On Writers and Writing review – Margaret Atwood on her profession

Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little peculiar. Writing itself is a little peculiar.” Atwood’s survey of her profession makes this seem like an understatement: after all, she argues, writers have been placed in close company with the devil and the dead; they have secret identities and hidden doubles; they are death-defying magicians, self-erasing nobodies, even – if you want to get “murky and pretentious” – shamanistic travellers. This book prefers to stay on the side of clarity and self-deprecation, combining evidence drawn from her panoramic reading – one chapter deals with The Tempest, The Wizard of Oz and Klaus Mann’s Mephisto – with her own experiences of the life cycle of an author. She tempers the seriousness of her questions – What is a writer? For whom do writers write? – by poking gentle fun at her trade, describing the machine-like publishing industry as “cog eat cog”, and quietly mocking endless discussion panels. Yet Atwood sees her kind reflected everywhere – from Gilgamesh to The Beast With Five Fingers – and works hard on their behalf: advocate, analyst and always, writer.•To order On Writers and Writing for £7.99 (RRP £9.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #life cycle #publishing industry #works hard

Other Publishing stories related to: 'On Writers and Writing review – Margaret Atwood on her profession'

On Writers and Writing review – Margaret Atwood on her profession

Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #life cycle #publishing industry #works hard

James Patterson, Margaret Atwood among thousands of writers urging AI companies to honor copyrights

James Patterson, Suzanne Collins and Margaret Atwood are among thousands of writers endorsing an open letter from the Authors Guild urging AI companies to obtain permission before incorporating copyrighted work into their technologies Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-18 20:54:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james patterson #margaret atwood #suzanne collins #writers endorsing #open letter #obtain permission #authors guild

Margaret Atwood Is Writing a Sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Following two years in which Margaret Atwood's classic dystopian novel saw a skyrocketing in readership and new cultural relevance, both on television and in society at large, the author has announced 'The Testaments,' due September 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #margaret atwood #classic dystopian

Margaret Atwood thrilled by award from France honouring her literary achievements

Canadian author Margaret Atwood has received a high honour from France's ministry of culture for her contributions to literature. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2024-01-18 18:47:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #canadian author

Novelist's book is canceled after she acknowledges 'review bombs' of other writers

A debut author who used fake accounts to “review bomb” other writers on the influential online platform Goodreads has been dropped by her agent and had her book deal cancelled Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-12-13 02:46:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fake accounts #book deal #debut author

Pidgeon Pagonis on the Urgency of Writing a Memoir as an Intersex Writer

Pidgeon and I met in the summer of 2020, the summer of sickness, and violent change. We spoke over Zoom, nearly 800 miles apart—I had been hired as a developmental editor for an intersex activist named Pidgeon Pagonis. A developmental editor is a bit of a catch-all title: we do a bit of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-17 09:20:26 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood among thousands of authors demanding compensation from AI companies

Margaret Atwood, James Patterson and Suzanne Collins are among thousands of writers endorsing an open letter from the Authors Guild urging AI companies to obtain permission before incorporating copyrighted work into their technologies. ... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-07-18 21:52:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #margaret atwood #ai companies #james patterson #suzanne collins #writers endorsing #open letter #obtain permission #authors guild

Live from New York: Curtis Sittenfeld on Dating Up, Writing Funny, and How SNL and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Are Alike

Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, Romantic Comedy, which begins behind the scenes at a television show similar to Saturday Night Live, where a female comedy writer is gobsmacked that her schlubby straight male... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-20 08:53:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #curtis sittenfeld #iowa writers #whitney terrell #romantic comedy #bestselling author

Book review: “The Prisoner and the Writer,” by Heather Camlot and Sophie Casson

On the 125th anniversary of “J’Accuse,” a picture book for older kids places the lives of Alfred Dreyfus and Émile Zola side by side. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-01-06 07:36:52 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle Scribe Review: Read and Write on this Pricey Ebook Reader

You can read ebooks, write notes, or mark up PDFs on this new slate, but your wallet will feel a lot lighter. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2022-12-08 14:00:00 UTC ]
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A Summary and Analysis of Margaret Atwood’s ‘Simmering’

‘Simmering’ is a short story by the Canadian author and poet Margaret Atwood (born 1939). Published in Atwood’s 1983 collection Murder in the Dark, the story might be regarded as a piece of flash fiction, micro-fiction, or even an example of prose poetry. ‘Simmering’ posits a society in which... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-11-28 15:00:57 UTC ]
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Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here's a review

Challenging myths about heterosexual white South African men, Prinsloo published four books of short stories in 12 years. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-11-28 05:37:53 UTC ]
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What is it Like to Be a Blind Writer Writing for Sighted Readers?

What is it like to be blind in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by sighted individuals? Jessica Powers, founder and publisher at Catalyst Press, spoke to George Mendoza and Kristen Witucki about crafting stories for sighted readers, finding community and release in fiction, and battling... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-28 08:58:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #traditional publishing

Centenary recording of Ulysses to be read by Eddie Izzard, Margaret Atwood and others

More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians will voice James Joyce’s seminal novel in celebration of its publication a century agoOne hundred years ago, in February 1922, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s Ulysses, in full, for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-20 09:30:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eddie izzard #margaret atwood #sylvia beach #complete text #jeanette winterson #ben okri #meena kandasamy #bookseller #bookshop

Canada Post unveils stamp celebrating literary luminary Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is being celebrated for her contributions to Canadian literature with a special stamp, unveiled on Thursday. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2021-11-25 20:33:03 UTC ]
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Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival apologises for absence of female writers of colour

The organisers of the 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival have apologised for not including any female writers of colour in the programme . Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-02 16:32:23 UTC ]
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Margaret Maron, Acclaimed Mystery Writer, Dies at 82

She was known for two book series centered on complex female characters, and for stories that illuminated her native North Carolina. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-03-02 23:14:40 UTC ]
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The new cover of Bazaar Art is based on a Margaret Atwood poem.

Here’s an unusual bit of adaptation news: the painter Michaela Yearwood-Dan has created a limited edition cover for the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar‘s Bazaar Art based on Margaret Atwood’s poem “Feather,” from her latest book Dearly, her first collection of poetry in over a decade. You can... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-27 15:05:11 UTC ]
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‘Martin Eden’ Review: Reading and Writing His Way Out of the Pit

In this bold adaptation of the Jack London novel, a young writer suffers, fights and pays as he stands alone against the world. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-10-15 11:00:08 UTC ]
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Roxane Gay, Margaret Atwood sign open letter supporting trans and nonbinary people

Between 1,500 and 2,000 members of the North American literary world signed an open letter offering support to trans and nonbinary communities. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-10-09 21:31:58 UTC ]
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