‘It was a deflating experience’: the novelists who nearly gave up

With earnings having dropped by 60%, it is harder than ever to keep going as a writer – even if your work gets rave reviewsThe 2022 publication of A Hunger, Ross Raisin’s fourth novel, was his “lowest moment”, the 45-year-old author says. “It was a deflating experience.”The book received positive reviews, but then Raisin found out it wouldn’t be stocked in a large high-street book chain, and literary festivals claimed they “didn’t have space” to programme him. “I had to work hard not to succumb to a negativity that in turn thwarts creativity,” he says. It made him consider giving up writing altogether. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-10-14 15:35:55 UTC ]
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James Salter dies at 90; novelist wrote 'A Sport and a Pastime'

James Salter, the prize-winning author acclaimed for his sophisticated, granular prose and sobering insights in "Light Years," "A Sport and a Pastime" and other fiction, died Friday in Sag Harbor, N.Y. He was 90. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No men allowed: publisher accepts novelist's 'year of women' challenge

Small press And Other Stories will produce no books by men in 2018 in answer to Kamila Shamsie’s call for direct action to beat gender bias in publishingSmall press And Other Stories has answered author Kamila Shamsie’s provocative call for a year of publishing women to redress “gender bias” in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook's Experiment to Publish News Articles Has Gotten Awfully Quiet — Three Weeks After Everyone Was Freaking Out About It

On May 12, Facebook launched its much discussed publishing product designed to let media companies post their articles directly to its iOS app. Called "Facebook Instant Articles," the new format loads stories on mobile phones up t ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2015: Amy Stewart - Gardening Expert to Debut Novelist

When gardening writer Amy Stewart was researching The Drunken Botanist (Algonquin, 2013), about the intersection of botany and booze, she came across Henry Kaufman, a gin smuggler from a hundred years ago. Although she hasn't been able to verify that he's the same Kaufman who ran a silk-dyeing... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will Self's 'amanuensis' to publish memoir of working for the novelist

Matthew De Abaitua’s Self & I covers the six-month period he spent reading, drinking and rolling ‘special cigarettes’ as assistant to the Booker-shortlisted author in the early 1990sFrom an interview involving shooting whisky bottles and smoking “special” cigarettes to an attempt to take a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Companies Need Novelists

Leaders, take note (and MFA grads, take heart): acclaimed novelist Mohsin Hamid on the most important tool you're not using enough.True story: In 2007, the Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid catapulted into the literary spotlight with his second book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, an examination of... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter boss confirms plans to expand curated 'experiences' to all users

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[ The Guardian | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Experience tells on Baileys Women's Prize shortlist

Five writers on the six-strong shortlist for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction – Rachel Cusk, Kamila Shamsie, Ali Smith, Anne Tyler and Sarah Waters – have all been shortlisted for the award before. The sixth novelist, Laline Paull, is shortlisted for her debut The Bees (Fourth... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2015: At Digital Minds, Publishers Urged to Experiment, and Learn

The seventh annual Publishing for Digital Minds Conference kicked off the London Book Fair, with the main exhibits officially opening on Tuesday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Teen novelists: the perils and positives of publishing early

Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to allHelena Coggan’s debut, The Catalyst, is an accomplished... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Does fan fiction spell the end of the professional novelist?

In popular genres such as sci-fi and fantasy, fan fiction based on the Wattpad model could easily disrupt the publishing industryFor a few years in the mid 2000s, I was the young librarian who got sent to schools to convince kids they really did want to read books. The truth of my experience was... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Southbank to create Alice in Wonderland 'immersive experience'

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The novelist’s art of the tweet is brought to book

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[ The Guardian | 2014-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google 'experimenting with buy button'

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Land Rover commissions novelist William Boyd’s latest

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[ Digiday | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut Novelist Wins Canada’s Biggest Lit Prize

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scientists Experiment With... Robotic Bacteria?

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[ Fast Company | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Genre Shows Go Mainstream, TV Execs Are Looking to Novelists for the Next Hit

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[ AdWeek | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Brilliantly Witty Book Mined From Twitter’s Wannabe Novelists

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[ Wired | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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