‘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 join Julian Barnes in condemning US authors' admission to Booker prize

Writers including AS Byatt and Philip Hensher say Commonwealth and British writers face greater struggle to find readers, now ‘dice are loaded’ AS Byatt, Philip Hensher and Susan Hill have joined authors backing Julian Barnes’s call for the Man Booker prize to exclude US writers once again, a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man who pointed shotgun at girl selling Girl Scouts cookies gets jail time

 A Southern California man who pointed a shotgun at a 7-year-old girl selling Girl Scout cookies has been given six months in jail. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The Riverside Press-Enterprise says John Dodrill was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #top stories #riverside press-enterprise #pleaded guilty


Authors Guild warns authors over contributing online articles for free

Writers are contributing to the fall in their incomes by penning free pieces for large companies in the hope that it will raise their profile and lead to book sales, Roxana Robinson, president of The Authors Guild, has told The Bookseller. She also said that Amazon was devaluing books and writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABA Winter Institute 2015: A Growing State Offers Growing Opportunities For Booksellers

The book business is strong in North Carolina as booksellers in the Tar Heel State come out of the economic downturn that wreaked havoc across the nation starting in 2008. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book business #north carolina #economic downturn


AAP, Authors Guild Discuss Author-Editor Process

The AAP and Authors Guild co-hosted a panel last week on Capitol Hill about authorial-editorial collaboration, in advance of Congress’s review of the U.S. Copyright Act. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Teaching Authors and the Idea of “Slow PR”

When Maria Mutch needed advice on how to handle PR of her debut memoir, she found guidance and solace through Grub Street Writer's Launch Lab in Boston. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon-Dissenting Authors Form 'Authors United'

As HBG's dispute with the e-tailer continues, authors are starting to prepare for the long haul by forming their own organization. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Issues Call to MacAdam Cage Authors

The Authors Guild is offering legal assistance to any MacAdam Cage author who wishes to mount a legal challenge to the agreement giving control of their ebook rights to MP Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors guild #legal challenge #ebook rights #mp publishing


Ether for Authors: Are Publishers on a Tightrope with Author Solutions?

In Ether for Authors, Porter Anderson looks at the ties many publishing companies have with Author Solutions, at Amazon debates, and at drinking on the job. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Guardian view on audiobooks: a growing market that asks existential questions | Editorial

When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: May 8, 2024

Jonathan Corcoran on the teacher who showed him that writing begins far from the page: Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips. | Lit Hub Criticism Elizabeth Graver remembers her friend and agent, Richard Parks: “Richard’s voice on the phone was always much as I remembered it: polite, even... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-08 10:30:25 UTC ]
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5 Self-Help Books on Grief

Authors draw on clinical guidance, reportage, and their own experiences to offer comfort and commiseration. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: May 2, 2024

Caroline Carlson recommends new children’s books by Matt Hunt, Julie Flett, Vera Brosgol, and more. | Lit Hub Reading Lists “True intimacy means striving for complete knowing.” Khadijah Queen on intimacy, self-care, and the asexual spectrum. | Lit Hub Memoir Are you the literary asshole if you... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-02 10:30:33 UTC ]
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Paul Auster, postmodern author behind 'The New York Trilogy' and 'Smoke,' dies at 77

Paul Auster, the famed American postmodern writer behind 'Smoke,' has died at 77. The bestselling author was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-01 14:20:39 UTC ]
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Paul Auster, American author of The New York Trilogy, dies aged 77

The writer of The New York Trilogy, Leviathan and 4 3 2 1 – known for his stylised postmodernist fiction – has died from complications of lung cancer• Paul Auster – a life in quotes• Paul Auster – a life in picturesPaul Auster, the author of 34 books including the acclaimed New York Trilogy, has... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-05-01 04:02:37 UTC ]
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Fed rate cuts unlikely thanks spending by rich Americans

As baby boomers have aged, they have accumulated more assets leading to more discretionary spending. Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game.Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2024-04-29 13:22:05 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: April 26, 2024

“I yearned for a bigger life and was sure it would come for me.” Aaron Hicklin on how the novels of Lynne Reid Banks helped him see himself. | Lit Hub Memoir “The more pertinent question than what we can write is what we who are Black authors can write about that a publisher will […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-26 10:30:59 UTC ]
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Health care spending grows in Adams’ $112B executive budget

Mayor Eric Adams’ nearly $112 billion executive budget, released Wednesday, includes more than $5 billion for health care initiatives, a figure that has grown by $172 million since his January preliminary budget.The revised plan avoids new spending cuts for city agencies and paints a rosier... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-04-25 09:33:07 UTC ]
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Interview: Steve Gleason, the author of the A.L.S. memoir ‘A Life Impossible’

The former N.F.L. player has been living with A.L.S. for more than a decade. Sharing “the most lacerating and vulnerable times” in “A Life Impossible” was worth the physical and emotional toll, he says. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:00:47 UTC ]
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Alfonso Chardy, Who Helped Expose Iran-Contra Scandal, Dies at 72

A Miami Herald correspondent, he powered a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and helped snare three other Pulitzers for the paper. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-24 22:42:22 UTC ]
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