah.

THIS JUST IN: Only a few calendars left. Order today!

If you are a Pacific Northwest author, you don’t want to miss this.

The 2010 Oregon Writer’s Colony Fundraiser Calendar

This is not just any calendar, folks. This calendar contains 12 naked writers including my good friend, Sage Cohen.

Okay, I know what you are thinking.

Naked writers? Isn’t that kind of…frightening?

It’s okay. I won’t tell Sage you thought that.

By the way, it also includes naked pictures of some of my other favorite people like Marc Acito, Elizabeth Lyon, and Jennie Shortridge.

Yes, in the buff.

But trust me, the tasteful and hilarious photography from Eric Griswold won’t leave your mouth hanging open. (Really, I promise.)

Furthermore, proceeds from the calendar will benefit the Oregon Writer’s Colony upgrade their Colonyhouse so that the Accessibility and Development Campaign can make the Colonyhouse, a log house in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, accessible to any member wishing to attend writing events or make use of the writing space.

Naked writers, anyone?

Well, the weather outside is starting to get frightful. So here are my top holiday buys for writers from lowest price to highest.

1. Books Galore! As usual, books are still coming in as great inexpensive gifts that keep on giving. And yes, I still like the old-fashioned kind of books with bindings and paper. In fact, I hate to tell all the e-fanatics, but all the time that I spend reading online only makes me treasure my good old fashioned bound books even more. And I’m pretty sure I bought more books in 2009 than I have bought in years. (So, put that in your “The End is Nigh” pipe and smoke it.)

Here’s my short list of books that I recommend for writers and friends, including my books (because naturally, I recommend my own books):

For Writers

The Writer’s Digest Guide to Query Letters by Wendy Burt-Thomas (order)

Writing the Life Poetic, An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry by Sage Cohen (order)

2010 Guide to Literary Agents Edited by Chuck Sambuchino * (order)

Novel Shortcuts, Ten Techniques That Ensure a Great First Draft by Laura Whitcomb (order)

Trust Agents, Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Julien Smith and Chris Brogan * (order)

Permission Marketing, Turning Stranger Into Friends and Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin (order)

The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White (order)

Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform by Christina Katz (order)

Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz (order)

For Friends

Book By Book, The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs by Cindy Hudson * (order)

Thirsty, a debut novel by Kristin Bair O’Keeffe * (order)

Gringa, A Contradictory Girlhood, a memoir by Melissa Hart * (order)

The Last Will of Moira Leahy a debut novel by Therese Walsh * (order)

The Possibility of Everything, a memoir by Hope Edelman (order)

Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik * (order)

2. Boing-Boing-Boing Put a little bounce in your compositions by sitting on a Yoga Ball instead of a chair. I’ve been doing this for several months now and not only does it help me to not hunch over my keyboard (which will land you in physical therapy in case you didn’t know) and also helps me sit up straight use my abs for balance. Pump it up about once a week or it gets too squishy. (order)

3. Old Faithful I wouldn’t last a day as a writer on one of these old-fashioned thingamajigs…but I sure love looking at the old Royal Typewriter that sits on top of my desk. I picked up mine in a local antique store but I’ve also seen them on Ebay and on Craig’s List. Get yours quickly! Before they have all been stripped of their keys to make jewelry. (search eBay or check Craig’s List in your area or happy antiquing!)

4. A Membership to Willamette Writers (or another writer’s association near you)

For a mere $36 a year, I receive a world of connections, assistance and discounts just by becoming a member of my local writer’s association. Join Willamette Writers (student and family memberships are also available) or another writers association near you and make the most of what they have to offer. You will be so glad you did.

5. Writer’s Digest VIP Membership

And speaking of great deals, Writer’s Digest has finally bundled the best of what they have to offer into one low price. Hip-hip-hooray! I’ve been asking for this for years. (Truly. See Jane Friedman’s post “Achieving a Dream of Mine” in her blog, There Are No Rules.)

A one-year membership to the VIP program includes:

• One-year U.S. subscription to Writer’s Digest magazine
• One-year subscription to WritersMarket.com
• The Essentials of Online Marketing & Promotion Webinar
• 10% off all Writers Online Workshop courses
• 10% off all Writers Digest Shop purchases

You’ll have access to the best writing advice, markets, competitions, tips, prompts, and more. Learn more and register here.

6. Caffeine Lover’s Gift Basket (AKA: How Christina gets so much done in a given day.)

• One lb. bag each of Starbucks coffee beans (regular & decaf)
• Two packages of Via (Columbia & Italian Roast)
• One carton of Oregon Chai
• One box of Stash Organic Earl Grey Black & Green Tea
• One box of Stash Organic Lemon Ginger Green Tea
• One box of Stash Organic Breakfast Blend Black Tea
• One adorable honey bear
• Toss in a couple of Starbucks Gift Cards

Who wouldn’t be happy to get a gift basket like this? Definitely beats the Starbucks rip-offs they are selling in other stores (don’t buy those). Take inspiration from this one combination and make your own. But don’t drink everything all at once! Pace yourself out, like I do. In other words the contents of this basket would last you…oh about…a month???

Happy Holidays, Writers!

[I'll add links to other folks holidays lists to the blog as I come across them...]

* I received a review copy of this book.

Photo: alancleaver_2000