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 ]
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Egyptian journalist and bestselling author Ibrahim Issa believes the Arab Spring has added religious oppression to the existing political hardships of the region. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A key U.S. lawmaker has unveiled plans for a comprehensive review of the laws surrounding copyright in the United States to determine whether they are still relevant in the digital age.Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that his... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#coming months
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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 ]
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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 ]
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Among the best, new self-published titles of March and April is The Beach at Herculaneum by Susan G. Muth, only the second title to win a BlueInk Best Book Award. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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Reference publisher Ilex Press has created what it describes as a "proving ground" for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How do you live with the knowledge that your baby is dying? A radiant new memoir chronicles the nine months after a mother's worst nightmare came true.Emily Rapp is not one to sugarcoat hard truths, including the brutal diagnosis she and her husband received in January 2011 when they took their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood's next novel, MaddAddam, will be published by Bloomsbury on 29th August. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo and Curtis Brown have teamed up to create free scholarships for the Curtis Brown Creative... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An E L James book to help aspiring writers record their "innermost thoughts" - Fifty... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When I wrote Why I Love Kindle back in February I said I was intending to upgrade to a Kindle Paperwhite soon. Three weeks later, timed so I can buy a Kindle copy of my own book (my publisher only supplies free paperbacks), and that’s exactly what I’ve done. The Kindle is one of those very rare... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2013-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BBC's flagship arts and culture programme, "The Review Show", is being cut from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#culture programme
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Porter Anderson's curation publishing buzz takes in the IndieReCon virtual conference, questions B&N's future, and looks atbuying your way to the top of the bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Horrible Histories" author Terry Deary told a newspaper that public libraries are a drain on government resources that deprive authors of royalty checks. Best-selling childrens' book author Terry Deary has become the first major writer to speak up against the concept of public libraries. In... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers have condemned the decision by a Scottish council to close seven of its 15 libraries and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Literary Platform and Bath Spa University have partnered on a new bursary for partnering... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The writer of US comedy Beavis and Butt-head is among 18 authors shortlisted for this year's Waterstones children's book prize. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the past eight years, more than 300 Florida middle and high school students graduated from aspiring writer to published author, thanks to the Océ Future Authors Project. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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