Mike McCormack: ‘If I’ve one gift as a writer, it’s patience’

The award-winning Irish author on losing his father at 18, the drawbacks of English editors and the theme of imprisonment in his workMike McCormack was born in London in 1965 and raised on a farm in County Mayo in the west of Ireland. He published his first story collection, Getting It in the Head, in 1996, followed by three novels that have marked him out as an experimentalist. Notes from a Coma (2005) interspersed its narrative with a fragmentary commentary at the bottom of each page. His work reached a wider audience with 2016’s Solar Bones, in which a lonely Mayo engineer recalls his life in one unending sentence – it won the Goldsmiths prize and was longlisted for the Booker. His latest novel, This Plague of Souls, follows a painter named Nealon as he returns home from prison and sets out to find his wife and child amid brewing global unrest. McCormack lives in Galway with his wife, artist Maeve Curtis, and their son.What sparked the new book?I started writing it in 2012, around the same time as Solar Bones, which then asserted priority. It seems that I was very interested in how worlds collapse, but coming into Covid, the focus changed from how the world collapses to how do we put it back together. Both books are about men trying to build a world – one as an engineer, the other as an artist – and both books seem to think that world building has to do with the making of family. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 18:00:01 UTC ]
News tagged with: #story collection #wider audience #solar bones #unending sentence #goldsmiths prize #returns home #started writing #irish author

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Mike McCormack: ‘If I’ve one gift as a writer, it’s patience’'

Why are writers being curbed by NSA surveillance?

PEN American Center's report "Chilling Effects," offers some disturbing data about the effect of government surveillance on free expression and self-censorship in the literary world.PEN American Center’s report “Chilling Effects,” officially released Tuesday morning, offers some disturbing data... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #government surveillance #free expression #literary world

C&R partners with ValoBox for ebook gifting

Constable & Robinson (C&R) and pay-as-you-go ebook service ValoBox have partnered to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cr partners #ebook gifting

The 2013 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, a destination literary and arts festival created in response to the Bali bombings in 2002 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year marks #10th anniversary

One Year Later, Medium Is Changing the Way Its Writers Write and Its Readers Read

It was just more than a year ago that Ev Williams and Biz Stone created the publishing platform Medium. The Internet officially met the site in August 2012, and since then, Medium&rsquo;s popularity has grown enough for even the most ske ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Fox's Distribution Head Mike Hopkins May Succeed Andy Forssell as Hulu CEO

Per a report from Bloomberg last night, Fox Networks president of distribution Mike Hopkins is close to being named CEO of Disney/21st Century Fox/Comcast joint venture Hulu. After founder Jason Kilar resigned in March (along with chief technology officer Tom Rich), svp of content and... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long history #marvel universe #great success #sea change #tech guy

Furloughed by the government? At least you've got time to read. (+video)

In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #government shutdown #furloughed workers

Furloughed by the government? At least you've got time to read

In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #government shutdown #furloughed workers

Publishing System Helps Writers Determine Audience Interest

InboundWriter wants to help big publishers and niche bloggers figure out how much demand there is for their idea in the Web ecosystem before they type a word or hit "publish." At least that's the idea behind the newest version of the startup's software, which the company said will be used by... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #search engines #research tool

Amazon's New Offer: Discounted Kindle Versions of Print Books You've Already Bought

Amazon said on Tuesday that it will unveil a program that will let Amazon customers purchase the digital versions of print books they've already bought -- or will buy -- from Amazon, for $2.99 or less. The initiative, called Kindle MatchBook, will launch in October with at least 10,000... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print books #digital versions

Man Booker Prize long list includes writers Colum McCann, Tash Aw

While some books on this year's Man Booker prize long list have gotten buzz here in the US, none of them compare (so far) with the success of last year's winner, Hilary Mantel's 'Bring Up the Bodies.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tash aw #hilary mantel

Sheffield authors triumph at Northern Writers' Awards

Twenty-two published and unpublished authors last night (18th) shared the £40,000 prize... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #northern writers #unpublished authors

Amazon's Kindle Worlds will allow writers to sell fan fiction

The digital publishing platform will let fans write, publish, and sell the stories they've written based on popular books, TV shows, and more. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle worlds #popular books #tv shows

Judge rules gifts cards from belly-up Borders bookstores worthless

Those clinging hopefully to the old Borders books gift cards stashed in their drawers or wallets are out of luck, a Manhattan federal judge ruled Wednesday.Those clinging hopefully to the old Borders books gift cards stashed in their drawers or wallets are out of luck, a Manhattan federal judge... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore chain

Amazon launches Kindle Worlds publishing platform for fan fiction, will pay royalties to writers and rights holders

Amazon's taken a number of steps to bring different types of content to the Kindle Store, and it's now venturing into an area that has a long history with the internet: fan fiction. The company's today announced Kindle Worlds, a new publishing platform that promises to pay writers royalties for... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #warner bros #alloy entertainment #gossip girl #vampire diaries #finer details #press release #kindle worlds

'Wonderful' shortlists for Food Writers awards

The Guild of Food Writers Awards shortlists include a “wonderful diversity of subject... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wonderful diversity

Writer Colvin on Orwell shortlist

Journalist killed in Syria is shortlisted for Orwell Book Prize, which celebrates political writing. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #orwell shortlist

Unpublished writer wins Historical Novel Society award, heads to LBF

A previously unpublished writer has won the inaugural Historical Novel Society International... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Achebe, 'greatest of all African writers', dies

The death of novelist Chinua Achebe has been confirmed. A statement from The Wylie Agency... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #african writers #wylie agency

Amazon's new imprints give opportunities to debut authors, short story writers

Amazon's Little A imprint will release novels, memoirs, and story collections, while Day One will focus on short stories and new writers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut authors #short stories