Naomi Alderman: ‘A writer’s job is courage. You’ve got to be as honest as you can”

The bestselling author of The Power talks about her new techno-thriller, coping with grief and finding hope in the darkest of storiesNaomi Alderman, author of the bestselling novel The Power, is just getting over Covid and feeling a bit wiped out. “But don’t worry, I still seem able to talk for England,” she says cheerfully from her home in north London, when we meet to talk about her new novel The Future. “I figured I might as well let people know that I’m an ambitious writer,” she jokes of her punchy titles. Our conversation ranges from the Old Testament (“I like Genesis much more than I like Leviticus”) to QAnon (“a new religious belief”) and AI, as well as private griefs and the unfolding tragedy in the Middle East.The 49-year-old describes herself as a “games writer turned novelist”: she co-created the Zombies, Run! app, which has 10 million users, “to make exercise a bit less bloody boring”. Just as she aims to keep people running, so she writes to keep people reading, taking the pacy, wildly inventive possibilities of gaming into her novels. Whereas Iris Murdoch used to write fiction in the mornings and philosophy in the afternoons, Alderman does books in the mornings and games after lunch – and she’s currently doing an Open University MA in classical studies, for good measure. “My trouble is I’m interested in everything.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-04 09:00:34 UTC ]
News tagged with: #finding hope #north london #middle east #iris murdoch #write fiction #good measure #bestselling author

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Naomi Alderman: ‘A writer’s job is courage. You’ve got to be as honest as you can”'


Australia's Fairfax Media to Cut 82 Fulltime Jobs

The company is pushing ahead with plans to outsource sub-editor and designer positions, despite stop-work meetings held by staffers. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fairfax media #pushing ahead


Quadrille scores four on Guild of Food Writers shortlists

Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 13:07 Quadrille has scored four nominations for this year's Guild of Food Writers awards. Titles from Stevie Parle, Josceline Dimbleby, Mark Hix and Mark Diacono were shortlisted, with the latter's A Taste of the Unexpected squaring up against two Jacqui... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark hix #food book


More bookshops close; another 500 jobs lost

Administrators have announced the closure of 16 more Borders bookshops, leading to a loss of more than 500 jobs. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #borders bookshops


More job cuts, closures in store for REDgroup

Administrators for Borders and Angus & Robertson have announced new lay-offs and warned that more bookshops could close. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #job cuts #angus robertson


Five jobs go at Atlantic, including commercial director Scott

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 16:23 Atlantic Books has made five positions redundant, including commercial director Daniel Scott, a cut of around 15% to the 34-strong staff. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Mulholland Books acquires debut by "Saw" writers

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:04 Hodder thriller imprint Mulholland Books has acquired a fiction debut by "Saw" writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and author, screenwriter and illustrator Stephen Romano. Editor Ruth Tross bought British... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction debut #european rights #nancy wiese


Historical Writers Association launches

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 15:47 Transworld/Bantam novelist Manda Scott has formed the Historical Writers’ Association as a forum for writers and to promote the genre. The internet-based group, which already boasts around 100 members including authors Simon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robyn young #tom holland #historical fiction #broo doherty #bill hamilton #david headley #goldsboro books


Jobs go as A&R, Borders stores close

More than 2000 staff who work for the failed Borders and Angus & Robertson bookshop chains face a nervous month. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Emma Henderson picked as first Orange New Writers title

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:50 The Orange New Writers Book of the Month promotion launches today [1st March] featuring Emma Henderson as the first writer to receive a month-long promotion in Waterstone's. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Myrmidon acquires Commonwealth Writers Prize shortlistee

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 06:35 Independent publisher Myrmidon has bought world English language rights (excluding South Africa) to a novel shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Ed Handyside, publisher and founder, bought the rights to Trespass... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #teenage years


Want more women writers in magazines? Get more female editors.

As Meghan O'Rourke reported here last week, VIDA, an organization for women writers, has released a tally of male and female bylines for the 2010 run of 14 high-end, literary-oriented magazines. Despite a couple of relatively bright spots (the New York Times Book Review surprisingly being one),... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bright spots


Steve Jobs' health is not a private matter

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Sadly, I must reaffirm my position stated during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' last medical leave, in January 2009: His health situation isn't a private matter, and, frankly, it's even less so now. The seeming suddenness of Jobs' more recent medical leave, which this time is... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #widely considered #exchange commission #private life #copyright betanews


Writers Are Asked Not to Talk About Author of ‘O’

Simon & Schuster requested that journalists and other writers not comment if asked whether they were responsible for the novel “O,” about a fictional 2012 presidential campaign. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |