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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Looking to diversify your reading list? Then this alphabet of SFF authors of color is a great place to start! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-19 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Marrying Friends, the forthcoming collection of short stories from Mary Rechner, which will be published by Propeller Books in October. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: When her troubled husband dies unexpectedly, mercurial Therese... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-11 15:00:43 UTC ]
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Want to read more historical fiction set in Mexico? We've got you covered with these 20 absolute must-read books! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-11 10:31:00 UTC ]
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The influencer and Slay in Your Lane co-author talks about her journey via Twitter to become a writer, and channelling her experience of social media into debut novel The List“Honestly, I’m a better painter than I am a writer,” says Yomi Adegoke, cackling, as she takes a sip of prosecco.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-01 08:00:07 UTC ]
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With the rise of fan fiction publishing and TikTok, microgenres — genres that have defined and specific plots — have reached new heights. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-06-28 10:33:00 UTC ]
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As a fiction writer, I’ve always felt compelled, memoir style, to pore over my life’s timeline. But in a novel, I can erase, revise, smash, crash, reconstruct, and transfigure that squiggly narrative. A novel has no obligation to mirror or represent anything familiar, recognizable, or real. And... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-28 08:52:54 UTC ]
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Fictional Translations: Pablo Neruda’s “Oda al actor,” by Ilan Stavans Poetry [email protected] Mon, 06/26/2023 - 13:48 Photo by throgers / FlickrIn what follows, I have created three heteronyms to render Pablo Neruda’s “Oda al actor” into English.... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-06-26 18:48:50 UTC ]
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India is a land of great linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity. Here are 20 of the best examples of historical fiction set in India. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-06-15 10:32:00 UTC ]
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The American author Barbara Kingsolver has become the only writer to win the United Kingdom's Women's Prize for Fiction twice. The post Barbara Kingsolver Wins the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-06-14 18:31:40 UTC ]
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Before I dedicated my life to taking pot-shots at the nature of the universe—I mean, before I became a science fiction writer—I was a frightened child. Death scared me, but living was the constant terror. My father told me I had chosen this. I had come to him in a dream before I was born […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-14 08:53:04 UTC ]
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The first three titles under the Focus Fiction imprint will be acquired and edited by Jerry B. Jenkins and will be published this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The first three titles under the Focus Fiction label will be acquired and edited by Jerry B. Jenkins and will be published this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A sequel to Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Shuffle,” new stories from Jamel Brinkley, a debut novel about a teenager who worked for Andy Warhol — and more. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-09 09:01:29 UTC ]
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Jeff Crosby, the executive director of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, learns to embrace Christian fiction after years as a skeptic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Crosby, the executive director of the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association, learns to embrace Christian fiction after years as a skeptic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Snyder, a visionary and imperious executive at Simon & Schuster who presided over the publisher’s exponential rise during the second half of the 20th century and helped define an era of growing corporate power, has died Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-06-08 01:26:39 UTC ]
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Whether you're looking to belly laugh, contemplate the future of humanity, or dig into conspiracy theories, I have a sci-fi read for you! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-05-30 10:34:00 UTC ]
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These books rewind time, depositing readers in the Cumbrian countryside, coastal Maine, rural Wyoming and beyond. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-26 15:30:50 UTC ]
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New novels by Fonda Lee, Martha Wells, Nick Harkaway, Kelly Link and Emma Törzs. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-26 15:30:50 UTC ]
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A combination of a 13.1% increase in the adult fiction category and flat sales in adult nonfiction was enough to lift unit sales of print books up 1.3% last week over the comparable week in 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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