Elizabeth Strout: ‘All ordinary people are extraordinary’

The Pulitzer prize winner on uniting Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton in her new novel, her unfathomable dreams, and how she went from ‘blabbermouth’ to writerPulitzer prize winner Elizabeth Strout, 68, has wooed readers and critics alike with a string of bestselling novels set in Maine, where she grew up and now mostly lives. Her latest, Tell Me Everything, unites two recurring protagonists from recent books – self-effacing author Lucy Barton and abrasive nonagenarian Olive Kitteridge – with sometime lawyer Bob Burgess, who first appeared in her 2013 novel The Burgess Boys, and is now set to be hauled out of semi-retirement by a murder case. As a New England winter finally yields to spring, pathos and dry humour gild tender reflections on loneliness and connection, and the redemptive power of storytelling.What made you want to bring all three characters together?I never ever intend to keep writing about the same people, but it gradually came to me that they are all living nearby. I wanted to get Olive and Lucy together – that was a propelling force. I just thought it would be so much fun, and of course Olive can’t stand her at first. The working title was The Book of Bob because Bob has always intrigued me. He’s such a decent person and doesn’t know that about himself, and I wanted him to come out of semi-retirement and do something big and meaningful. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-07 17:00:22 UTC ]

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'Anthracite Fields' composer Julia Wolfe says MacArthur grant will bring 'time and space'

After receiving the Pulitzer Prize for music last year, a Grammy Award nomination and other praise for her coal-mining-themed choral work “Anthracite Fields,” composer Julia Wolfe can add another accolade to her professional mantel: a MacArthur Fellowship, a five-year grant that comes with an... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maggie Nelson, new MacArthur fellow, says, 'You've just got to do what each book demands'

Maggie Nelson has been named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her work that blends frank autobiography with criticism and philosophy. A poet who leads the MFA program at CalArts, Nelson’s work wrestles with issues of gender, LGBT theory, art and violence; her most recent books are the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Washington Post says Obama should not pardon whistleblower Ed Snowden

Newspaper criticised for calling for the criminal prosecution of its own source, on ‘whose back the paper won and eagerly accepted a Pulitzer Prize’The Washington Post has stunned many people in the United States, including a large section of the country’s journalistic community, by coming out... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Critic's Notebook: In Books on Donald Trump, Consistent Portraits of a High-Decibel Narcissist

Six of the recent books about the Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Crazy but fantastic': Man Booker prize pitches tiny publishers into big league

A year after Marlon James and his indie press Oneworld beat publishing giants to win the Man Booker, three independent publishers have made the 2016 longlist. But what effect does the ‘mother of all prizes’ have on tiny teams?Man Booker 2016 longlist – in picturesAlongside heavy hitters such as... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jack Fuller, Prizewinning Chicago Tribune Journalist, Dies at 69

Jack Fuller won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing at The Chicago Tribune and later became Tribune Publishing’s president. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Robert Olen Butler: Veteran Writer

The striking similarities between Pulitzer Prize–winner Robert Olen Butler and the narrator in his latest novel, "Perfume River," leads readers to wonder if the book is in some way autobiographical. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Picks: Books of the Week, January 11, 2016

This week: new books from Elizabeth Strout and China Mieville, and the fascinating world of brilliant con artists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gaylord Shaw dies at 73; journalist won a Pulitzer for The Times in 1978

Gaylord Shaw, a renowned journalist who broke the news of Richard Nixon's resignation and won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1978 for the Los Angeles Times, has died at age 73. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TurnRow Book Company Staff Takes to the Stage

For years, the booksellers at TurnRow Book Company in Greenwood, Miss., have been obsessed with David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novels from female perspective miss out on major awards

Books written by women or men from the perspective of a female character are less likely to win major literary awards than books written from a male perspective or about men, research by author Nicola Griffith has found. Griffith analysed the last 15 years of winners for six fiction awards –... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors and Illustrators to Meet at CI3: Children's Institute 2015

Below is a list of the most recent books by writers attending the author reception, the Scholastic Meet & Treat party, and/or the opening reception with members of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, cosponsored by PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet the Authors and Illustrators Behind These Books: Children's Institute 2015

A list of the most recent books by writers attending the author reception, the Scholastic Meet & Treat party, and/or the opening reception with members of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, cosponsored by PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Emperor of All Maladies' comes to TV

The book 'The Emperor of All Maladies' won the Pulitzer Prize for literature in the nonfiction category. The TV adaptation of the award-winning book debuts on PBS on March 31. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why We Still Need to Investigate the Rolling Stone Rape Story

This week, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked the Columbia Journalism School to review Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia. As it became clear that the story’s central incident—a gang rape of a freshman at a fraternity—did not happen as Rolling Stone... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Feiffer’s Noir Classic Tribute

“Now in my 80s, in my second or third childhood, I’ve come back to the noir influence,” says Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist, author, and award-winning screenwriter and playwright, about Kill My Mother, an original graphic novel (Norton/Liveright, Aug.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2014: Godoff Goes ‘French’ In Major Buy

With day one of the London Book Fair not yet closed, another book is emerging as a hot title: a memoir by "New Yorker" contributor Lauren Collins which has the working title, "French Lessons." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philadelphia Inquirer Sued Over Top Editor Marimow’s Ouster

Two members of Philadelphia Inquirer owner Interstate General Media LLC sued the company and the newspaper’s publisher over the ouster of editor-in-chief Bill Marimow. Marimow, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was fired Oct. 7 w ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Changing Seasons

“Always be closing,” the oft-quoted line from David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, could serve as the mantra at today’s big houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize: huge sales neither required nor guaranteed

After winning the highest honor in the literary world, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winners have seen sales increases – but so far the numbers are pretty tiny. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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