Nabokov on one page, nudes on the next: a Playboy literary editor reveals all

In the wake of Hugh Hefner’s death, the magazine’s former fiction editor shares how she got everyone from Donna Tartt to Margaret Atwood to write for herI am not the only woman who worked at Playboy and kept her clothes on. When I was hired as literary editor in 2005, Hugh Hefner’s basic recipe for the monthly had not changed much since the 1950s: insistent juxtapositions of high and low culture, the ingredients, as he wrote in his 1953 inaugural editorial, for “a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex” at a cocktail party.Its DNA was spliced from Esquire’s, where Hefner worked as a young man; but the nudity gave it a daring few magazines had. By the time I arrived it was at once chaste, compared with what was on offer online, and sterile, given to an overabundance of models with big breast implants and big hair. The daring had to be found elsewhere. My task, or so I told myself, was to locate it in the fiction and literary pieces. Related: Effusive Hugh Hefner tributes ignore Playboy founder's dark side Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: Dear Literary Agent

Richard Charkin offers 'a heartfelt apology,' writing that he now finds literary agents 'trusted go-betweens and understanding partners.' The post Richard Charkin: Dear Literary Agent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-08-10 17:00:17 UTC ]
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Canada’s Literary Press Group: Accessible Ebooks

Close to 600 titles will be part of the new, accessible 'Ebooks for Everyone' initiative from the Literary Press Group of Canada. The post Canada’s Literary Press Group: Accessible Ebooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-08-09 14:58:40 UTC ]
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Melissa Bank, literary chronicler of love and loss, dies at 61

Her first short-story collection, "The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing," was translated into more than 30 languages and became a best-seller. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-05 16:41:12 UTC ]
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Dollars, Cents, and Being Left With the Bill: Jillian Medoff on Breaking Up With Her Literary Agent

In 2008, after 13 years together, my literary agent and I parted ways. (To preserve her anonymity, let’s call her Michael Ovitz.) Between 1995 and 2002, Michael Ovitz sold two of my novels, including my debut, Hunger Point. By any measure, our partnership was a terrific success. Michael Ovitz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-05 08:53:09 UTC ]
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Gilbert Cruz Named New York Times Books Editor

Mr. Cruz has been the Culture editor at The Times since January 2018, leading coverage of arts and culture. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-07-28 22:22:00 UTC ]
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Meet the Editor: Valerie Weaver-Zercher

An acquiring editor at Broadleaf Books hunts for diverse writers who take on 'the urgent issues of our day.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“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 ]
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2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Winners Announced

The winners of the 2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize celebrating "excellence in publishing and advocacy for writers" have been announced. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-07-14 21:40:54 UTC ]
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Electric Literature Wins The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize

We are thrilled to announce that Electric Literature has won the prestigious Whiting Literary Magazine Prize! This highly competitive award recognizes excellence in digital and print magazines, and supports winners with an outright grant in the first year, followed by two years of a matching... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-14 13:15:00 UTC ]
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Here are the winners of the 2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes.

Today, the Whiting Foundation announced the winners of its 2022 Literary Magazine Prizes, which honor “the most innovative and essential publications at the forefront of American literary culture.” The five winners were chosen—from an initial pool of more than eighty applicants —based on their... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-14 13:01:36 UTC ]
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2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Winners Announced

The winners of the fifth annual Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes have been announced, with five publications, including 'Electric Literature' and 'Zyzzyva,' taking home a combined total of $144,000 in funding. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Among the Literary Lions, at Full Roar, in the 1980s

In “Circus of Dreams,” the literary editor John Walsh writes about the bookish life in London when Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson and their generation were in the increasingly bright limelight. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-07-12 02:13:37 UTC ]
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Apparently, those who read literary fiction—but not other kinds—have a more “complex worldview.”

Yep, as the guy in your MFA already knows, turns out reading literary fiction is better for you than reading other kinds of fiction—especially if you grew up doing it. In a new paper published this week in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, scholars Nicholas Buttrick, Erin C.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-08 16:16:52 UTC ]
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Penguin Classics Adds Marvel to the Literary Canon

The first three titles in the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection were released last month and we talk to Ben Saunders, professor of English and director of the Cartoon and Comics Studies minor at the University of Oregon and editorial director for the line, about his vision for the series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the UK, a New Literary Magazine, With International Intent

The new literary magazine 'Fictionable' launches June 27 with short works including graphic fiction and translation. The post In the UK, a New Literary Magazine, With International Intent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-06-24 20:36:08 UTC ]
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Indie bookstore boom turns page to a more diverse America

The year 2021 saw a substantial increase in the number of independent bookstores in the United States. And a growing proportion of these stores is owned by individuals from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2022-06-17 15:44:11 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed News Names Karolina Waclawiak as Top Editor

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[ The New York Times | 2022-06-16 21:14:16 UTC ]
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Meet Linda Sunshine, Groundbreaking Book Trade Comics Editor

Linda Sunshine established comics reprint imprints at both Harmony Books and Fireside in the 1970s that produced some of the earliest hardcover and trade paperback comics collections in the book trade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ubisoft will reveal 'the future of Assassin's Creed' this September

Ubisoft will reveal what’s next for its long-running Assassin’s Creed franchise later this year. The publisher announced today it will host a special event in September to discuss the future of the series. While we didn’t get many hints from the company during its recent AC 15th Anniversary... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-06-14 17:39:17 UTC ]
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Why this book startup is taking a page from Glossier and Allbirds

Book publishing startup Parea is using the DTC playbook to connect new authors to communities who will engage with their work. Every year, publishers release thousands of new titles, but the vast majority don’t turn a profit. M0st authors spend years working on a book, only to see it languish,... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-06-14 09:00:06 UTC ]
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