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 ]
Stephen King, a man who is no stranger to the top of any bestseller list, saw 'The Outsider,' his latest, take the #1 spot in Apple's iBooks store last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A case for ‘Why We Need Religion’ and an in-depth look at the religious inspiration behind Stephen King’s work in 'America’s Dark Theologian' are among the big religion and spirituality books publishing in June. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week's notable book acquisitions in Hollywood include a seven-figure preempt to option a HaprerCollins thriller, and a film deal for a narrative poem by Stephen King. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King’s new novel, film adaptations and his 70th birthday provided Hodder’s team with an arsenal of unmissable opportunities. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King may be the Master of Horror, but one of his fans is dealing with horror of a new kind. A Bangor, Maine, bookstore owner lost several of King’s rare manuscripts and books after a burst pipe flooded his store's basement, the Bangor Daily News reports. Gerald Winters, the owner of... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN America will award Stephen King with the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award and celebrate S&S president and CEO Carolyn Reidy as its Publisher Honoree at its annual Literary Gala on May 22 in New York. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On this week’s episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke with Laura Kipnis, an essayist and author whose books include Against Love, Men: Notes From an Ongoing Investigation, and, most recently, Unwanted Advances: Sexual Paranoia Comes to Campus. Although known for her writings about... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Sleeping Beauties’ by Stephen King and his younger son, Owen King, is the #2 book in the country. Plus R.J. Palacio’s ‘Wonder’ prepares for its big-screen debut, and Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate’s latest, ‘Wishtree,’ hits our list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King's 'It' and its terrifying clown Pennywise remain atop the iBooks bestseller list this week on the strength of the recent film adaptation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Enemy of the State,' a Vince Flynn novel written by Kyle Mills, took the top spot on the iBooks Bestseller list this week, followed by Stephen King's 'It.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The affordable housing crisis in New York City receives long and detailed treatment in the current issue of the New York Review of Books from writer Michael Greenberg, who calls the situation nothing less than “a humanitarian emergency.” Greenberg shows the impact of this crisis, from the... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What were people reading during the days of grunge rock and the Clinton presidency? What was the highest number of bestsellers by Stephen King on a single list? Remember the Gone with the Wind sequel? Take a trip down memory lane with PW's annual bestselling adult books list from 1990-2013, our... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books by two sports legends debut in Hardcover Fiction. Plus a pair of beach reads brighten up our Hardcover Fiction list, and small press Cemetery Dance waltzes onto our Hardcover Fiction list with a book coauthored by Stephen King. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The death this week of the New York Review of Books editor marks the loss of one of publishing’s most brilliant mindsRobert Silvers was one of the most significant cultural figures of our time. This will seem a large claim to make about the editor of a twice-monthly literary magazine, but then... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The exacting editor of the high-brow magazine was a legend on the New York literary scene. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert B. Silvers, the co-founder of the New York Review of Books and its editor since 1963, died on the morning of March 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King and son Owen, plus Whitney Cummings, are among the authors appearing at BookExpo's June 1 Adult Book & Author Breakfast. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Stephen King to Lauren Oliver, these are the 11 adaptations already creating buzz. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder Children’s Books, part of Hachette Children’s Group (HCG), has bought the UK and Commonwealth rights to Charlie the Choo-Choo, the picture book written by Stephen King under the pen name of Beryl Evans. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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