Penelope Lively's recent short ebook for Penguin drew criticism for its brevity – but readers should not be put off the genre as a whole"Overpriced", "ridiculous", I feel cheated". Amazon reviewers haven't been wholly positive about a digital short Penelope Lively has written for Penguin Specials. On the evidence of the story itself, it's not Lively's fault. Abroad is about a pair of art students who travel to 1950s Spain in search of picturesque peasants and are disappointed when they don't live up to expectations. It's funny and evocative of a time when rural Europe was still exotic.It also peters out after just 4,000 words, so I sympathise with anyone who felt ripped off by its £1.99 price tag. These days you can buy two whole novels for that. The sad fact is, publishers don't make any money if an ebook costs less than £1.99. Amazon does, because singles are the literary equivalent of a gateway drug.This was brought home to me on finishing Susan Hill's latest effort, Printer's Devil Court (99p), a haunting tale about pre-second world war medical students who experiment with resurrection. More substantial than Lively's, it's a great, old-fashioned ghost story, whose chilling impact was somewhat undermined by turning the final page to find Amazon ordering me to rate, review, tweet, Facebook and buy more books by Susan Hill. Was the ebook I'd enjoyed little more than a trailer?Singles are a clever marketing tool. But it would be a shame if readers short-changed by one... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
Writers of short stories have said a great deal about relationships of various kinds, and although the novel may be the preferred form for teasing out the complexities and conflicts of a long-term relationship, the short-story form can also provide writers with enough space to pinpoint a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-07-29 14:00:30 UTC ]
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Covid-19 deaths are a symptom of many other social ills, including inequality, federalism and factory farms, John Ehrenreich argues. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-29 12:00:40 UTC ]
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As sales continue to take a nosedive in the beginning of 2022, it raises a question on the state of ebooks: are they on the decline again? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-07-28 10:31:00 UTC ]
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A full cast of narrators brings an audiobook to life in totally new and unexpected ways. Here are some of the latest you can't miss. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-07-21 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Today in extremely niche literary world factoids: in case you didn’t know (I did not) Zadie Smith has a younger brother named Ben Bailey Smith, an actor and standup who goes by Doc Brown, admires Taylor Swift’s writing ability, and features in Netflix’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-20 16:07:31 UTC ]
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I remember the first time I met Courtney Maum. It was nearly ten years ago, a spring or maybe summer day in Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens. We were both in our twenties, no books published yet, just a few free essays here and there, just starting our writing careers with the fierce intensity of Jack... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-18 08:52:29 UTC ]
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The winners of the 2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize celebrating "excellence in publishing and advocacy for writers" have been announced. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-07-14 21:40:54 UTC ]
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We are thrilled to announce that Electric Literature has won the prestigious Whiting Literary Magazine Prize! This highly competitive award recognizes excellence in digital and print magazines, and supports winners with an outright grant in the first year, followed by two years of a matching... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-14 13:15:00 UTC ]
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Today, the Whiting Foundation announced the winners of its 2022 Literary Magazine Prizes, which honor “the most innovative and essential publications at the forefront of American literary culture.” The five winners were chosen—from an initial pool of more than eighty applicants —based on their... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-14 13:01:36 UTC ]
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The winners of the fifth annual Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes have been announced, with five publications, including 'Electric Literature' and 'Zyzzyva,' taking home a combined total of $144,000 in funding. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In “Circus of Dreams,” the literary editor John Walsh writes about the bookish life in London when Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson and their generation were in the increasingly bright limelight. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-12 02:13:37 UTC ]
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Yep, as the guy in your MFA already knows, turns out reading literary fiction is better for you than reading other kinds of fiction—especially if you grew up doing it. In a new paper published this week in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, scholars Nicholas Buttrick, Erin C.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-08 16:16:52 UTC ]
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Cartoonist and comedian Luke Healy (The Con Artists, Americana) and actor Connor Ratliff (Dead Eyes) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a spring event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The conversation revolved around Healy’s new book, The Con Artists, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-07 08:53:07 UTC ]
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The first three titles in the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection were released last month and we talk to Ben Saunders, professor of English and director of the Cartoon and Comics Studies minor at the University of Oregon and editorial director for the line, about his vision for the series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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When it comes to writing historical fiction, one author finds that it’s the very human details that resonate with the reader. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2022-07-01 15:38:42 UTC ]
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What are the best short stories about the theme of motherhood? And who are the best mother characters in short fiction? Below, we select and introduce some of the most famous, and most widely studied, short stories which deal with the subject of mothers and motherhood. These stories range from […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-07-01 14:00:56 UTC ]
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These queer short story collections span a wide range of genres form contemporary and historical fiction to sci-fi and fabulism. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-28 10:33:00 UTC ]
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The new literary magazine 'Fictionable' launches June 27 with short works including graphic fiction and translation. The post In the UK, a New Literary Magazine, With International Intent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-06-24 20:36:08 UTC ]
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What are some of the best, and best-known, short stories that feature animals? Many classic stories feature other species in prominent roles, whether it’s talking cats, dogs telling us their life stories, or primates giving academic reports at a conference (yes, really). Below, we select and... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-17 14:00:51 UTC ]
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Genuinely classic and canonical short stories with twist endings are hard to find. For the ‘twist’ to be a true surprise, it needs to appear to come out of nowhere while also being completely credible, so we as readers don’t feel cheated. It should also be a twist in the […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-10 14:00:35 UTC ]
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