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 ]
In this post-Fleabag world, publishing has become obsessed with the inner turmoils of messy millennials – but isn’t it time they pulled themselves together? Meet the novelists subverting the clichesYou’ve probably come across this woman: she is unfulfilled in her career, has been abandoned by at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 15:19:43 UTC ]
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The freshly announced “Booker’s dozen” of titles longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize is making its way around the literary internet, so let’s see what the morning tides have brought in. There are four debut novelists on the list, and Irish writers nabbed a record four out of the 13 nominations... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-01 14:43:06 UTC ]
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Previously nominated authors Sebastian Barry, Tan Twan Eng and Paul Murray join 13-strong field including four debuts• Irish writers, debuts – and groundbreaking sci-fi: the Booker longlist in depthA longlist of 13 “original and thrilling” books offering “startling portraits of the current” are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-01 08:00:00 UTC ]
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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... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-22 10:00:09 UTC ]
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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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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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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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It’s back and here to ruin our savings and increase the gadgets in our homes. Yes, Amazon Prime Day isn’t entirely about headphones, tablets and wearables, but for Engadget staff… well, it feels like it is. Prime Day deals on tech are typically only matched by Black Friday and Cyber Monday... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-07-11 11:15:13 UTC ]
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Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI. On Friday, the comedian and author, alongside novelists Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey, filed a pair of complaints against OpenAI and Meta (via Gizmodo). The group alleges the firms trained their large language models on copyrighted materials, including... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-07-10 17:53:22 UTC ]
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Two bestselling novelists filed a suit against OpenAI, claiming the company used intellectual property to 'train' its artificial intelligence chatbot. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-01 14:28:47 UTC ]
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Public figures back strike at Le Journal du Dimanche to protest against appointment of Geoffroy LejeuneActors, novelists and leftwing politicians have joined support for major strike action at France’s flagship Sunday newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, to protest against the appointment, ahead... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-27 15:32:49 UTC ]
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American editor who worked with many celebrated authors including Anthony Burgess, Doris Lessing and Joseph HellerRobert Gottlieb, who has died age 92, was the outstanding literary editor of the second half of the 20th century. Among the renowned novelists he worked with were Doris Lessing, Toni... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-26 16:14:17 UTC ]
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A look into Nora Roberts one of the most popular romance novelists of all time who helped redefine the genre in the 1980s and beyond. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-06-21 10:37:00 UTC ]
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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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Most actors make terrible novelists – but writing the ‘cracking thriller’ Deadly Game was life-affirming for the veteran star, so never mind the finished productGod spare us another millionaire actor who fancies themself as a bestselling author –unless the actor is Michael Caine, in which case... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-08 12:30:07 UTC ]
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I’ve been working on a theory about novelists lately: most of us wish we were rock stars. I’m basing this on a few things, like, for example, who wouldn’t want to be a rock star? Also, with all our anonymity, social anxiety disorders, and how we tend to be at our best while wearing sweatpants […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-07 08:52:59 UTC ]
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The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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Kevin Powers was among the best in a wave of novelists on Iraq and Afghanistan. His new thriller, "A Line in the Sand," signals their slow fade from relevance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-12 13:00:10 UTC ]
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Novelists Barbara Kingsolver and Hernan Diaz tied for the Fiction prize, and 'Washington Post' journalists Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa's took home the Nonfiction prize at this year's Pulitzer Prize ceremony on May 8. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Telling good stories in games is really hard. It’s hard in any medium, of course, but games provide a set of challenges over and above those faced by novelists and screenwriters. Take the question of agency—if the player is allowed to make the primary narrative decisions in the game, then the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-01 15:00:45 UTC ]
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