Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’

The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma BrockesThere is that famous photo of Joan Didion, taken in Malibu in 1976, in which she leans on a deck overlooking the beach, cigarette in hand, scotch glass at her elbow, and regards her family – John Dunne, her husband, and their then 10-year-old daughter, Quintana – through lowered, side-long eyes. Like other iconic photos of Didion from the period, she is at one remove from the group, off to the side and in this case, looking not at the camera but at her family as they look at the camera. It’s the pose Didion perfected, in life as in art, and when news of her death at the age of 87 broke on Thursday, it was a shock to see another frame from that sequence surface online. In it, Didion, eyes fixed forward, smiles broadly at the camera in the conventional style – a rare glimpse behind the persona.The paradox of Didion was not unusual among writers, whose confidence is often born of a million anxieties. But her ability to operate outside herself – to measure the gap between inside and out and slyly mock any effort to conceal it – was unparalleled. She was, famously and by her own account, diffident, brittle, runtish, prone to migraines, afraid of the telephone, and as she wrote in the preface to her 1968 collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, “bad at interviewing people”, apparent deficits that, in Didion’s hands, were of course precisely what permitted her entry to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 18:44:54 UTC ]
News tagged with: #rare glimpse #american author

Other news stories related to: "Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’"


Remembering German Publisher Monika Schoeller

Longtime publisher of S. Fischer Verlag and patron of German literature, Monika Schoeller leaves behind a remarkable legacy in German book publishing The post Remembering German Publisher Monika Schoeller appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-11-26 14:38:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #german publisher #german book #german literature #longtime publisher


Remembering National Book Award Winners of the Past

On the day the 2019 honorees are to be unveiled, we recall recipients who have died in recent years. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-11-20 23:04:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #national book award


3 Keys for Future Readiness in Publishing Operations

In the modern media environment, publishers need a formula for success that they can depend on—not just for today, but one that will allow them to adapt for the trends of tomorrow. That means embracing three key ingredients that every publisher needs to ensure future-readiness, regardless of... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-11-19 17:38:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #publishing industry #digital content #publishing companies #retain talent #act quickly


Remembering Stephen Dixon: Writer, Teacher, Friend

Stephen Dixon left us yesterday. The author of Frog (1991) and Interstate (1995) two National Book Award finalists, published some thirty other books, including collections of his over 500 short stories. I first met Dixon on the final day of a class in my junior year of college called “Short... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-07 20:03:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #national book award #20th century #final day


Canelo partners with MDL as print operation ramps up

Canelo is partnering with Macmillan Distribution (MDL) to make its growing print list available to the trade at home and internationally. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-03 18:57:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #macmillan


Remembering Kate Braverman’s Los Angeles

On this warm October day in Southern California, I walk the Venice canals and think of Kate Braverman. How in her sensational first novel Lithium for Medea she captured a Venice so distant that it’s difficult to accept that this version, which is polished and expensive and filled with tourists,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-22 08:48:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #first novel #kate braverman #southern california


‘The Contender’ remembers Marlon Brando as an actor and so much more

William J. Mann’s lengthy biography looks at the Oscar winner’s rise, fall and resurgence. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-18 15:48:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hearst Magazines to operate Autoweek under license agreement

New York City-based Hearst Magazines has entered into a multiyear license agreement with Crain Communications Inc. to operate Autoweek, a brand in the Detroit-based publishing company's portfolio. The deal is effective immediately, according to a Tuesday news release. Financial terms were not... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-15 21:53:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #hearst #print publication #road track #special projects #perfect fit


Remembering and Pining for the Scholastic Book Fair

"Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination" -- that is, the Scholastic Book Fair. Shiny new paperbacks and all, reminisce with us. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-10-07 10:35:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #scholastic


Jim Wallis Sees Trump ‘Operating in the Spirit of the Anti-Christ’

Amid cultural, social, and political unrest, including most recently the Trump impeachment inquiry, founder of the faith-in-action organization Sojourners Jim Wallis aims to reassert Christian values in his new book, ‘Christ in Crisis.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #political unrest


Lorna Cook triumphs with debut novel to win Joan Hessayon Award

Essex author Lorna Cook has won the Romantic Novelists' Association's (RNA) prestigious Joan Hessayon Award for new writers with her debut novel The Forgotten Village (Avon).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-16 02:19:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #debut novel #romantic novelists


Atlantic Books reports operating profit for first time in a decade

Atlantic Books has announced that 2018 saw its first operating profit since 2009. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-09 19:58:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #operating profit #atlantic books


Ann Patchett | 'Can you remember things the way they actually happened?'

Ann Patchett’s new novel is a moving story of siblings who lose everything—except each other. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-09 09:22:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #moving story #ann patchett


The unlikely operatives who helped thwart Hitler’s nuclear bomb

An ex-high school coach and a former pro ballplayer are among the heroes of Sam Kean’s book. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-06 11:59:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #nuclear bomb


Charles Johnson Remembers the Great Paule Marshall

There is much to be said of importance for literary culture in general and black American literature in particular when we reflect on the life of the late novelist Paule Marshall. I will discuss all this, but I’d like to begin with an anecdote about my only encounter with this grand lady. On... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-05 08:47:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #american literature #literary culture


Titan Books nets Joan He's debut YA fantasy

Titan Books will publish Joan He’s YA debut, a Chinese-inspired fantasy novel about a princess whose father is murdered. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-22 02:49:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #ya debut #titan books


Wood Green co-operative bookshop secures new premises

Wood Green's co-operative bookshop, The All Good Bookshop, has secured temporary premises and plans to open this week.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-18 22:20:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #bookshop #wood green


Remembering Toni Morrison, Editor

A journalist recounts her conversations with the legendary literary figure on her time working in the book biz. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book biz #time working


QUIZ: How Well Do You Remember the Food in Harry Potter?

I was a passionate Harry Potter fan as a kid (and teenager…and adult). I obsessed over the plots and characters, ... Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-08-13 10:35:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #harry potter


Book Twitter Remembers Toni Morrison

As the book world grieves the loss of legendary author Toni Morrison, many writers and readers took to Twitter to recognize her legacy. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-08-12 10:33:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book world