Memoirists weigh in with 'Why We Write About Ourselves'

When Dani Shapiro was writing about her mother in her memoir "Slow Motion," she imagined sending her on a cruise around the world that would last exactly as long it took the book to "pass from public consciousness." Instead, she had a close friend, a parent of a teenager, give the manuscript a... Continue reading at 'Los Angeles Times'

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #dani shapiro #public consciousness #close friend

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How ‘Dead Souls’ Taught Mel Brooks What Comedy Writing Could Be

“I’d never read anything like it,” says the actor and director, whose memoir “All About Me!” is newly out in paperback. “It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time. It’s like Gogol stuck a pen in his heart, and it didn’t even go through his mind on its way to the page.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-10 10:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dead souls #comedy writing #incredibly moving #memoir


What I Write in My Journal is Just for Me (It is Not My Memoir)

I wrote in my journal this morning. I am not going to disclose its contents to you here, on this page, on Beyoncé’s internet. What I write in my journal, its unfiltered stream of consciousness, is just for me. A memoir is not a journal. * Also this morning: I wrote up to the very […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-28 08:57:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Review: A "mixed" memoirist's Silk Road travelogue becomes a road map to sanctuary

Sofia Samatar's "The White Mosque," a singular memoir about a journey through Asia on the trail of a Mennonite sect, tracks a personal search as well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-24 13:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #road map #sofia samatar #white mosque #singular memoir #personal search #memoir


Mary Karr on Navigating Memory While Writing Memoir

The following is an excerpt from Joy Harjo’s The Art of Memoir and appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. * At unexpected points in life, everyone gets waylaid by the colossal force of recollection. One minute you’re a grown-ass woman, then a whiff of cumin conjures... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-21 08:53:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mary karr #writing memoir #joy harjo #sthe craft #writing newsletter—sign #memoir


Why Lydia Millet writes about what frightens her most

Lydia Millet, author of 'A Children's Bible,' joins the L.A. Times Book Club to discuss her new novel, 'Dinosaurs.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-10 13:00:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lydia millet #times book


Jada Pinkett Smith writing memoir about life, 'complicated marriage to Will Smith'

Jada Pinkett Smith's memoir will take readers on 'a rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-06 19:59:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #complicated marriage #memoir


Al Pacino is reportedly writing his first memoir.

As Tony Montana would probably say if he were a literary agent: In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the memoir. That’s right! Al Pacino is reportedly in talks to sell his first memoir […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-05 14:49:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #al pacino #literary agent #memoir


She Writes Press and SparkPress: Hybrids That Lead by Example

When these sister hybrid houses merge their knowledge and expertise, their authors—and the entire publishing industry—benefit. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rabih Alameddine on Only Writing When You Have Something to Say

Rabih Alameddine’s The Wrong End of the Telescope is out now in paperback from Grove Atlantic, so we asked him about writer’s block, the best books to re-read, and procrastinating. * How do you tackle writer’s block? I don’t, nor do I wish to anymore. Not unless I have an external deadline,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-09 08:53:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tackle writer #rabih alameddine #grove atlantic


All Things Are Possible: Mario Vargas Llosa on the Eternal Youth of Flaubert’s Writing

Translated by Charlotte Whittle At some point in the last century, I arrived in Paris and that very day bought a copy of Madame Bovary in a bookstore called Joie de Vivre in the Latin Quarter. I stayed up nearly all night reading it and by dawn I knew what kind of writer I wanted […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-29 08:52:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #charlotte whittle #madame bovary #night reading #bookstore


Here are the songs Bob Dylan is writing about in his forthcoming book on “modern song.”

As some of you may already know (and sure, some of you may not care) Bob Dylan is publishing a book this November about his “philosophy of modern song” called… The Philosophy of Modern Song. If you are among those who do care (like me) the table of contents of the Nobel laureate’s foray into […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-26 15:37:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #modern song #nobel laureate


Coding and Creative Writing Have More in Common Than You Think

While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #creative writing #computer science #novelists


Chateaubriand on Writing Memoir between Two Societies

“It was an ‘I‘ of early days long gone who lived in these places, and that ‘I’ has already succumbed, for our days die before us.” Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2022-08-22 15:42:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing memoir #memoir


Op-Ed: How an antitrust trial could reshape the books we read — and who writes them

The proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster could lead to fewer voices — including marginalized voices — being published. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-08-18 10:09:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #antitrust trial #proposed merger #simon schuster #penguin random house


Lucy Sante on Writing with the Back Brain

The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. At a literary festival a few years ago, during question time after a panel discussion, an audience member told me, “You’re one of those intuitive writers,” stepping hard on the adjective. Aren’t we all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-12 08:52:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lit hub #sthe craft #question time #panel discussion #writing newsletter—sign #literary festival


Augusten Burroughs wants to help you process your trauma through writing (for $50,000).

If you have unprocessed trauma, $50,000, and a sense of adventure when it comes to your mental health, a new “wellness recovery program” created by Augusten Burroughs—author of the best-selling memoir Running With Scissors—may be right up your alley. The week-long program, called Focus-Directed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-08 14:41:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mental health #memoir


Writing Intimate Truths and Why Memoir Is a Force That’s Changing the Culture

Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is currently in its fourth year. We are a weekly podcast for writers craving a unique blend of inspiration and real talk about the ups and downs of the writing life. Hosted by Brooke Warner of She Writes and Grant Faulkner of National Novel Writing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-01 08:51:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fourth year #weekly podcast #writing life #grant faulkner #memoir


“I Did Not Get Anywhere Until I Became a True Literary Citizen.” Courtney Maum on Making a Writing Career

I remember the first time I met Courtney Maum. It was nearly ten years ago, a spring or maybe summer day in Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens. We were both in our twenties, no books published yet, just a few free essays here and there, just starting our writing careers with the fierce intensity of Jack... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-18 08:52:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #courtney maum #writing career #writing careers


Erika L. Sánchez Wishes More Authors Would Write About Money

“I grew up working class and money was a factor in everything we did,” says the poet and novelist, whose new book is the memoir “Crying in the Bathroom.” “That’s why I always write about the financial realities of my characters.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-07-07 09:00:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #working class #memoir crying #memoir


Eso Won Books Writes Its Closing Chapter

Eso Won Books, part of the Los Angeles book scene for more than 33 years and one of the country's most prominent Black bookstores, will close by the end of 2022, co-owner James Fugate confirmed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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