When a man routinely hailed as one of America’s “greatest living writers” publishes a new novel, one hardly expects it to draw reviews posing questions along the lines of “Can he do it? Can he actually pull it off?” Because when you’re Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winner, the act of writing a decent novel ought to be taken as something of a given. But Chabon’s newest book, Telegraph Avenue, out last week, is set against the backdrop of race, and its author undertakes the task of inhabiting and giving life to characters whose skin color is different from his own. The book is a sprawling narrative about the intertwined lives of Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe, two proprietors, one black and one white, and a used vinyl store trying to survive on the shifting, gentrifying frontier between hippie-dippy Berkeley and its neighbor, the historically black enclave of Oakland. Or, as Chabon neatly puts it, “the ragged fault line where the urban plates of Berkeley and Oakland subducted.” Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
First-time cookbook authors Kimberley Hasselbrink and Anya Kassoff describe what “vibrant” food means to them and suggest perfect height-of-summer meals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The typical income for a professional author in 2013 was just £11,000, more than £5,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chipping Norton Literary Festival is to split its profits with authors in lieu of paying... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Business author says bad manners can tank your careerBusiness author Richie Frieman has studied fine arts at the University of Maryland, launched a music-focused Internet magazine, written children's books, invented a device that keeps shirt collars crisp and created a pop culture-inspired... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2014-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Chris Cleave has called on his fellow authors to exercise a "profound attitude... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myers, author of such books as 'Hoops' and 'Monster,' recently published an essay lamenting what he saw as a lack of diverse characters in children's literature. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One one side are established authors including Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson. On the other side are self-published authors. They're taking sides in the weeks-old dispute between Amazon.com Inc. and Hachette Book Group. King, Grisham and Patterson have signed their names to a... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A second petition about the Amazon Hachette dispute has been launched - this time a pro-Amazon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world is mourning Matt Richell, killed yesterday in a freak surfing accident in Sydney. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than a thousand readers have signed a petition in support of Amazon in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two weeks ago bestselling author Douglas Preston began quietly circulating a letter to other writers that encourages readers to write to Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the NYTimes, Felicia R. Lee asks if the 'new wave of African writers' with an international appeal are drawing attention away from African-American voices. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world is mourning Matt Richell, killed yesterday in a freak surfing accident in Sydney. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ron Capps, author of "Seriously Not All Right: Five Wars in Ten Years, A Memoir" (Schaffner Press, 9781936182589) will appear on PBS's "Tavis Smiley" on Monday, June 30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Jacqueline Wilson and Alan Gibbons have spoken out in defence of libraries as part of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Freshman Fifteens, a group of 15 authors with debut Young Adult novels in 2015, are teaming with the online writing community Wattpad to organize The Common Room Teen Mentoring Contest, a writing and mentoring contest that opens for entries on June 30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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And whoever comes out on top, you can bet the poor old writer won't be any better offA few weeks ago, we published a book called Denglisch for Better Knowers, a (hopefully) humorous book about how the English language could be improved by taking new words and concepts from German. Like "ear... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?People first started to notice last year when Kate Atkinson's Life After Life coincided in the US with Jill McCorkle's Life After Life, which had... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Marcoux, author of "Cooking with Fire" (Storey Publishing, 9781612121581) will appear on NPR's "The Splendid Table" on Saturday, June 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The comics character Aaron Day, better known as Black Jack, is an African American adventurer created by comics writer, playwright and educator Alex Simmons. A Kickstarter campaign has been started to support Black Jack and the launch of AEON, a new online gaming, comics and animation platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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