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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'The Heart Goes Last,' which will be published in the U.S. on September 29, marks the celebrated Canadian author’s first stand-alone novel in 15 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new standalone novel from Margaret Atwood will be published by Bloomsbury in September. The Heart Goes Last, Atwood's first standalone novel since the Man Booker Prize-winning The Blind Assassin in 2010, will be published on 24th September, the day that will also see Virago publish the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The novelist is the first author to commit to public art project Future Library.Award-winning author Margaret Atwood is writing a new book--but don't expect to pre-order it on Amazon anytime soon. The book will be the first text included in Future Library, a public art project set to unfold over... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist says it is 'delicious' to be first contributor to the Future Library, which will compile 100 texts for publication in 2114Depending on perspective, it is an author's dream or nightmare: Margaret Atwood will never know what readers think of the piece of fiction she is currently working... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Karen Stevens's collection of essays offers practical advice and inspiration for those embarking on the long, lonely journey of writing a novelAccording to Karen Stevens, "writing a novel is the longest and loneliest journey a writer can embark upon". Her collection of essays by established and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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’s popularity has grown enough for even the most ske ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A dozen books a year? Some writers are accelerating the pace in this brave new world of ebooks. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The cookbook has been republished after an initial run in 1947, and her great-granddaughter Elizabeth Gilbert ('Eat Pray Love') reintroduces Potter in the forward. The cookbook is insightful and funny, weaving together practical advice and recipes.At Home on the Range Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The award-winning fiction writer, poet, and playwright, whose best-known and most influential work, the story collection 'Jesus' Son,' turned 25 this year, has died. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Australian author is ‘incredibly influential’, but has had to survive decades of ‘cultural cringe’ and genre snobbery to make finally ‘a decent sort of living’Before parched and dusty towns across Australia became full of fictional sinister people; before the explosion of outback noir and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-05 23:00:18 UTC ]
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I was balancing a plate of honeydew in the green room of a book festival when I walked by a white man bemoaning the state of the publishing industry. The man wore a suit, and he spoke to a white woman; both of them looked to be in their 40s. As the man speared a […] The post I Don’t Have To... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-27 11:05:00 UTC ]
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Author Jill Hoffman, the daughter of a writer, explores her complex relationship with her daughter, yet another writer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In her latest short story collection, White Cat, Black Dog, MacArthur “Genius Grant” fellow Kelly Link reinvents seven fairytales into modern, realist short stories about, for example, an aging billionaire choosing a successor, and a house-sitting gig that goes awry. Link is also the author of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-28 08:54:06 UTC ]
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Malorie Blackman advises budding authors to pick up on news stories, but Julia Donaldson warns of pitfalls – and Alan Moore says you should read terrible books as well as good onesThe key to being a good writer? It’s being a good reader, authors including Carol Ann Duffy and Alan Moore have said... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-02 15:43:52 UTC ]
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A novel of revolution, a graphic novel of Portland punk, and a photo book of the mosh pit. Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2022-02-11 15:22:22 UTC ]
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If you love Jane Smiley, this episode is for you. Eve and Julie are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author in an interview that was recorded live for Miami Book Fair 2021. They discuss Jane’s most recent book, Perestroika in Paris, as well as Jane’s writing process, beloved pets, and what... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-23 09:51:41 UTC ]
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On Sunday night, I May Destroy You showrunner Michaela Coel won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In the context of yet another melanin-deficient awards show that had people tweeting #EmmysSoWhite, it was refreshing (and simultaneously frustrating) that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-20 16:39:44 UTC ]
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David Ulin read four of the recall candidate's books, from the jeremiad "Showdown" to the memoir "A Lot Like Me," and found not a writer but a brand. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-08 13:00:05 UTC ]
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Twenty-seven writers have been recognised at this year's annual Northern Writers’ Awards, sharing the £47,000 prize fund to enable their new writing in progress, across forms including prose, poetry and television. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-09 14:11:07 UTC ]
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