Claire Keegan: ‘I can’t explain my work. I just write stories’

The much-acclaimed Irish author of Small Things Like These on her quietly devastating new story and why George Saunders wouldn’t read it aloud for a podcastClaire Keegan’s five books to date run to just 700 pages and some 140,000 words. “I love to see prose being written economically,” she tells me. “Elegance is saying just enough. And I do believe that the reader completes the story.” Revered by critics and prize judges for the miraculous density of her short fiction ever since her 1999 debut, Antarctica, she became an international bestseller two years ago with her first novel, Small Things Like These, about an Irish coal merchant whose eyes are opened one Christmas to the horror behind the walls of his biggest customer, a laundry run by nuns. “I think the book was taking off before it was shortlisted for the Booker prize,” Keegan, speaking from her home on the Wexford coast after technology thwarts our planned video call. “A lot of the sales went through word of mouth. A lot of people bought the book for other people for Christmas. People read it and bought it for other people in the new year. Now it’s on the school syllabus here.”The novel, which won last year’s Orwell prize for political fiction, takes its epigraph from the 1916 proclamation of the Irish republic, pledging “equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens”, a damning prelude to a book about systematised misogyny. Keegan’s new book, So Late in the Day, a 64-page story published as a standalone... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-02 17:00:10 UTC ]
News tagged with: #decade ago #creative writing #things happen #devastating effect #stay quiet #irish author

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Watch Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison explain why she told black stories

Celebrated novelist Toni Morrison has died at 88, and she leaves behind a commanding legacy of the black experience in literature. Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison has died, according to a friend who confirmed the news to the Associated Press. She was 88 years old.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-08-06 11:00:50 UTC ]
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As Disney writes off its Vice investment, 10 Vice stories to help staffers cope: Publisher’s Brief

Welcome to the latest edition of Ad Age Publisher’s Brief, our roundup of news from the world of content producers across digital and print. Got a tip? Send it our way. Joining us late? Here's the previous edition. As Angela Doland notes in Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call this morning, citing a... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piers Torday | 'Reading, writing, telling and sharing stories are the building blocks of humanity and civilisation'

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had a lasting impression on author Piers Torday—so much so, that his latest book is loosely based on the classic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Just Write Your Own Fairy Tale': Chris Colfer on His 'Land of Stories' Series

At BookExpo, actor turned writer Chris Colfer spoke with 'NYTBR' editor Pamela Paul about the paperback release of the sixth and final book in his bestselling The Land of Stories series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stories series #fairy tale #chris colfer #paperback release #final book

McBride, de Waal and Rooney to write short stories for Faber collection

Eimear McBride, Kit de Waal and Sally Rooney are among the writers from "Ireland's current golden age" who are to feature in an anthology for Faber. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #faber collection #eimear mcbride #sally rooney #de waal

'Grumpy squirrel' story wins Amazon Christmas Writing competition

A digital marketing manager has won the Amazon Christmas Writing Competition for his tale of a greedy squirrel who learns compassion from "three wise trees". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Story exploring freedom wins Caine Prize for African Writing

Sudanese writer Bushra al-Fadil has won the £10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing for a short story which explores freedom. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hard work, not ‘talent’ makes good writing | Letters

Professor Selina Todd argues that you can be taught to write well, as demonstrated by American and Australian university students. Plus letters from Christopher Dodd and Anthony OrmsonIan Jack’s wariness towards writing manuals and classes is a peculiarly British response to teaching this craft... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Major' new work from William Keegan to Biteback

Biteback Publishing is to release a "major" new work by veteran journalist William Keegan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Howard Cunnell | 'I wanted to write the stories that were about love'

Howard Cunnell's Fathers & Sons is a memoir about a search for identity and what it is to be a man that packs a punch that belies its brevity and, despite taking us to dark places, it’s a book about all kinds of love. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unseen Aleister Crowley writings reveal 'short-story writer of the highest order'

Anthology of uncollected writings should secure a reappraisal of notorious occultist, says publisherAleister Crowley, the occultist once dubbed the “wickedest man in the world”, is due for a reassessment as a short-story writer, according to a new anthology of his uncollected writing which... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Narcissism works really well': Why Time magazine created a site for its interactive stories

For better or for worse, news sites’ most popular digital offerings have been interactive games and quizzes. Now Time magazine has created a new home for its interactive stories -- like its quiz to see how much time you wasted on Facebook -- which have been the site’s most popular for the past... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert Kirkman explains why there's room for new stories in The Walking Dead's universe

Skybound Entertainment has had success with The Walking Dead across all mediums. Robert Kirkman’s comic book company has expanded into television with the AMC series, which is now the most popular show in the world. They’ve also enjoyed the same level of critical and commercial success through... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Short story of a writing life

Author Emily Perkins about imaginary worlds, acting and the ebooks v print debate. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Holt, Seven Stories Sign Comics Works on Snowden, NSA

Comics can wed different parts of a story together and really show things in ways prose can’t,” said Riva Hocherman, an editor at Metropolitan Books (an imprint of Holt), about "Verax," a forthcoming work of graphic nonfiction that tackles the history of the National Security Agency’s electronic... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #metropolitan books #graphic nonfiction