BU Creative Writing

We’re so thrilled for recent alum Omer Friedlander (Fiction ’19), who recently sold his book of short stories and novel to Random House!  It’s been so exciting to read Omer’s work in literary journals over the past couple years, and now we can’t wait to find it on shelves.  His story collection is called The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land and his novel is The Glass Golem.

Below, Omer shares with us the story of talking with editors while on a trip with his family:

The book-deal talks with editors coincided with a weekend trip I took to a small village in the Galilee. My twin brother and I celebrated our twenty-sixth birthday there – a small, very remote village with no phone signal, internet or electricity. It was very beautiful – plenty of limestone and groves of olive trees – but probably the worst place to go to on this weekend when I had to talk on the phone to several editors.

My father and I drove around to look for a place with reception and finally we found a hookah bar by a gas station off the highway, overlooking a barn. I ended up making all my calls to editors from the parking lot of the hookah bar, with teenagers revving their motorcycle engines in the background. Despite the stress of the hookah bar scenario, it was a great experience and I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of Random House and to be working with the wonderful Robin Desser.

Hearty congratulations, Omer!  We are so inspired by your hard work, and glad you found that hookah bar parking lot to talk with editors!

Read more about Omer Friedlander here.