Is an X Factor for novelists a good idea?

A literary talent show is about to be aired in Italy, but is television the right place to nurture literary talent?Jonny Geller, agent and joint CEO, Curtis BrownAn X Factor for books is about to launch on Italian TV – it had to be Italian, didn't it? – and you can imagine the literati running for cover in horror. It's "reducing the craft to a reality freak show", "further degradation of the cultural value of the word" etc. And yes, the programme [Masterpiece, which broadcasts on Italian channel Rai 3 today, billed as "the first talent show for aspiring writers, competing to... publish their novel with Simon & Schuster"] will probably be vulgar, ill-conceived and wrong-footed. But we need it. We need to allow young people into the secret we have held too closely to our hearts for too long – that books can change your life, that what makes us human is books, that reading is not just for nerds. The National Literacy Trust recently surveyed 35,000 children from 188 schools and one in five is embarrassed to be caught with a book in their hands.On British TV at the moment, there is not one single programme about books or for book lovers. We in publishing bemoan how few people buy books and yet we do nothing to make them feel relevant. In a changing publishing scene where most purchases are made online, where independent bookshops are closing every week and where the chains all feature the same books, we desperately need an entertaining format to ignite the imaginations of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A billionaire and a novelist offer two versions of tech's future. Who's right?

Where exactly is tech going? Joanne McNeil's debut novel 'Wrong Way' and billionaire Marc Andreessen's 'Techno-Optimist Manifesto' offer some clues. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-12 11:00:26 UTC ]
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Why Novelists Should Embrace Artificial Intelligence

Let’s imagine, for the purpose of this essay, that the following statement is true: An AI writes a novel. Actually, forget about the imagining. This is already happening. Today’s AIs—large language models (LLMs) specifically, like GPT-4—can write. If you’ve glanced at the headlines this year,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-08 09:51:43 UTC ]
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Holiday Book Sales Have Another Good Week

Holiday sales of print books followed a small increase over Thanksgiving week with a 4.2% gain last week over the week ended December 3, 2022, at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Absolutely Extra Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

Wow your favorite book lover this holiday season and sweep them off their feet with these seven absolutely extra bookish gift ideas.- Leah Rachel von Essen Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-11-29 11:32:00 UTC ]
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The big idea: should we abolish literary genres?

Categorising fiction may help to sell books, but it says little about how writers write or readers readIn her Reith lecture of 2017, recently published for the first time in a posthumous collection of nonfiction, A Memoir of My Former Self, Hilary Mantel recalled the beginnings of her career as... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Herbert Gold, Postwar Novelist of Love and Marriage, Dies at 99

He emerged in the 1950s as a promising young writer exploring the emotional lives of ordinary men and women and the complexities of Jewish identity in America. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-20 23:46:03 UTC ]
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A Summary and Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Good Country People’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Good Country People’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64). The story, which focuses on a woman with a wooden leg who is befriended by a young and innocent-seeming bible salesman, takes in many... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-11-20 15:00:15 UTC ]
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Mick Herron’s Surprise Career as a Blockbuster Spy Novelist

The author of the “Slow Horses” series says he relates more with failures. With millions of books sold and the third season of the series airing next month, he may have to wrap his head around success. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-19 10:00:58 UTC ]
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‘It is a beast that needs to be tamed’: leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future

Novelists and poets, Bernardine Evaristo, Jeanette Winterson, Stephen Marche and others, consider the threats and thrilling possibilities of artificial intelligenceChatGPT seems to have blindsided us all. In less than a year it has proved that it can make writers redundant, which is one of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 09:00:30 UTC ]
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Stephanie Land's new memoir takes 'Maid' readers to school — not always in a good way

Stephanie Land's second memoir, 'Class,' a sequel to her blockbuster debut, 'Maid,' follows her journey to get an education — and holds readers at a distance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-31 10:00:21 UTC ]
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October is for Horror Fans! Here are 8 Scarily Good New Releases

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[ Book Riot | 2023-10-06 10:31:00 UTC ]
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Frightfully-Fun Halloween Book Club Ideas for Your Next Meeting

Who doesn't want to throw a Halloween book club? Find Halloween book club ideas, decor, party favors, and recommended reads all here! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-09-25 10:30:00 UTC ]
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‘I didn’t think it was possible to be a novelist’: Julian Barnes on literature, loss – and his late friend Martin Amis

The Booker winning author talks about how his most recent work was inspired by Hilary Mantel, and the way the books world has changed since his debut was published more than 40 years agoToo many people have been dying lately,” Julian Barnes reflects over the phone from his home in north London.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-16 08:00:25 UTC ]
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Share This Link 9 Times or Never Read a Good Book Again!

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[ Book Riot | 2023-08-07 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Finding a Good Story in Every Corner: A Conversation with José Eduardo Agualusa, by Anderson Tepper

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[ World Literature Today | 2023-07-24 20:01:34 UTC ]
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Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:35 UTC ]
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Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:31 UTC ]
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RIP to one of the great horny novelists of the 20th century, Milan Kundera.

I was surprised to read this morning that Milan Kundera, the eminent Czech novelist best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died yesterday at the age of 94. Mainly because I thought he was already dead. For a generation of literary types (Gen X in particular), Kundera was the cool,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:34:43 UTC ]
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Milan Kundera, Acclaimed Czech Novelist, Dies at 94

The Czech-born writer, who spent his most creatively productive years in exile in France, was known for his light, philosophical touch and acerbic views of men and women, most notably depicted in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Female novelists don’t need their own prizes. Let’s abolish them | Martha Gill

Barbara Kingsolver and others are no longer oppressed – they dominate book salesThere is a point at which all special treatment becomes patronising. And we have reached that point, I think, when it comes to giving women a leg-up in the business of writing fiction.Genghis Khan sacked and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-18 06:31:35 UTC ]
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