About Pamie
Hi. I'm pamie. You're reading my website. Perhaps you have some questions.
This website was started in 1998. Back before there were blogs, there were journals, or web diaries. This was one of them. For more on how this website grew from a rather secret writing exercise to a way I paid the bills, read here.
To start reading the journal from the very first entry, read here. Disclaimer: I am a weird girl, but I used to be so much weirder. Please don't judge me by the early entries when I'm trying to figure out just how many "R"s I want in the word "girl." I was fresh out of college, living in Austin, working for a major computer corporation, and had a whole lot of extra energy. I wrote mostly about how much I loved my boyfriend, romanticized improv comedy to such a degree I can't believe anyone wanted to be my friend, babbled about Johnny Depp, and complained about the amount of cat puke in my life. Yeah, you can see why this site was destined for success.
For about two years this website was sponsored by the web portal Chick Click. During that time I ran banner ads and had a very active forum community. At the same time I was performing in a comedy troupe, writing for Television Without Pity, and moving all of my belongings across the country to the smoggier pastures of Los Angeles.
When I lost my funding and my boyfriend, I closed the website. I wrote a novel. I sold it. I reopened the website with a book deal and a new boyfriend, one who was no stranger to the readers of pamie.com, the one they were rooting for all along.
Then, because it's internet law (and so much more convenient for posting on the fly), I began moving the journal to the blog format. (Those archives start here.)
And now I'm married and a homeowner. I work in television, write novels, create comedy shows that sometimes become Cult Hits, and spend the majority of my day being a professional silly person. (See below.)
I still pick up cat puke. It's the one constant in my life.
So that's me. If you're ready to talk about you, that's why there's this handy forum.
About Pamie's Work
Books
Why Moms Are Weird -- novel. Pocket Books. August, 2006.
"Compassionate...Chick lit fans will identify with this kind, imperfect heroine." -- Publishers Weekly
"Ribon's newest novel is hilarious and heartfelt. Why Moms Are Weird tackles the absurd morass of family with joyful wit and brutal honesty. I barrelled through this book." -- Jill Soloway, writer and co-executive producer of Six Feet Under, and author of Tiny Ladies In Shiny Pants.
"...she deserves to immediately be plucked from the chick-lit ghetto -- and then poised to knock talentless gimmicks such as Lauren Weisberger and Plum Sykes permanently off the best-seller lists...This joyous, single-sitting read is as bright and witty as it is wise and bittersweet. And Ribon is a sparkling talent who merits more than just cult fame." -- Florida Sun-Sentinel
"...the first fifteen pages...was the funniest conversation that I've seen in print in a long time. So much so, that I had to read the entire conversation aloud to more than one person. Well developed characters and witty conversation, along with real-life, nobody's-perfect, characters made for a fun read." -- Book Fetish
"Hilarious...bittersweet...delightful...[Ribon] perfectly details the most screwed up family since Laurie Notaro's" -- Fresh Fiction
"Engaging...an enjoyable light read with some welcome weight to it." -- Blogcritics.org
"Tremendous" -- Sun-Sentinel.com
"Ribon excels at romantic dialogue. The exchanges between Benny and her two romantic suitors Zack and Mickey are fresh, funny, real and charged with romance and desire." -- Romantic Times
"Yes, I’m putting in a big effort here to convince you all to read this book." -- EDGE Providence
"Now I don't want to say it's girly, but I promise you ladies, she knocked it right out of the vagina with this one." -- Irwin Handleman
"Should you read Why Moms Are Weird? Totally. You totally totally should." -- Sugar and Spite
"...a hilarious read that you don't want to miss." -- Book Loons
"...a rollicking page-turner...Ribon has crafted Benny to a fully realized, sympathetic protagonist, an intelligent woman who lost her way at some point, but manages to stumble toward happiness. The result is fantastic and satisfying." -- Albuquerque Journal
"...a pithy and achingly accurate tale of a family that puts the fun in dysfunctional." -- Fallen Angel Reviews, August 2006
"...witty, tender, and snarky moments that make you laugh, tear up and nod your head in understanding. Not to be missed!" -- Fallen Angel Reviews, Novemer 2006
"Ribon writes chick lit that doesn't make me want to puke, but even calling it chick lit seems somehow mean." -- Bookslut
Read the Book Notes mix tape supplement over at Largehearted Boy.
Girls' Night Out -- anthology. Red Dress Ink. June, 2006. Short story: "What Happens Next." Net proceeds of anthology benefit War Child and No Strings.
Why
Girls Are Weird -- novel. Pocket Books, currently in stores.
Spent weeks on the San Francisco
Chronicle Bestseller List. Voted on an AP list of five
Chick Lit books to watch (July 27, 2003, Page 1, Fort Worth
Star-Telegram -- "This book is truly funny.")
Reviews include:
- "Full and hilarious..." -- Miami Herald
- "Truly hilarious...laugh-out loud funny." -- Houston Press
- "Witty, Wonderful and Wise" -- Maryland Gazette
- "Playful and cranky, clever and earnest..." -- Philadelphia Citypaper
- "I absolutely loved [it]!" -- Pop Gurls
- "Online or offline, this girl is funny" -- Calgary Herald
- "Chick lit at its most trenchant and truthful." -- Jennifer Weiner, author of Good In Bed and Little Earthquakes.
Sprechen sie Deutsch? Buy Why Girls Are Weird in German!
Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times -- anthology. Basic Books, May, 2005.
An anthology of original essays from our most intriguing young writers, Bookmark Now boldly addresses the significance of the production of literature in the twenty-first century. Or simply, "How do we talk about writing and reading in an age where they both seem almost quaint?"
Edited by Kevin Smokler. More about this book at Bookmark Now.
Cold Feet
-- anthology. Downtown Press, May, 2005.The bride-to-be in Pamela Ribon's "Sara King Goes Bad" has always done the right thing but decides it's important to know what it feels like to be reckless for once. And so two weeks before her wedding, she indulges in an unforgettable night of sex, drugs, and petty crime.
Other contributors include: Heather Swain, Lisa Tucker, Elise Juska, and Tara McCarthy.
Read the review in Romantic Times.
Site
pamie.com - (June 1998- July 2001, July 2002-) Webmaster, designer, content creator and Pop Culture Princess. Award-winning personal site that specializes in non-mainstream content. Special focus on Pop Culture, theatre, comedy and "Why Girls are Weird." Media attention in the SXSW Interactive festivals 2000 and 2001, Austin Chronicle (Pamela Ribon: Sealed With a Squish, and winner of Best of Austin, 2000), and Austin-American Statesman. Portfolio available on request. (Also known as "Squishy") Yearly bookdrive received media attention in Austin Chronicle ("Shelf Life Support") Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Bloggie, 2006.
Feature scripts:
It Skips a Generation -- Eighteen-year old Marty learns more about herself than she ever bargained when she meets her eccentric grandmother for the first time on a cross-country road trip. Winner, Hollywood Gateway Screenwriting Contest, 2002. Semi-Finalist (out of 4000 scripts), Austin Film Festival, 2002. Quarter Finalist, Scriptapalooza, 2002.
Booty -- A group of Sorority rushees search to find pirate treasure to save their beloved house.
Thanksgiving -- When Elizabeth plans to announce her recent engagement on Thanksgiving to her large, bizarre, and complicated family, she discovers her parents have quite a surprise of their own.
Groomsday -- Bill thought he could do anything. Then he had to plan his own wedding.
Television:
Samantha Who? -- Story Editor. Produced episode: "The Hypnotherapist"
Mind of Mencia -- Producer. Season two.
Hot Properties -- Staff Writer. Two produced episodes: "GRRR" and "Waiting for Oprah"
Mind of Mencia -- Writer. Season one.
TV Spec scripts:
The Secret Letters of Natalie Davis -- hour-long pilot
Less Than Perfect -- "Dogma"
Sex and the City -- "Hello, Stranger", Semi-Finalist, Austin Film Festival Sitcom Teleplay comp., 2001
Will & Grace -- "Drama Queens", Semi-Finalist, Scriptapalooza Sitcom Teleplay comp., 2002
Sex and the City -- "Loving Me, Loving Me"
Other Work Seen In:
Theatrical:
Letters Never Sent - Liz Feldman and Pamela Ribon revive the delicate art of letter-writing by sharing the letters hidden in the back of their closets, shoved underneath their underwear, and tucked in the pages of their childhood diaries. They come clean on their feelings about love, religion, fame, and people who like to be peed on. Letters Never Sent satisfies the deep desire to read other people's mail without having to share any of your own. Comedy Central Stage, March 2004. Stages Theatre, April 2004. Official Selection for 2005 US Comedy Arts Festival. (USCAF info page) (Press: Aspen Times, Feb. 2005)
Call Us Crazy: The Anne Heche Monologues - Creator, Director, Performer. Fifteen precious pieces of remarkably crazy writing from Celestia herself. The Knitting Factory, November-February 2001-2002. The Hudson Avenue Theater (reviews), January-February, 2003. International scandal that received attention from People Magazine, New York Post, The Globe, Filth, The Howard Stern Show, and more.
What A Girl Wants - One Woman Show, Momfest 2000, Austin, TX
Slumber Party - One Woman Show, Showcase for US Comedy Arts Festival consideration, 1999.
LOL (Connected) Writer/Director, FronteraFest Best of the Fest, 1998.
Monks' Night Out -- Writer/Director/Performer -- Sketch and Improv troupe based in Austin, TX. Five performances a week, including corporate gigs. Created showcases, directed large cast, created nightly, ever-changing set-lists on the fly. Helped run Big Stinkin' Sketch and Improv Comedy Festival (2-5.) 1997-2000.
(More available upon request)
Representation:
Literary: Kim Witherspoon, InkWell Management, New York
Film/TV: The Gersh Agency, Los Angeles
Theatrical: The Gersh Agency, Los Angeles
