They interrupt narrative and disrupt plot – no wonder novelists have been slow to warm to mobile phones. But a new generation is putting technology at the heart of their workWhat do you call a phone when it rings in a fictional world? “Mobile” and “cell” are old, “smartphone” is almost a tautology and “phone” is so intrusive that the word seems to ring out shrilly from the page the instant you type it. This may be because we read fiction partly to escape our phones, or it may be that phones, even fictional ones, seem to demand too much of our attention. Telephones, of the kind we all keep handy, are so much a part of daily life we touch them as often as our faces. But phones in fiction require a sleight of hand: if characters use them as realism dictates, they will feel as interruptive on the page as they do at the dinner table. How can authors navigate this challenge?Like bathrooms and paid employment, it is amazing how often phones are dispensed with by many otherwise realist fiction writers. JM Coetzee famously wrote to Paul Auster (in Here and Now, the 2013 selection of their letters) that he was not prepared “to write novels in which people go around with personal electronic devices”. Because, if “everyone has access to more or less everyone else, what becomes of all that plotting?” He also lamented the impact of mobile technology on the “novel of adultery”, though surely Sally Rooney has proved there was nothing to fear. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-22 10:00:09 UTC ]
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On May 13, I finally got to read my wayward science fiction story “It Is the Voice That Unnerves Me” in The Dread Machine. I had been submitting the story since the spring of 2019, and had thought many times about consigning it to the “retired” list. I knew every word, sentence and section break... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-10-20 11:05:00 UTC ]
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The business news publisher Forbes has seen revenue from its events division rise significantly this year after it transitioned most of its portfolio from a virtual to a hybrid model, according to the publisher. The privately held property, which in July scuttled its plan to go public via a... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2022-10-17 11:14:16 UTC ]
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Several faith-based novels set during Christmastime are publishing between now and November this year, just in time for the holidays. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are as many definitions of “feminism” and “science fiction” as there are people who identify as feminists and science fiction enthusiasts—in fact, that is part of what makes both of these communities attractive to many people. However, by 1981,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-11 08:53:20 UTC ]
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A longtime librarian discovers that a healthy love of fiction is actually, well, healthy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At its best, the relationship between novelist and reader is an intimate one. Can I tell you something? whispers the writer, and the reader whispers back, Please do… Of all the forms that the novel can take, the diary is surely the most confiding of all; it’s as if the intimacy level has been... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-28 08:57:35 UTC ]
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With marketing ploys that are just transaction schemes extended into a digital space, marketers are falling behind the innovation pack. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2022-09-22 09:30:00 UTC ]
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Higher costs increased Scholastic's first quarter loss to $58.1 million, from $32 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, despite a 1.2% increase in sales. The results were "on plan," the publisher said, adding that it still expects sales and earnings in fiscal 2023 to rise over fiscal 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Megan Giddings, Emily Lloyd Jones, Sangu Mandanna and Desideria Mesa add new twists to a popular subgenre. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Today, the National Book Foundation announced the 10 books on the longlist for the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction. The judges for this year’s award are Ben Fountain (Chair), Brandon Hobson, Pam Houston, Dana Johnson, and Michelle Malonzo. The 10 longlistees were chosen from a total of 463... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-16 14:15:50 UTC ]
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With their comprehensive and alarming picture of Trump's presidency, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser show what journalism can do, and where it can fall short. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-14 21:41:17 UTC ]
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Held in person for the first time since 2019, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) 2022 conference brought over 300 authors, agents, publishers, and aspiring novelists together in St. Louis, Mo. from September 8-11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Examining disability activist and writer Alice Wong’s work, it becomes clear that almost all of her life and career is oriented toward community—a community that has thrown itself wholeheartedly behind her new memoir, 'Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Let me begin with this admission: every work of historical fiction lives somewhere between history and myth. Before one reckons with the realities of what the research reveals, one must contend with all the layers of subsequent representation of whatever historical moment they approach. Even the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-01 08:52:28 UTC ]
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In three journeys to the past, characters find themselves on quests that have nothing to do with the calendar or geography. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-30 09:00:08 UTC ]
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Congratulations to Tess Gunty, whose critically acclaimed debut novel The Rabbit Hutch has just won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize. The novel (about four teenagers—recently aged out of the state foster-care system—living together in an apartment building in the post-industrial... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-26 15:48:11 UTC ]
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A 17% increase in sales of adult fiction was not enough to prevent print book sales from declining 3.7% last week compared to the week ended August 21, 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N has implemented a new ordering policy for middle grade fiction hardcovers that has caused widespread confusion and concern in that publishing sector, but CEO James Daunt said the change is being made in all categories to "buy less" in order to "sell more." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A huge increase in sales through its physical stores offset a decline in online sales, leading to a 18.9% increase in total sales at Indigo Books & Music in the quarter ended July 2, 2022 compared with the same period of 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Tuesday: Micron, Novavax fall; Qualys, Nielsen Holdings rise Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2022-08-09 20:13:11 UTC ]
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