Christian Lorentzen talks to the legendary editor in an extract from a forthcoming issue of the Paris ReviewIt’s the custom for editors to keep a low profile and to underplay any changes they may make to an author’s manuscript. Gordon Lish is a different animal. Not since Maxwell Perkins has an editor been so famous – or notorious – as a sculptor of other people’s prose. As fiction editor of Esquire from 1969 to 1977, then as an editor at Knopf and of the Quarterly until 1995, Lish worked closely with many of the most daring writers of the past 50 years, including Raymond Carver, Don DeLillo, Barry Hannah and Joy Williams. In an interview with the Paris Review in 2004, Hannah said: “Gordon Lish was a genius editor. A deep friend and mentor. He taught me how to write short stories. He would cross out everything so there’d be like three lines left, and he would be right.”His collaborations have not always ended amicably. His editorial relationship with Carver ceased after three books. When Lish donated his papers to the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington, they indeed showed that he had drastically cut, and often rewritten, some of Carver’s best-loved stories. For the Collected Stories, published in 2009, Carver’s widow, Tess Gallagher, printed some of them in both edited and unedited versions. The critical reaction was divided. In the New York Times book review, Stephen King described the effect on one story as “a total rewrite … a cheat”; in the New York... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
Anyone but the people: from voter suppression to foreign intervention, Rebecca Solnit on the Republican party’s attacks on democracy. | Lit Hub Politics When Stephen King is your father, the world is full of monsters: Joe Hill on standing in the shadow (and light) of his famous dad. | Lit Hub... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-12 11:30:14 UTC ]
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We had a new monster every night. I had this book I loved, Bring on the Bad Guys. It was a big, chunky paperback collection of comic-book stories, and as you might guess from the title, it wasn’t much concerned with heroes. It was instead an anthology of tales about the worst of the worst, […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-10 08:49:26 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has announced a new book by Stephen King, If It Bleeds, will be published in May 2020 featuring four brand new long stories. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 02:00:34 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Testaments’ and Stephen King’s “The Institute’ are the top-selling books in the country; each moved more than 100,000 print units in its first week on sale. Other new releases include the memoir ‘The Education of an Idealist’ by Samantha Power and ‘She Said’ by... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The book is animated by a central concern that could not be more relevant: the inhumane treatment of children. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-09 23:55:38 UTC ]
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Who knew that the Maine woodlands could be so terrifying? Hulu has announced that the second season of Castle Rock, the horror anthology series based on the stories of Stephen King, will debut on October 23rd. Showrunners Sam Shaw and Dustin Thompson... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-08-29 18:12:00 UTC ]
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In more “thing becomes other thing” news, Sleeping Beauties, the more-than-700-page fantasy novel that Stephen King wrote with his son, Owen, is being adapted into a 10-part comic book series. The novel imagines a world in which all the women in the world except one have come down with a disease... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-16 19:06:16 UTC ]
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Bill Clinton, James Patterson and Stephen King are on the CrimeFest Awards shortlist, which this year features a mix of established names and new talent. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thriller author Don Winslow wants to debate Donald Trump about the president's proposed border wall, and Stephen King is willing to pay $10,000 to make it happen. Winslow, whose new novel, "The Border," is slated for release by Harper Collins imprint William Morrow next week, challenged Trump to... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder will publish Stephen King's new novel The Institute in September 2019 after the "thrilling and suspenseful" book was acquired by Jamie Hodder-Williams from Chuck Verrill at Darhansoff and Verrill in New York. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Backed by social media support from author and Maine resident Stephen King, a petition and lobbying effort by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance has successfully persuaded the 'Portland Press Herald' to reinstate its local book review coverage. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Press Herald turns tweet aghast at plan to drop Maine content into chance to attract 100 digital subscriptionsA Maine newspaper that horrified the bestselling author Stephen King by dropping its local book review coverage used his complaint to boost digital subscriptions. Related: 'Judge me by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Goldman famously penned the words “Nobody knows anything” in his Hollywood memoir “Adventures in the Screen Trade.” But in the wake of his passing, it is clear that the film industry does know one thing: how much Goldman will be missed. The Oscar-winning screenwriter of “All the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: new books from Stephen King, Charlaine Harris, Michael Connelly, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer and academic steps down after publishing and defending Jian Ghomeshi piece deemed to be at odds with spirit of #MeTooIan Buruma, the writer and academic, has stepped down from the editorship of the New York Review of Books after only 16 months, after he caused outrage by publishing and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hi — I’m Carolyn Kellogg, books editor of the L.A. Times. This week in print you’ll find the Fall Arts Preview — books included. THE BIG BOOKS This fall brings books from Michelle Obama, Jonathan Franzen, Haruki Murakami, Michael Connelly, Stephen King and more; see our picks of books you won’t... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ann Kjellberg, a longtime former contributing editor at the 'New York Review of Books,' has launched 'Book Post,' a subscription-based book review. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to the annual VIDA Count, which analyzes gender parity at literary magazines, only 23.3% of pieces published in the 'New York Review of Books' last year were written by women, while representation at the 'Paris Review' crept up by 8 percentage points in the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King's 'The Outsider' stayed #1 in Apple's iBooks store last week, followed by Nora Roberts's 'Shelter in Place.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King has the #1 book in the country with ‘The Outsider.’ Plus John McCain and James R. Clapper release political memoirs, and Bill Gates names his summer reads. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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