Being a crime writer doesn’t mean I condone murder. Do I even have to say it? | Garry Disher

Every now and then I encounter people who can’t suspend disbelief. They ask how I can write about ‘such terrible things’Feeling unappreciated is your lot as a writer. Few readers; no readers. Scathing reviews; no reviews. Publishers saying, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” or not taking a punt on your second book because the first sold poorly. The fat American and English imports on display at the front of many bookshops, a tiny Australian section in the back corner. Beverley Farmer finding her short-story collection Milk shelved with books on nursing mothers; me finding my novel The Stencil Man shelved in Art and Craft.Most of these indignities occur while you’re still at your desk. They multiply once you appear in public. Elizabeth Jolley, signing books at a department store in Perth, was scrutinised by a beady-eyed woman who eventually approached and asked, “How much is the table?” A bookseller stuck the first page of a US thriller under my nose and said, “Once you can learn to write as good as this …” Related: Harold Bloom’s defence of western greats blinded him to other cultures | Kenan Malik If I say, 'Worse things happen in real life than I invent, just read a newspaper,' I learn they don’t read newspapers Related: Peter Handke's Nobel prize that dishonours the victims of genocide | Ed Vuilliamy Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-11-03 17:00:27 UTC ]
News tagged with: #department store #real life #peter handke #nobel prize #bookseller

Other news stories related to: "Being a crime writer doesn’t mean I condone murder. Do I even have to say it? | Garry Disher"


12 Brilliant Short Stories by Black Writers to Read Year-Round

From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short stories #electric literature #guiding principle #black writers


3 New Biographies of Visionary Writers

Probing the lives and work Barbara Comyns, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Carson McCullers, these literary biographies, out this week, take a fresh look at three of our most visionary writers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Osman to publish first novel in new crime series

We Solve Murders introduces a new detective duo – but the author has not abandoned his Thursday Murder Club charactersA new crime series by Richard Osman called We Solve Murders has been announced, after the huge success of his Thursday Murder Club novels.The beloved elderly sleuths from the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-20 17:44:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #first novel #coming back #bestselling series #pointless presenter #huge success #solve murders #detective duo #crime series #richard osman


It's funny and cringey, but Andrew Ewell's debut novel doesn't live up to its potential

Andrew Ewell's debut novel 'Set for Life' is well-written but doesn't fulfill its potential. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-09 16:00:10 UTC ]
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Palestinian-American writer Randa Jarrar was dragged out of a PEN event.

Despite mounting objections from within the American literary community (as well as public condemnation from two prominent novelists who recently cut ties with the organization), on Wednesday evening PEN America’s Los Angeles branch went ahead with its hosting of a conversation between stand-up... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-02 19:14:45 UTC ]
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Texas Spurs Interest in Spanish Women Writers

The state is home to a podcast focusing on Spanish women writers and Phd program for Spanish-language authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Four New Books on Overlooked Writers

In their lifetimes, these authors’ work went largely unappreciated. These books honor their literary legacies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A sense of place: Brooklyn writers on why they love the borough

Novelists in Brooklyn draw inspiration from the New York borough’s cast of thousands, and particularly from its idiosyncratic neighborhoods. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-12-21 19:46:00 UTC ]
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Murder mystery puzzle book Murdle tops UK Christmas bestseller chart

GT Karber’s book of challenges beats Richard Osman’s The Last Devil to Die and Guinness World Records to top spotThe murder mystery puzzle book Murdle by US writer GT Karber has climbed the UK bestsellers chart to become this year’s Christmas No 1 book, beating Richard Osman’s The Last Devil to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-20 14:30:03 UTC ]
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Novelist's book is canceled after she acknowledges 'review bombs' of other writers

A debut author who used fake accounts to “review bomb” other writers on the influential online platform Goodreads has been dropped by her agent and had her book deal cancelled Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-12-13 02:46:01 UTC ]
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Who Doesn’t Like Music? Nabokov, For Starters

In his memoir Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov reflected: “Music, I regret to say, affects me merely as an arbitrary succes­sion of more or less irritating sounds.” The furor over Lolita may have died down, but this confes­sion still has the power to shock. Did the man just say he doesn’t like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-29 09:55:49 UTC ]
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Arundhati Roy calls the siege of Gaza “a crime against humanity.”

In a video address to the Munich Literature Festival yesterday, the human rights activist and Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy made a powerful speech in solidarity with the Gazan people, and with the millions around the world marching for a ceasefire. Roy—who... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-17 17:42:49 UTC ]
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A.S. Byatt, British writer and author of Booker Prize-winning 'Possession,' dies at 87

British author A.S. Byatt, who was known for award-winning works including 'Possession' and 'The Children's Book,' has died. She was 87. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-17 17:18:21 UTC ]
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4 New Military Histories for the Dad Who Doesn't Watch Football

It's important to keep dads preoccupied over the holidays. If your dad isn't a pigskin sort of dad, perhaps he's a Civil War or World War II sort of a dad, or perhaps even a naval warfare type. If he is, these books may help keep this year's holiday season a bit more peaceful. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Zeke Caligirui on the Incarcerated Writers Who Edited An Anthology on Class

Writer and editor Zeke Caligiuri joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion, a new collection of essays on class he co-edited along with eleven other incarcerated writers. The volume’s contributors include Eula Biss, Kao Kalia... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-16 09:08:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #anthology #kiese laymon #incarcerated writers


Sacred Space: Why Libraries Are Essential to Incarcerated Writers

Libraries are sacred space within the unending, unrelenting madness, the profane that is Society, places where the predominant ideology is to inform. The Library of Alexandria was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the Library of Congress is a wonderfully ( dis )organized... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-14 09:35:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #libraries #ancient world #incarcerated writers


Mike McCormack: ‘If I’ve one gift as a writer, it’s patience’

The award-winning Irish author on losing his father at 18, the drawbacks of English editors and the theme of imprisonment in his workMike McCormack was born in London in 1965 and raised on a farm in County Mayo in the west of Ireland. He published his first story collection, Getting It in the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 18:00:01 UTC ]
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Naomi Alderman: ‘A writer’s job is courage. You’ve got to be as honest as you can”

The bestselling author of The Power talks about her new techno-thriller, coping with grief and finding hope in the darkest of storiesNaomi Alderman, author of the bestselling novel The Power, is just getting over Covid and feeling a bit wiped out. “But don’t worry, I still seem able to talk for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-04 09:00:34 UTC ]
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Everything You Need to Know About Groundbreaking Queer Feminist Science Fiction Writer Joanna Russ

When she was in high school in the early 1950’s, Joanna Russ (1930–2011) read Mark Twain’s short story  “A Medieval Romance,” about a duke without a male heir who brings his daughter up to fill the role, hiding her gender from all. Things get complicated when the duke’s niece falls in love with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-03 08:41:28 UTC ]
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Read the last words of writer Heba Abu Nada, who was killed last week by an Israeli airstrike.

Novelist, poet, and educator Heba Abu Nada, a beloved figure in the Palestinian literary community and the author of Oxygen is Not for the Dead, was killed in her home south of Gaza City by an Israeli airstrike on Friday. She was thirty-two years old. In her final tweet, written in Arabic on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-24 15:54:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #literary community #gaza city #israeli airstrike