The Cif community challenges its writers – and can change their minds | Seth Freedman

Georgina Henry's kind but firm encouragement to go below the line on my pieces has transformed my life as well as my idealsFor a wide-eyed, wannabe writer, being cast into the Cif lions' den induced fear and pride in equal measure. The chance to contribute to such a paradigm-shifting project was one any budding journalist would jump at, but at the same time there was no hiding from the army of commenters ready to tear each and every article to shreds in the threads below. And since I was writing about the most incendiary topic under the Cif sun, the venom and vitriol would start flying from the minute the publish button was pressed on each of my pieces.Despite alarmingly inauspicious beginnings – ending my debut BTL comment with a sneering "Whatever mate – I write, you read …" – it soon became apparent that the Cif process was a two-way street. The site's original editor, Georgina Henry, encouraged me to participate in the threads from day one, telling me firmly but kindly that venturing below the line was "more than good form – they expect it". To her and her burgeoning ranks of readers and commenters, writers' jobs had only just begun when their pieces were put up on the site; the real work took place in the lengthy and vociferous threads that followed.No sooner had I started joining in the debate I found – like so many others – that I just couldn't stop. The addictive nature of the Cif beast meant I always wanted to respond, forever craved the last word, couldn't help... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #earliest days #crude prototype

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Cif community challenges its writers – and can change their minds | Seth Freedman'


In 'Expats,' Lulu Wang centers not only the lives of women but a changing Hong Kong

Lulu Wang's "Expats," premiering Friday on Prime Video, is an adaptation of Janice Y. K. Lee's bestselling book that stars Nicole Kidman and examines the intersection of the lives of three women living in Hong Kong. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-25 19:17:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lulu wang #prime video #hong kong #bestselling book #lulu


‘The levels of attack are extraordinary’: Gary Lineker on punditry, podcasts – and why he won’t stop speaking his mind

The football broadcaster and podcast mogul keeps tweeting about the Israel-Gaza war, despite arguing with friends and getting into hot water with the BBC. What drives him?Gary Lineker has asked me to meet him at his house in Barnes at 2.30pm. It’s a miserable wet day in London, so I give myself... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 07:00:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #back seat


AI: Copyright Challenges Now Include a New York Times Lawsuit

The newly launched lawsuit of OpenAI and Microsoft by The New York Times parallels legal actions from the book publishing industry. The post AI: Copyright Challenges Now Include a New York Times Lawsuit appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-01-04 19:59:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post ai #book publishing


Four New Books on Overlooked Writers

In their lifetimes, these authors’ work went largely unappreciated. These books honor their literary legacies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A sense of place: Brooklyn writers on why they love the borough

Novelists in Brooklyn draw inspiration from the New York borough’s cast of thousands, and particularly from its idiosyncratic neighborhoods. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-12-21 19:46:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #novelists


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


B&T’s Aman Kochar Reflects on the Changes He Has Made Since Buying the Company Two Years Ago

Baker & Taylor’s Aman Kochar has embraced the wholesaler’s role as a conduit between libraries and publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #baker taylor #aman kochar #libraries


Climate Cookbooks Are Here to Change How You Eat

Sustainable diets have been around for ages. An emerging cookbook genre that tackles the climate crisis signals a new appetite for change. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2023-12-02 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cookbook


How OpenAI's ChatGPT has changed the world in just a year

Over the course of two months from its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT exploded in popularity, from niche online curio to 100 million monthly active users — the fastest user base growth in the history of the Internet. In less than a year, it has earned the backing of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-30 14:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prove true #money wrapped #revenue streams #firms incorporating #rapid uptake #calendar resetting #upward trajectory #responsible development #congress beginning #draft legislation #significant impact #$10 billion #$30 billion #— heck #authors guild


How OpenAI's ChatGPT has changed the world in just a year

Over the course of two months from its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT exploded in popularity, from niche online curio to 100 million monthly active users — the fastest user base growth in the history of the Internet. In less than a year, it has earned the backing of Silicon Valley’s biggest... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-30 14:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prove true #money wrapped #revenue streams #firms incorporating #rapid uptake #calendar resetting #upward trajectory #responsible development #congress beginning #draft legislation #significant impact #$10 billion #$30 billion #— heck #authors guild


A.S. Byatt, British writer and author of Booker Prize-winning 'Possession,' dies at 87

British author A.S. Byatt, who was known for award-winning works including 'Possession' and 'The Children's Book,' has died. She was 87. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-17 17:18:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british writer #booker prize-winning #british author


Zeke Caligirui on the Incarcerated Writers Who Edited An Anthology on Class

Writer and editor Zeke Caligiuri joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion, a new collection of essays on class he co-edited along with eleven other incarcerated writers. The volume’s contributors include Eula Biss, Kao Kalia... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-16 09:08:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #incarcerated writers #kiese laymon #anthology


Sacred Space: Why Libraries Are Essential to Incarcerated Writers

Libraries are sacred space within the unending, unrelenting madness, the profane that is Society, places where the predominant ideology is to inform. The Library of Alexandria was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the Library of Congress is a wonderfully ( dis )organized... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-14 09:35:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #incarcerated writers #ancient world #libraries


Mike McCormack: ‘If I’ve one gift as a writer, it’s patience’

The award-winning Irish author on losing his father at 18, the drawbacks of English editors and the theme of imprisonment in his workMike McCormack was born in London in 1965 and raised on a farm in County Mayo in the west of Ireland. He published his first story collection, Getting It in the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 18:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #story collection #wider audience #solar bones #unending sentence #goldsmiths prize #returns home #started writing #irish author


Scholars Chart Religious Changes

New books address cultural changes and America’s shifting religious demographics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Whose Community Is It Anyway?

I had begun to conceive this essay after rereading a magazine interview I’d done months prior. The interview was about my then new book of short stories A Dream of a Woman, and the interviewer had asked me about community. I’m a trans woman, and specifically the interviewer asked about community... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-07 09:30:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #interviewer asked #trans woman #months prior #trans people #short stories


Naomi Alderman: ‘A writer’s job is courage. You’ve got to be as honest as you can”

The bestselling author of The Power talks about her new techno-thriller, coping with grief and finding hope in the darkest of storiesNaomi Alderman, author of the bestselling novel The Power, is just getting over Covid and feeling a bit wiped out. “But don’t worry, I still seem able to talk for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-04 09:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finding hope #north london #middle east #iris murdoch #write fiction #good measure #bestselling author


Everything You Need to Know About Groundbreaking Queer Feminist Science Fiction Writer Joanna Russ

When she was in high school in the early 1950’s, Joanna Russ (1930–2011) read Mark Twain’s short story  “A Medieval Romance,” about a duke without a male heir who brings his daughter up to fill the role, hiding her gender from all. Things get complicated when the duke’s niece falls in love with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-03 08:41:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high school #short story #medieval romance #science fiction


Alexandra Chang Turns the Pain of a Friendship Breakup Into a Short Story

“The world here beats faster than a hummingbird’s wings,” writes Alexandra Chang in her new collection Tomb Sweeping. Chang, the author of Days of Distraction and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 recipient, writes poignantly about tenuous connection. In these stories, a wealthy housewife... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-11-02 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short story #electric literature #national book foundation


How Has Big Publishing Changed American Fiction?

A new book argues that corporate publishing has transformed what it means to be an author. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2023-11-01 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book argues #corporate publishing #big publishing