‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up

In this post-Fleabag world, publishing has become obsessed with the inner turmoils of messy millennials – but isn’t it time they pulled themselves together? Meet the novelists subverting the clichesYou’ve probably come across this woman: she is unfulfilled in her career, has been abandoned by at least one man, she is aimless and lamenting the obstacles in her life (of which, in reality, there don’t appear to be many). She is not just miserable, she’s a mess; self-absorbed and full of self-loathing.If you’ve read a book by a woman, about a woman, that has been published in the last five years, then it’s overwhelmingly likely that this woman was the protagonist. The narrative likely circled around this character’s sadness, her passive struggle to overcome it, and little else. Typically, such stories have notes of darkness but will rarely deliver the actual thing. Usually the main character (like the author) will be middle-class, if not incredibly wealthy. Almost always she will be white. The book’s cover will probably feature a devastated-looking woman with her hair covering her face or her head cradled in her hands. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 15:19:43 UTC ]
News tagged with: #ve read #main character #rarely deliver #novelists

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up'


Authors Guild Issues Contract Clause Changes to Account for AI

As part of its campaign to protect its members from the rise of large language models and other artificial intelligence tools, the Authors Guild has released four new model contract clauses concerning the technology. Earlier, the Guild released a survey of members that found that 69% of those... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher and Author Elizabeth Sherrill Dead at 95

Sherrill was a cofounder of Chosen Books and co-author of bestsellers such as 'The Hiding Place' with Corrie ten Bloom, who hid Jews during the Holocaust. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: June 1, 2023

HAPPY PRIDE: 37 Drag Race contestants (and RuPaul) on drag as an art form and the show’s legacy • Jess deCourcy Hinds on building an LGBTQ picture book library for her queer family • Cat Sebastian on the unexpected power of Mary Renault’s The Charioteer, the 1950s novel that presaged queer... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-01 10:30:49 UTC ]
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The Audiobook Market, and Revenue, Keeps Growing

The Audio Publishers Association’s annual sales survey revealed an 11th straight year of double-digit growth in audiobook sales, with 2022 revenue from reporting publishers up 10%, to $1.8 billion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amis, Hitchens and Larkin: bad behaviour and a messy personal life were once a gift for authors. Not any more | Martha Gill

Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints‘As you get older you realise that all these things – prizes, reviews, advances, readers – it’s all showbiz, and the real action starts with your obituary.”Martin Amis first started spinning in favour of his future... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-27 17:31:09 UTC ]
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Canadians aren't big on talking openly about class. This author says that needs to change

Toronto Star books editor Deborah Dundas says that even though class divisions exist in Canada, we don't talk about them openly. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-27 08:00:00 UTC ]
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PJ Library Expands Outreach to Authors

The non-profit organization that mails millions of books a year to families with connections to Judaism, has relaunched and added online seminars to a program that takes 20 authors and illustrators for eight days in Israel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pastor and Bestselling Author Tim Keller Dies at 72

Rev. Tim Keller, a pioneering pastor of the multi-site megachurch phenomenon and who wrote 28 books on every aspect of Christian life and theology, died on May 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A Nobel Prize-winning French author looks at a shopping mall. Magic ensues

In 'Look at the Lights, My Love,' an extended essay about a Parisian superstore, Annie Ernaux proves she can master any subject by melding experience and recollection. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-19 13:00:25 UTC ]
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London Public Library refuses to rent space to event featuring author of How Woke Won

The London Public Library in southwestern Ontario is standing by its decision to block The Society for Academic Freedom from holding an event featuring controversial British author Joanna Williams. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-18 08:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Beowulf is lit AF’ – could ChatGPT really write good book blurbs?

Some in the book industry have already begun exploring automation of its pitches to readers. We took this functionality for a test drive“Blurb writing is a mini art form,” Iris Murdoch once wrote in a letter to former Penguin blurb writer Elizabeth Buchan. And like many other art forms,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-16 09:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary masterpiece #james joyce #colleen hoover #golden ticket #digital book #book industry #good book


Screenwriter and Author Ahmed Mourad: Abu Dhabi Congress Interview

The Egyptian screenwriter Ahmed Mourad will speak in an Abu Dhabi International Book Fair Congress session on Arabian fantasy. The post Screenwriter and Author Ahmed Mourad: Abu Dhabi Congress Interview appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-05-15 18:09:37 UTC ]
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New Leaf Literary & Media Faces Backlash After Dropping Authors

After New Leaf "amicably" parting ways with literary agent Jordan Hamessley on May 12, authors affected by the agent's departure took to Twitter to express concern over how the transition was handled as the agency defends their actions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show 2023: Debut Authors in Conversation

First-time authors Alice Carrière, Tereh Shelton Harris, and Kelsey James will discuss their forthcoming books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show 2023: Authors in Conversation

In a series of intimate discussions, authors, comics creators, and artists will give readers an inside look at their latest titles and forthcoming books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sorry, Swifties: BTS revealed as authors of mystery book that intrigued the internet

Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS will be out on 9 July, ending feverish speculation that the previously untitled book was a Taylor Swift memoirThe guessing game began this week when a mysteriously untitled book, scheduled for publication in July and known only as “4C Untitled Flatiron... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-12 01:34:25 UTC ]
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Child authors discuss books, world records

Four-year-old author Saeed Almheiri discussess his book, The Elephant Saeed and the Bear, and his sister Aldhabi, 8, discusses hers, Here Was the Beginning — waxing poetic about its effect on classmates. Saeed has the Guinness world record as the... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-11 21:11:00 UTC ]
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Roy Finamore, James Beard Award–Winning Author and Editor, Dies at 70

A notable author and editor of lifestyle and cookbooks, Finamore died on May 6 after a brief illness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author of children’s book about grief charged with murdur-durdur.

“How’d you become a children’s book author?” The answer for Kouri Richins, a Utah mom of three who wrote Are You With Me?, a children’s book about coping with grief, is that she allegedly poisoned her husband, then wrote a book about loss. The Associated Press reports that Utah police arrested... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 14:02:02 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: May 9, 2023

“Even though every atom in my body told me opening a shop would be an economic failure, I’d hoped it would save us.” Kelly McMasters on starting a bookstore to save her marriage. | Lit Hub Memoir 21 new books out today: Shakespeare! Eurovision! Revenge! | The Hub This month’s Lit Hub Asks: 5... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 10:30:21 UTC ]
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