Bill Clegg: ‘I really understand the loneliness, excitement and vulnerability it takes to create a book now’

The feted US literary agent on addiction, attempted suicide, and having his first novel longlisted for the Booker prizeBill Clegg is a leading New York literary agent and the author of the bestselling memoirs Portrait of an Addict As a Young Man and Ninety Days, which describe respectively his addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol and his painful return to sobriety. His intricate and acclaimed first novel, Did You Ever Have a Family, tells the story of the emotional aftermath of a catastrophic fire in a small Connecticut town in which four people from the same family are killed the night before a wedding, and is on the longlist for the 2015 Man Booker prize.When you’re writing a memoir, you have a life to work with: that’s your clay. With a novel, you have to make the clay Related: We should all be thankful that Rob Ford went to rehab – and hope he stays | Bill Clegg Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Four Decades of Book Publishing History...in Poetry

Since 1985, literary agent Richard Curtis has irregularly chronicled the state of trade book publishing in verse in the pages of 'Publishers Weekly.' In honor of his final year-end poem, we've republished them all here. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A Bag Full of Trouble: How I Found My Way Into My Debut Novel

Some time ago–a decade at least, but it feels longer–a literary agent read a manuscript that I’d written and told me that she loved it, loved my style, but the book felt too calculated, too much like a math problem. It didn’t lack heart per se, she said, but it felt too much like a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-18 09:55:11 UTC ]
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A 64-Year-Old Literary Agent and TikTok Star Adds ‘Novelist’ to Her Résumé

Betsy Lerner has spent decades in the publishing industry. Writing her first novel, “Shred Sisters,” unlocked a completely new side to her creativity. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-10-01 19:20:03 UTC ]
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My weeks of reading hornily: steamy book sales have doubled – and I soon found out why

From fairy porn to romantasy via the Omegaverse, publishing is sexier than ever. The reason? A big shift in gen Z and millennial attitudes to respectability and shame ...I spent a fortnight reading nothing but smut and I don’t need to give you a reason. But since there is one, here it is:... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-08-06 04:00:33 UTC ]
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'The Way We Live with Authenticity': PW Talks with Author and ‘Guncle’ Jonathan Merritt

The cultural commentator, speaker, literary agent, and author's first children's book 'My Guncle and Me' (Running Press) is a gentle, authentic story of Henry Higgleston, a young boy bullied and teased at school for being different until his “guncle” comes for a visit and shows young Henry that... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Early Sobrieties,’ by Michael Deagler

Michael Deagler’s first novel follows a young man who is piecing his life back together and trying very hard not to drink. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-05-06 09:00:26 UTC ]
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Janet Reid, Influential Publishing Blogger and Literary Agent, Dies

Reid's blogs, 'Query Shark' and 'Miss Snark,' were widely read destinations for frank commentary on the publishing industry and the querying process. After a more than 20-year career as an agent, she died after a brief illness on April 14. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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CAA Appoints Managing Directors, New Board Members

Chris Silbermann, whose clients include Dr. Seuss Enterprises, has been named one of nine managing directors at Creative Artists Agency, while motion picture literary department co-head Ida and literary agent Sloan Harris have joined the CAA board. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cloud Atlas at 20: What makes a novel tattoo-worthy?

Every author wants to write a book like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Two decades after it first hit the shelves, the author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow celebrates its daring, dazzling appealPity the writer who believes they have written the next Cloud Atlas! A literary agent once... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-06 10:00:31 UTC ]
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7 Books About Ghostwriters

When I was ghostwriting full-time, I produced twenty books in fourteen years. Thanks to a suggestion from my literary agent, I realized a ghostwriter might make a great heroine—they’re under tremendous pressure, often while adjacent to the fame machine—so Mari Hawthorn, the ghostwriter at the... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-15 12:05:00 UTC ]
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Waterside Founder William Gladstone Dies at 74

William Gladstone, the literary agent, publisher, author, and founder of Waterside Productions, died on December 27. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Interview: Annie Ernaux

“The first condition is silence,” says the 2022 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, whose most recent book is “The Young Man.” “The when and where do not matter.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-09 19:42:28 UTC ]
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Patience, Perspective, and the Power of Story: An Interview with Toni Ann Johnson, by Scott LaMascus

Patience, Perspective, and the Power of Story: An Interview with Toni Ann Johnson, by Scott LaMascus Interviews [email protected] Mon, 10/16/2023 - 13:46 Storyteller Toni Ann Johnson uses her skills as an actor, playwright, and fiction writer to... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-16 18:46:19 UTC ]
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Frankfurt-Bound Nermin Mollaoğlu Opens a Press in the UK

Istanbul's accomplished literary agent Nermin Mollaoğlu is opening a new press in London with Tasja Dorkofikis and Geraldine D'Amico. The post Frankfurt-Bound Nermin Mollaoğlu Opens a Press in the UK appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-12 20:29:08 UTC ]
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David Jacobs obituary

American screenwriter and producer behind the creation of the hugely successful soaps Dallas and Knots LandingDavid Jacobs, who has died aged 84, was an aspiring novelist when he created the show Dallas, a worldwide phenomenon and US television’s first peak-time soap success since Peyton Place.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-23 13:56:48 UTC ]
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Sex, Time, and Memory: Annie Ernaux’s Young Man, by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee

Sex, Time, and Memory: Annie Ernaux’s Young Man, by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 08/21/2023 - 15:04   The Young Man—forthcoming from Seven Stories in September 2023—is Annie Ernaux’s first novel in English... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-08-21 20:04:48 UTC ]
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Carol Smith obituary

My cousin Carol Smith, who has died aged 84, was a literary agent and author best known for her thrillers Kensington Court (1996) and Unfinished Business (2000).Born in London to Winifred (nee Mapleston), a teacher, and David Smith, a businessman, Carol attended the North London Collegiate,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-25 15:31:17 UTC ]
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Letting a Wild Ride Be a Wild Ride: A Conversation with Amy Spangler, by Ipek Sahinler & Iclal Vanwesenbeeck

Letting a Wild Ride Be a Wild Ride: A Conversation with Amy Spangler, by Ipek Sahinler & Iclal Vanwesenbeeck Interviews [email protected] Wed, 07/05/2023 - 14:43 Amy Spangler is the co-translator (with Nermin Menemencioğlu) of Leylâ Erbil’s A... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-07-05 19:43:55 UTC ]
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Get a call or a critique from a high-powered agent AND do good in the world.

Sound too good to be true? Well I have news for you, dear aspiring writer, you can get yourself a phone call or a manuscript critique from a fancy literary agent by bidding at this year’s Literary Agents of Change Auction.  The LAOC is an organization that believes that advancing the publishing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-15 17:12:39 UTC ]
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Caroline Raphael obituary

Caroline Raphael, who has died of Parkinson’s disease aged 85, was for 20 years editor-in-chief of The Good Hotel Guide. She had worked on every edition from the first, in 1978, until her retirement in 2021, when the 2022 edition had gone to press.The Guide was launched by the literary agent... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-28 16:03:11 UTC ]
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