The Hole in the Wall
The guidebook promised us the one place in all of West Berlin where no physical barrier existed between the two Germanys. And here it was. Wide enough to allow railcar passage, this singular gap in the famous Cold War all lay at the end of a wide Straße in the tiny West Berlin neighborhood of Steinstücken.
Keep readingField of My Dreams
The field pictured above is a real place, located near the border separating the neighboring German states of Bavaria and Thuringia. I remember being weak in the knees as I snapped the shot. About five months earlier I’d pictured this place, while writing a scene for an MFA class in my tiny room at the Pod Hotel in New York.
Keep readingThe Wall2Wall Project
Since early childhood, I’ve been preoccupied with walls. Imprinted in my earliest memory is an illustration of a boy on a swing peering over a wall. The picture sits alongside a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson aptly named “The Swing”. My mother, seated beside me on our nubby green couch, is reading aloud from A Children’s Garden of Verses.
Keep readingVirtual Book Talk: The Last Nomad
Napa Bookmine Author Event // Shugri Said Salh – The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert On August 4, 2021, Napa Bookmine…
Keep readingVirtual Author Hour with Carol Edgarian
New York Times bestselling author Carol Edgarian and Holly Hubbard Preston discuss Carol’s latest novel, VERA, on Thursday, June 3rd 2021. This grand adventure set…
Keep readingGirl Growing
First published by online literary journal, Herstry. Elise is standing in front of her dresser mirror, a tangerine in one hand, a wad of Kleenex…
Keep readingBurned to the Bone
NPR-San Francisco Affiliate, KQED Radio Perspectives Series Affordable housing in the Napa Valley is as urgent a problem as it is elsewhere and this year’s…
Keep readingFormer St. Helenan treks across Norway, raises $1.07 million for PKU awareness
Holly Hubbard Preston for the St. Helena Star TRONDHEIM, Norway — Former St. Helena mother Alison Michaux Reynolds completed her nine-day trek across Norway at…
Keep readingCrossing for a Cure — Former St. Helena mother risks it all to raise funds for a rare disease
Holly Hubbard Preston for the St. Helena Star Of the many reasons a person might risk life and limb, fundraising isn’t usually one — unless…
Keep readingWhen Walls Fall
NPR-San Francisco Affiliate, KQED Radio Perspectives Series Walls – whether meant to keep people out or kept them in, separated and apart – have a…
Keep readingClara’s Sacrifice
KQED Radio Perspective Both Holly Hubbard Preston and her friend Clara are making sure their children get a higher education. But what Clara has sacrificed…
Keep readingActs of Grace
NPR-San Francisco Affiliate, KQED Radio Perspectives Series Northern California has been united in tragedy this past week. But it has also been united in something…
Keep readingSanchez brothers push through grueling Badwater ultramarathon
Holly Hubbard Preston For the St. Helena Star LONE PINE, California – Anyone who knows Juan and Federico Sanchez, St. Helena’s beloved “running men,” is…
Keep readingSelfless efforts by crewmembers vital to Badwater ultrarunners
Holly Hubbard Preston For the Napa Valley Register When Juan Sanchez crossed the finish line of the 30th annual STYR Labs Badwater 135 ultramarathon, he…
Keep readingA Name. A Life.
NPR-San Francisco Affiliate, KQED Radio Perspectives Series I was walking my dog last week past our local cemetery when I saw a block of black…
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Categories:
- Print Essays (4)
- Radio Essays (8)
- Readings & Book Talks (3)
- Reportage (4)
- Short Stories (3)
- Wall2Wall (3)
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