The first-person essays boom: top editors on why confessional writing matters

A Slate piece on first-person writing has prompted debate in the digital media community. We asked editors at BuzzFeed, Jezebel and other leading sites to weigh in on the importance of such pieces – and why there is a gender divideOn Monday, Laura Bennett’s Slate piece on the boom of first-person essay writing sparked a fierce online debate between editors and writers: how can one best work between the vulnerability of a writer and the traffic goal of an editor? What’s the line between publishing someone’s personal experience and exploitation?In response to Bennett’s piece, we asked senior editors at several publications known for publishing first-person stories about what they value in them, how they look after their writers, and why it is that so many confessional stories seem to be written by women, and not men.This route to publication and a book/movie deal simply is not open for non-white womenAnd now Pollitt’s up at bat. Her three previous essay collections gathered brilliant commentary on welfare, abortion, surrogate motherhood, Iraq, gay marriage and health care, mostly from the pages of The Nation. But with “Learning to Drive,” she gets personal, and shameless. She has decided to wave her dirty laundry (among which she found unidentified striped panties) and confesses to “Webstalking” her longtime, live-in, womanizing former boyfriend. (Take that, you rat!) It’s hard to tell if she’s coming into her own, trying to sell more books or has lost it entirely. Or... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Share the Joy of Giving—and Receiving—Books as Gifts, by The Editors of WLT

Share the Joy of Giving—and Receiving—Books as Gifts, by The Editors of WLT News and Events [email protected] Mon, 05/01/2023 - 15:39 Isobelle Ouzman, Peace for Ukraine (2022; detail), miniature plain paper journal, ink, color pencils, art knife,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-01 20:39:57 UTC ]
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Matt Rowland Hill: ‘My mother says she will sue me if I ever write another book like it’

The author of Original Sins, an account of addiction and shame, on his book’s impact on his evangelical parents, reading the Patrick Melrose series while waiting for drug dealers, and how looking middle class saved him from arrestMatt Rowland Hill, 38, is the author of Original Sins, about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 17:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #east london #father told #observer order #delivery charges


Top Mystery Writers Honored at the 77th Edgar Awards

Stirring speeches by Michael Connelly and Crime Writers of Color cofounder Kellye Garrett were a highlight of this year's Edgar Awards, where 'Notes on an Execution' by Danya Kukafka was named best novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The top 5 AI marketing activations you need to know about right now

Bush's Beans gets a spot, a fake pizza brand pops up, Harry Potter gets Wes Anderson treatment and more. Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2023-04-27 09:30:00 UTC ]
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Ralph Yarl, Defunding Libraries, and (Re)Writing Kansas City: On Crafting New Narratives in a Divided City

Visual artist and poet José Faus, journalist C.J. Janovy, and writer Desideria Mesa, join host Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss Kansas City’s literary legacy and its future. The group focuses on new book ban legislation, as well a white... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:53:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #visual artist #literary legacy #book festival


Practice Makes Perfect, and Also Nothing Matters: Emily St. John Mandel on Revision and Recklessness

Emily St. John Mandel is the guest. Her latest book, Sea of Tranquility, is out now in paperback from Vintage. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts!  From the episode: Brad Listi: As I was reading with my writer hat on and thinking about the challenges presented by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:53:45 UTC ]
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Dawn Davis Resigns as Bon Appétit Editor to Rejoin Simon & Schuster

Ms. Davis, who took charge of the food magazine at a time of turmoil, will head the publishing imprint she founded. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-25 21:59:44 UTC ]
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ALA Releases Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022

With book bans and legislative challenges to the freedom to read surging to record levels, even the top 10 most banned books list is bigger. In 2022, multiple books received the same number of challenges, resulting in the expansion of the list to 13 titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Never too late: over-50s urged to write fiction with prize for debut novel

Award launched at London book fair aims to help older authors take the plunge and submit a first workLondon book fair, which concluded earlier this month, always brings with it a flurry of headlines about debut authors signing six-figure publishing deals. Most of these have at least one thing in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-23 09:00:35 UTC ]
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Novelist Celeste Ng: ‘There was a period when I thought I’d never write again’

The award-winning author on how Trump, Covid and anti-Asian rhetoric inspired her latest novel, digging her way out of ‘post-book fatigue’, and learning to touch type using UlyssesCeleste Ng, 42, is the award-winning author of three novels, including Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-22 17:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reese witherspoon #missing hearts #dark times #anti-asian violence #book tour #award-winning author


Live from New York: Curtis Sittenfeld on Dating Up, Writing Funny, and How SNL and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Are Alike

Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, Romantic Comedy, which begins behind the scenes at a television show similar to Saturday Night Live, where a female comedy writer is gobsmacked that her schlubby straight male... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-20 08:53:29 UTC ]
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OverDrive Max Titles Now Top 400,000

OverDrive Max, which enables libraries to buy bundles of up to 100 loans for specific titles for concurrent use based on library users’ demands and with no expiration dates, has more than 400,000 titles available in the program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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For teens who like to write: Miami Book Fair is offering a virtual summer camp.

First of all, if you’re a teen who likes to write, keep at it, and don’t let anyone tell you different. (And if you’re the parent of a teen who likes to write, please encourage them.) With the above in mind, the Miami Book Fair is offering a virtual summer camp for teens who like […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-18 14:26:44 UTC ]
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Learn something new every day and save 77% off this top-rated app

If you have a reading list a mile long that seems to just keep growing, it’s about time you do something about that. Fortunately, apps like Headway make it easy to get personal with your reading and learning. Whether you want to build a business, improve your health, or level up your... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-04-18 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Denneny, Editor of 'And the Band Played On,' Dead at 80

A champion of LGBTQ stories as both editor and author, Denneny died on April 12. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Top publisher apologizes for slurs about 'East Germans'

The CEO and co-owner of media company Axel Springer apologized Sunday for making crude remarks about “East Germans” in text messages leaked to a rival newspaper Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-04-16 11:47:52 UTC ]
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Rick Wolff, Highly Regarded Business Book Editor, Dead at 71

Rick Wolff, who published dozens of bestselling books as a business editor for Warner Books, Hachette Book Group, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, died April 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’

‘When I was put on Granta’s first Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983, no novel of mine had been published.’ The post On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’ appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta

[ Granta | 2023-04-12 15:52:21 UTC ]
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Brittney Griner Is Writing a Memoir About Her Detention in Russia

The basketball star, who was detained for 10 months, said she hoped her book would raise awareness about other Americans who had been wrongfully detained abroad. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-12 14:16:29 UTC ]
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How a Tiny Literary Magazine Became a Springboard for Great Irish Writing

The Stinging Fly has helped launch several of Ireland’s most promising writers. How has a publication with 1,000 subscribers carved a niche in the Irish canon? Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-05 09:00:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #helped launch #promising writers #literary magazine