Literary fiction conveys the human character | Letters

Helen Cross, Andy Stelman, Mark Stewart and Richard Adams respond to a recent Guardian article by Tim LottAs someone whose tiny, grimy literary novels have attracted the interest of the film industry, the truth is the opposite of what Tim Lott (Why should we subsidise writers who’ve lost the plot?, 2 January) suggests; it’s the screenwriter who needs the literary novelist. Plot is easy to learn (and even easier to flog to impressionable students excited by the supposed glamour of the writing life), but impossible to make work on the page without an ability to master what the novel can uniquely convey: the deep mysteries of human interiority. Or, as the screenwriters say, character.Helen CrossFlamborough, East Yorkshire• Tim Lott clearly has not heard of, nor read: Adam Thorpe (Ulverton), Graham Swift (Waterland and Mothering Sunday), Sebastian Barry (A Long, Long Way and Days Without End), Colm Tóibín (Norah Webster), Kamila Shamsie (Home Fire), Salley Vickers (Miss Garnet’s Angel) and many other contemporary British and Irish authors who maintain and expand a “great tradition” of fictional output.Andy StelmanBishop’s Castle, Shropshire Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #mothering sunday #sebastian barry #irish authors

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Literary fiction conveys the human character | Letters'


Do Literary Agents Steal Ideas? What About Editors and Publishers?

Do literary agents steal ideas? Do editors and publishers? Is there any way to protect yourself? Find the answers here. The post Do Literary Agents Steal Ideas? What About Editors and Publishers? by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-03-11 03:44:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agents


Human rights lawyer's Parting Words sweeps through Europe

Sphere has done a string of "major" international rights deals for a memoir by human rights lawer Benjamin Ferencz, Parting Words, including a pre-empt in Germany. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 23:17:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #parting words #memoir


Old Injustices That Won’t Die in the Fiction of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, by Apala Bhowmick

Book Reviews Apala Bhowmick The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die (John Murray, 2019), by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, translated from the original Bangla by Arunava Sinha, is a fast-paced thriller about the rescue mission around the flagging finances of an... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-10 15:47:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie publisher


Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction unveils 2020 longlist

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has unveiled this year’s longlist after "lively debates" among the judges. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-09 10:22:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction


Oliver Morton: Science Journalism and Humanity’s Fascination with the Moon

OLIVER MORTON’S The Moon is a masterpiece of science journalism that throws fresh light on its eponymous subject. Morton mines fields as diverse as aerospace science, history, astrobiology, mythology, geology, and science fiction in pursuit of lessons the Moon can teach us about space... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-03-06 20:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oliver morton #space exploration #science fiction


Do Literary Agents Work on Weekends?

Do literary agents work on weekends? If so, is this a better time to submit my query or manuscript? Does it matter what time of day? Find the answers here. The post Do Literary Agents Work on Weekends? by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-03-06 19:58:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agents


PEN America’s 2020 Literary Award Winners

More than US$330,000 in prize money is attached to the annual PEN America Literary Awards, each of which is selected by a separate jury. The post PEN America’s 2020 Literary Award Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-06 10:59:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pen america #prize money #literary award


‘The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom’ beautifully demonstrates the evolution of a genre

The book is a sumptuous scrapbook of photographs, magazine covers, artwork and hundreds of articles. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-04 17:19:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine covers #science fiction


Here’s a list of international literary events canceled over coronavirus concerns.

We’re keeping track of the book fairs and other events that have been canceled or rescheduled as coronavirus spreads around the globe. Check back here for updates. Taipei International Book Exhibition (Taipei, Taiwan, Feb. 4-9): Rescheduled for May 7-12 Leipzig Book Fair (Leipzig, Germany, March... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-03 18:16:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus concerns #keeping track #book fairs #coronavirus spreads #check back #book fair


A new site for headline-inspired fiction launches today with stories by Carmen Maria Machado, Colum McCann, and more.

We can’t stop telling stories about pandemics, even as we wait for one to hit us. As coronavirus spreads across the world, so have headlines about the ways that storytellers, from those in Babylonia to contemporary novelists and Hollywood, have used infectious disease for narrative effect. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-02 16:51:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #colum mccann #coronavirus spreads #contemporary novelists #infectious disease #novelists


Canongate to launch Letters of Note audio editions

Canongate is launching audio editions of Letters of Note for the first time, described as a “collection of the world’s most entertaining, inspiring and powerful letters” read by an all-star cast. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-02 00:24:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #all-star cast


Indies increasingly dominating translated fiction

Indie presses are increasingly dominating translated fiction because of the way they find and promote authors, according to an analysis of the longlists for the Booker International Prize and its predecessor. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-28 06:05:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie presses


Publishers keep a watchful eye on intricate non-fiction as LBF approaches

Despite fears around the coronavirus disrupting the London Book Fair, agents are reporting undimmed interest in highbrow but accessible non-fiction, with feminist fiction also faring well.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-28 02:35:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #watchful eye #feminist fiction


Granta signs Partlett's non-fiction debut about New York's Fire Island

Granta has signed non-fiction debut Written in the Sand by British poet and essayist Jack Parlett. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 09:17:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Taco Bell Quarterly is the literary magazine you didn’t know you needed.

It happened yesterday at 7:59pm. My dear friend and colleague, Olivia Rutigliano, sent me a text that I’ll never forget. It was a screenshot of her Twitter notifications. Taco Bell Quarterly (@TBQuarterly) had followed her. What is Taco Bell Quarterly? Is it a joke? How did this even start? Are... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 21:25:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #taco bell #literary magazine


Do Literary Agents Cost Money?

Do literary agents cost money? If so, what should I expect? If not, how do they earn a living? Either way, are literary agents worth it? Find the answers here. The post Do Literary Agents Cost Money? by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-25 21:16:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agents


A Bite of the Apple by Lennie Goodings – essential literary memoir

The Virago publisher is eloquent and inspiring on writing – but her memoir lacks grit and gossipLennie Goodings has had a long and highly respected career in publishing. She is chair of Virago Press, the pioneering publishing house that champions women’s writing. She’s been with Virago since the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-23 09:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #maya angelou #margaret atwood #memoir


Open letter calls for China to release bookseller Gui Minhai

Publisher Eva Bonnier and author David Lagercrantz are among the signatories of an open letter calling for the release of Gui Minhai, a bookseller imprisoned in China. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-20 16:34:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gui minhai #bonnier #bookseller


A tale of the free-spirited women who tangled with Orwell and other literary lions

“The Lost Girls” is a group biography of love and lust among the wartime literati. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-19 19:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #free-spirited women #literary lions #lost girls #group biography #wartime literati


The L.A. Times announces its 2019 Book Prize finalists and a new award for science fiction.

It’s an exciting year for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes! This will be its 40th year of celebrating the literary community. The Times announced their 2019 Book Prize finalists today; the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 17th. Additionally, bestselling crime... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 17:41:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #40th year #literary community #april 17th #times book #book prize