Essay John Weir Adapted from a photo by Jake weirick on Unsplash Like a dead pop star, Susan Sontag left behind a lot of fans who claim they knew her. After the release last September of Benjamin Moser’s new biography, Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work, they were all over the internet, sharing stories. Writers, of course. Especially queer writers. Does every queer writer who lived in New York City and published a book sometime between 1960 and 2000 have a Sontag story? I do! Here’s mine: Eighteen years ago, shortly after she won the National Book Award for her fourth novel, In America, some of which she had been accused of plagiarizing, and a few months before she published, in the New Yorker, maybe the only response to the 9/11 attacks, in their immediate aftermath, that was worth considering, she was invited, along with John Updike and Norman Mailer, to read at Queens College CUNY, where I teach creative writing. Surely the most impressive trio of literary bigwigs of a certain era ever to read together in Flushing. Three idols. I had long regarded their work with awe and envy. In my early twenties, in the 1980s, in a studio apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, hot and airless in summer, frigid in winter, I read—eagerly, jealously—everything they wrote. I was an aspiring writer, and they were my workshop instructors and problematic literary parents. Updike’s Couples taught me how to do a party scene. Mailer’s An American... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-07 22:09:56 UTC ]
The National Book Foundation has announced the ten books longlisted for this year’s National Book Award in Young People’s Literature, chosen from a total of 325 books submitted to the foundation by publishers. The judges for YPL are An Na, Elana K. Arnold, Kristen Gilligan, Varian Johnson, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-16 14:45:12 UTC ]
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Del Rey unveils a new Max Brooks novel, a Pushcart Prize winner sells a romance trilogy, a National Book Award winner sells a picture book, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Affordable rents and the ever-burgeoning Brooklyn literary community have drawn indie presses to the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This morning, the Whiting Foundation has announced the winners of the second annual Literary Magazine Prizes, which are given “for superb publishing, advocating for writers, and strengthening the literary community.” This year, the number of awards was increased from three to five, with two new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-18 13:00:28 UTC ]
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As America marks this July 4th holiday, an outcry on immigration is leading to national headlines, including from a congressional delegation that visited an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, this week. PEN America has gathered a series of statements from a number of writers and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-03 08:48:26 UTC ]
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The news that J.D. Salinger's family is preparing to publish the late author's previously unseen works has left some literary observers excited and some unsettled. On Friday, the Guardian reported that Matt Salinger, the son of the legendary author of "The Catcher in the Rye," is working to... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hours after AWP18 wound down last week, the literary organization's board of trustees severed ties with its longtime executive director, David Fenza. The move has angered a number of former board members and others within the literary community. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A decade-by-decade history of race and racism in America, compiled by a National Book Award Winner. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2017-02-22 10:00:01 UTC ]
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Diana Beaumont is keen to seek voices currently “under-represented” in the literary community in her new role at the Marjacq Scripts literary agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two dozen Chicagoland independent bookstores are mobilizing the Windy City area's literary community by forming the Chicago Independent Bookstore Alliance, raising the visibility of Chicagoland's indies both in the region and on social media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An Italian investigative journalist claims to have discovered the identity of pseudonymous author Elena Ferrante to the anger and frustration of the literary community. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The recent co-owner of Minneapolis's Once Upon a Crime Bookstore, which is a fixture in the Twin Cities' literary community, died on Wednesday afternoon of leukemia. He was 66. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Those in the literary community are weighing in on both sides of the debate, with some saying young adult books aren't sophisticated and others saying they should be able to read whatever they like without being ashamed. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Those in the literary community are weighing in on both sides of the debate, with some saying young adult books aren't sophisticated and others saying they should be able to read whatever they like without being ashamed. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Advocates for women writers – working to counter what is seen as bias towards males in the literary community – suddenly seem to be everywhere. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary community has long believed that Agee's work 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' was rejected by Fortune magazine for its cryptic narrative, but a newly discovered typescript indicates that may not be the case. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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