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

Vintage Launches Crime Fan Site, 'The Weekly Lizard'

Under the auspices of its Vintage Crime/Black Lizard imprint, Vintage Books is launching the Weekly Lizard, a mobile-optimized online site devoted to news and feature content about crime and mystery writing. While the Weekly Lizard is designed to attract readers interested in crime, mystery and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women writers "unequal to me" says V S Naipaul

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 08:37 Nobel Prize-winning author V S Naipaul has declared that women's writing is "unequal" to his, during an event at the Hay Festival. The writer, who won the Man Booker in 1971 for In a Free State, said during an interview... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Em dashes—why writers should use them more sparingly.

According to the Associated Press Stylebook—Slate's bible for all things punctuation- and grammar-related—there are two main prose uses—the abrupt change and the series within a phrase—for the em dash. The guide does not explicitly say that writers can use the dash in lieu of properly crafting... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forna wins Commonwealth Writers Prize

Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 12:15 Aminatta Forna has won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2011 Best Book for her novel The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury). The judges described the novel as "a bold, deeply moving and accomplished novel which confirms her place among the most talented writers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quadrille scores four on Guild of Food Writers shortlists

Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 13:07 Quadrille has scored four nominations for this year's Guild of Food Writers awards. Titles from Stevie Parle, Josceline Dimbleby, Mark Hix and Mark Diacono were shortlisted, with the latter's A Taste of the Unexpected squaring up against two Jacqui... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Finnish dystopian crime for Harvill Secker

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 11:56 Harvill Secker has acquired a dystopian crime novel by Finnish writer Antti Tuomainen, set in a futuristic Helsinki. Publishing director Liz Foley bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to The Healer through... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus acquires Hull-set crime novel

Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:24 Quercus has won a "keenly contested" auction to a debut literary crime novel set in Hull and East Yorkshire. Editor Jon Riley acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to The Dark Winter from Oliver Munson at Blake Friedmann in a two-book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin acquires "riveting" Northern Ireland murder title

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 25/03/2011 - 08:33 Penguin has bought what promises to be a "riveting" account of one of the biggest murder cases in Northern Ireland, featuring infidelity, laughing gas and a confession 20 years after the event. Penguin Ireland m.d.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mulholland Books acquires debut by "Saw" writers

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:04 Hodder thriller imprint Mulholland Books has acquired a fiction debut by "Saw" writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and author, screenwriter and illustrator Stephen Romano. Editor Ruth Tross bought British... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Historical Writers Association launches

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 15:47 Transworld/Bantam novelist Manda Scott has formed the Historical Writers’ Association as a forum for writers and to promote the genre. The internet-based group, which already boasts around 100 members including authors Simon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emma Henderson picked as first Orange New Writers title

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:50 The Orange New Writers Book of the Month promotion launches today [1st March] featuring Emma Henderson as the first writer to receive a month-long promotion in Waterstone's. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion signs crime series from Bingham

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 08:38 Orion has signed up a series of crime novels from author Harry Bingham, who? has previously written fiction and non-fiction for HarperCollins. Deputy publishing director Bill Massey made the deal for UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myrmidon acquires Commonwealth Writers Prize shortlistee

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 06:35 Independent publisher Myrmidon has bought world English language rights (excluding South Africa) to a novel shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Ed Handyside, publisher and founder, bought the rights to Trespass... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want more women writers in magazines? Get more female editors.

As Meghan O'Rourke reported here last week, VIDA, an organization for women writers, has released a tally of male and female bylines for the 2010 run of 14 high-end, literary-oriented magazines. Despite a couple of relatively bright spots (the New York Times Book Review surprisingly being one),... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers Are Asked Not to Talk About Author of ‘O’

Simon & Schuster requested that journalists and other writers not comment if asked whether they were responsible for the novel “O,” about a fictional 2012 presidential campaign. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Circalit Seeks Crime Fiction

A year-old social networking and digital distribution platform that aims to bring writers and agents together has created a contest to find "the next big crime fiction blockbuster." Circalit, launched in February 2010 as a place for screenwriters to showcase their work to studios, began inviting... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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