Jennifer Egan: ‘Twitter doesn’t make me feel optimistic about human nature’

The Pulitzer prize-winning author discusses her follow up to A Visit from the Goon Squad and how imagining a new technology set her writing freeWhen Jennifer Egan bought her house in Brooklyn 20 years ago, it had been on the market for eight months. The owners were an elderly couple, and the place was distressed. “There were holes in the floor and the walls were drab,” says Egan, sitting in the kitchen of what is now a beautifully renovated property, full of lovely art and restored period details. Remembering how it was fills the 59-year-old novelist with a peculiar and very specific dread. “What really made it gloomy – and I’m very conscious of this – was that the family who’d lived here, the child had grown up, the parents had gotten old, and I think they’d stopped seeing it. There are moments when I think: is that happening now?”It’s the condition in which most of us live – after a while, we stop seeing our surroundings – and one against which Egan’s skill as a novelist is set. She is highly attuned to the falsifying effects of nostalgia, complacency, solipsism and ignorance of history, and to the delusions of uniqueness that dog every age. She is obsessed, for example, with the 1870s, “an amazing decade, because, except for the telegraph, almost none of the inventions we take for granted now – electricity, say – existed yet. And yet, 20 or 30 years later, there were cars. I think we underestimate the degree to which the change we experience is what it’s always been... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-04-16 08:00:03 UTC ]
News tagged with: #jennifer egan #feel optimistic #human nature #goon squad #human beings #prize-winning author

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Why are biographies so popular? Because humans are enthralled by the lives of others | Caroline Knox

We seek inspiration, consolation – and the unvarnished truth. And we know that all the best stories are trueCaroline Knox is director of the Boswell book festivalMy love affair with biography began aged nine, when my subscription book club sent me a compendium of “true life” adventure stories.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-09 08:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unvarnished truth #travel writing #senior editor #lord byron #literary legacy #book festival #memoir #book club


NewFronts Day 3—Twitter shows up after all and inside TikTok’s invite-only event

Welcome to Ad Age’s NewFronts 2023 newsletter. We’ve been sharing a daily roundup of events, interviews and sessions from Interactive Advertising Bureau's dog-and-pony show throughout the week. You can find all of Ad Age's NewFronts coverage here. Twitter went from NoFronts to NewFronts—kind... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2023-05-04 14:42:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #upfront negotiations #digital platforms #senior vp #reach audiences #premium publisher


At 48, I should be inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow and her abs. But they make me want to throw things | Emma Beddington

You want a middle-aged woman to run an ultramarathon or start a wellness empire? Can’t I just have a breakdown?There is good news for midlifers, so gird your loins for a flurry of off-brand optimism. Kicking off the list is a new prize for debut novelists over 50. “The reason we launched the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-30 13:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gwyneth paltrow #debut novelists #lisa highton #novelists


Practice Makes Perfect, and Also Nothing Matters: Emily St. John Mandel on Revision and Recklessness

Emily St. John Mandel is the guest. Her latest book, Sea of Tranquility, is out now in paperback from Vintage. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts!  From the episode: Brad Listi: As I was reading with my writer hat on and thinking about the challenges presented by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:53:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #emily st #john mandel #brad listi #challenges presented


'They can't ban all the books': Why two banned authors are so optimistic

"Banned Books," one of the most popular panels at the Festival of Books, featured Angie Thomas, George M. Johnson and some sharp students from Fairfax High. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-04-24 19:40:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #banned books #fairfax high #fairfax


Definitive proof that publishing your novel won’t make you happy.

Hug an author today! Fifty-four percent of debut authors responding to Bookseller survey said the process had a negative impact on their mental health—equally likely to feel bummed out whether they pubbed with a Big Four or an indie publisher. One, quoted anonymously in The Bookseller’s report,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 15:32:12 UTC ]
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Gadgets that make great Mother's Day gifts

Your mom might not be as up to date as you on the latest tech trends, but that doesn't mean a carefully chosen gadget wouldn't make her life easier. While flowers and breakfast in bed remain lovely Mother's Day gifts, you may want to try a different tack this year and get your mom something... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-04-24 13:15:33 UTC ]
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Survey Finds Self-Published Authors Making Gains

The median income for self-published authors increased substantially in 2022 compared to 2021, to $12,749 last year—more than the median for authors published by traditional houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Paying Twitter users can now post up to 10,000 characters

One of the defining features of Twitter since its inception has been the character limit, forcing users to be direct and concise. It’s such a big deal that when the limit was doubled, from just 140 characters to 280, it became a subject of primetime TV gags. But under the guiding hand of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-04-14 14:57:40 UTC ]
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Springer Nature Issues a New Sustainability Report

The 2022 'Sustainable Business Report' from the Springer Nature Group examines workforce dynamics and responses to the climate crisis. The post Springer Nature Issues a New Sustainability Report appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-05 20:42:53 UTC ]
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‘I love nothing more than making people cry’: author Cheryl Strayed on her hugely moving TV show

Profound, big-hearted, and raw, the adaptation of bestselling book Tiny Beautiful Things is powerful television. Its writer talks grief, sorrow and being friends for life with Reese WitherspoonIn 2011, a little-known fortysomething author called Cheryl Strayed was about to become huge. She had... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-05 05:00:25 UTC ]
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The Morning After: Twitter keeps legacy verified blue ticks around, for now

Last week, Twitter said it would start winding down the legacy verified program on April 1st, but over the weekend, that didn't happen, because (according to The Washington Post) unverifying users is a painstaking manual process. Meanwhile, another report indicated around 10,000 of the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-04-04 11:15:47 UTC ]
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Catherine Lacey: ‘That constant nervous Twitter energy repels me’

The American novelist, whose latest work is a fake biography of an avant-garde artist, on growing up in Mississippi and why her fiction has ‘never actively involved cellphones or the internet’Catherine Lacey, 37, is the author of three previous novels, including The Answers, currently being... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-01 17:00:01 UTC ]
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Making Books Come Alive: Close-Up on Hardie Grant North America

Longtime publisher Hardie Grant is kicking off their North American line of food and lifestyle titles in style. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jennifer Rosner on Crafting Evocative Historical Fiction That Honors the Past

I first connected with Jennifer Rosner as fellow debut authors in early 2020 (you might recall what happened next). Historical fiction authors trip upon, excavate and fictionalize stories from the past that in turn inspire each other. I loved Jennifer’s brilliant debut The Yellow Bird Sings and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-16 08:52:55 UTC ]
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ABC accuses News Corp and Daily Mail of amplifying misogynist Twitter abuse of Lisa Millar

Trolling of News Breakfast host over her outfit reported by the media outlets with screenshots and abusive tweetsLATEST: ABC host Lisa Millar admits anger but also hope after news sites republish ‘foul’ online abuseGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe ABC... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-07 03:08:44 UTC ]
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Netflix making live-action 'One Piece' from popular manga

Hit Japanese manga “One Piece” is coming to Netflix as a live-action series — a development that’s both exciting and worrisome for fans who have seen mixed success in a growing list of Hollywood adaptations Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-03-06 02:32:30 UTC ]
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Don’t write what you know, write what you feel: bestselling authors offer tips on World Book Day

Malorie Blackman advises budding authors to pick up on news stories, but Julia Donaldson warns of pitfalls – and Alan Moore says you should read terrible books as well as good onesThe key to being a good writer? It’s being a good reader, authors including Carol Ann Duffy and Alan Moore have said... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-02 15:43:52 UTC ]
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How NASA pulled off the DART mission, making science fiction a reality

In a test of planetary defense capabilities, NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory crashed a spacecraft to alter an object’s orbit. NASA is No. 17 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-03-02 07:00:00 UTC ]
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