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 ]
As the first National Writing Day approaches, the co-founder of the Ministry of Stories explains how creative writing can transform children’s lives. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-21 06:24:35 UTC ]
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In the Irish author's second novel, two teens explore sex, secrets and what intimacy is worth. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-04-04 09:45:07 UTC ]
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Normal People, the Irish author's second novel, is named the year's best book by the UK chain. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2018-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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These days, it is normal for authors to go to writing workshops – or teach them. So why does the idea they produce derivative writers persist?What makes a writer? How do you become one? When I was younger, even asking those questions seemed to disqualify me: a writer isn’t something one becomes,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eley Williams’ debut novel, a flurry of auctions for literary agent newbie Sam Hodder and an Australian kidnapping thriller from an Irish author are some of the projects causing furore ahead of next week's London Book Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Support from authors including Marian Keyes sees Emma Hannigan’s Letters to My Daughters become a bestseller, after she announces ‘all avenues have been exhausted’ in her treatmentEmma Hannigan’s Letters to My Daughters has shot to the top of book charts in Ireland, after the author announced... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agency Aitken Alexander Associates is to create a new scholarship in Creative Writing for students at Birkbeck, University of London, in a bid to "find and nurture" literary talent from groups underrepresented in publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Los Angeles-based talent agency APA said Thursday it was investigating an allegation that one of its agents sexually assaulted a young actor a decade ago. Blaise Godbe Lipman, now a filmmaker, made the allegations in a Facebook post Monday. In the post and in a later interview with The Times,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Jones on how things happen in bookshops that algorithms have not yet replaced. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Employees of Penguin Random House UK have raised over £7,000 for creative writing and mentoring charity Ministry of Stories by completing a seven-mile walking route through London, including through the Royal Parks. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s world came to a sudden halt when her husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly, at age 47, during a spring 2015 trip to Mexico. In the months that followed, the self-assured author of Lean In found herself lost in grief, adrift from the life she and Goldberg had... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Academics Susan Greenberg [pictured] and Emma Venables say developments in Open Access may affect the draft novels produced on creative writing courses. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NBC Universal is nearing a deal to make a second $200 million investment in BuzzFeed, doubling its bet on the fast-growing digital publisher as the TV giant tries to reach younger audiences online, according to a person familiar with the matter.NBC's latest investment would value BuzzFeed at... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creative duo CO.LAB have joined Arts & Sciences. Justin Tyler Close comes from a background of art photography. Jeremy Power Regimbal has experience in post-production and cinematography. The Canadian pair formed CO.LAB over a year ago, after their first initial meeting a decade ago. They... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is It Evil Not to Be Sure? is a collection of her journal entries from a decade ago, and will raise money for the nonprofit group Girls Write NowA surprise new book by Lena Dunham, collecting her journals from a decade ago, has sold out less than 24 hours after the writer announced its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since her Blue Bloods series with Disney-Hyperion debuted a decade ago, Melissa de la Cruz has published a steady stream of bestselling novels and become a luminary in the YA universe. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book fairs are an increasingly interesting phenomenon: a decade ago they looked to be out of fashion and out of time. What price a physical table or stand in a far-flung hall, when so much business could be done cheaply and more efficiently by telephone, Skype or email? Yet over the weekend much... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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During the busy years of building careers, setting aside time for friends can feel self-indulgent.Get Elisabeth McKetta and Cathy Doggett on the phone together and they can't stop laughing. Soon they are finishing each others' sentences about events that happened a decade ago. They met as young... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A decade ago, the received wisdom was that digital technologies would transform how children read; how has that borne out? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) is hoping to get kids across the country reading in October through the "Read Everywhere in 2015", campaign. For the campaign, also known as "Níl Turas Níos Fearr Ná Turas le Leabhar!" in Irish, CBI will run a range of activities, including a "The Danger is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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