Hiding the Body: My Susan Sontag Story, by John Weir

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 ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair Show Dailies: Call for Stories

Publishing Perspectives will again publish full-color, tabloid-format print editions during the Frankfurt Book Fair. Got a story to tell? Let us know. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: John Martz and 'A Cat Named Tim'

Cats and comics get a big boost this September with John Martz's 'A Cat Named Tim'. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions for...John Freeman

PW spoke to the former NBCC president about his new venture, Freeman's, a series of anthologies published by Grove Atlantic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wikipedia Publishes First-Ever Transparency Report--And There's A Funny Story About A Monkey

Compared to Google and Facebook, Wikipedia is remarkably tight-lipped when it comes to requests for user data.Although Wikipedia is one of the largest websites in the world, it receives relatively few requests from government agencies for user information, especially compared to companies like... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Native-Ad Slayer John Oliver Visits Native-Ad Seller Hearst and Explains His Hit Piece

Why did John Oliver devote 11 minutes of his HBO show "Last Week Tonight" to skewering the practice of native advertising?It was inspired by an interview he saw with Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp, Mr. Oliver told an audience at Hearst Tower in New York on Tuesday. Mr. Oliver was struck by how easily... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Inspired by John Green, bookstores celebrate Esther Day

Esther Day is celebrated on Aug. 3, the birthday of teenager Esther Earl, with whom 'The Fault in Our Stars' author Green became acquainted before she died in 2010. Earl suggested the holiday center on 'the kinds of love that are too often overlooked in our culture: love among friends and... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lost Dr. Seuss stories from the 1950s come back into print

"Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories" by Dr. Seuss will hit bookstores September 9th. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Green's novels will stay in Wisconsin, Florida schools

Parents complained about Green's books 'Looking for Alaska' and 'Paper Towns,' but a school committee in Wisconsin decided not to remove 'Alaska' and 'Towns' was taken off a reading list in Florida, then restored.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.D. Salinger: Three early short stories are released by Devault-Graves Agency

Three stories by Salinger printed in 1940s magazines have now been collected into print, ebook, and audio format. Devault-Graves Agency co-founder Tom Graves says it's the first time a Salinger work has legally appeared in electronic format. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elmore Leonard's unpublished stories to be published next year

From small-town New Mexico to a military base in Kuala Lumpur, publisher promises 'razor-sharp dialogue and headlong pacing'A collection of previously unpublished short stories by the late Elmore Leonard will be released next year, his publisher has said. Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rep. John Lewis' 'March Book Two' Coming in 2015

Top Shelf has released the cover art for 'March Book Two,' the much-anticipated second volume of Civil Rights legend John Lewis’ three-volume graphic memoir. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Versus Hachette: The Whole Story

Amazon's long-running standoff with Hachette has been making headlines for months. Here's the whole story in PW coverage. What began as a "scuffle" now has us using the language of war to describe it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Mitchell tells Twitter story

Novelist David Mitchell is to tell a 6,000-word story on Twitter, beginning today (14th July).... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DPW Debuts Disney Story Central, a Kids' E-book Portal

Disney Publishing Worldwide is launching Disney Story Central, an online portal of interactive titles for kids aged 3-7. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and 'Potter' theme park opens (+video)

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and a new 'Potter' theme park opens

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling writes story about 30-plus Harry Potter

J K Rowling has written a new piece about a thirty-something Harry Potter and his friends at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Talks with Gustav Niebuhr: The Story of an Unknown Hero

In his new book, 'Lincoln's Bishop,' former New York Times religion correspondent Gustav Niebuhr tells the compelling tale of Henry Benjamin Whipple, who spoke out loudly against injustice toward Native Americans during the 19th century. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bedtime stories for a teenager? One set of children's books brings a father and son together

Monitor contributor Danny Heitman enjoys reading a children's book series about a wealthy elephant named Uncle to his son. What's surprising about that? His son is a teenager. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Driscoll Rift Stories Not True, Tyndale Says

In spite of news stories citing a rift between Tyndale House Publishers and controversial pastor Mark Driscoll, the publisher stated on Tuesday that the relationship is still intact. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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