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 ]
News tagged with: #gay marriage #health care #dirty laundry #ve heard

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Can digital community support writing, really?

Not unlike climate change, it's something that digital-age writers worry about, but can't nail down. I'm not sure what effect the accepting warmth of digital communities has on our literature. I don't think encouraging people can make bad writing suddenly appeal to the masses. Are the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘The Girl on the Train’ Tops in First-Quarter E-book Sales

Paula Hawkins’s blockbuster debut, "The Girl on the Train," led overall ebook sales for the first quarter of the year, from January to March. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paula hawkins #blockbuster debut #ebook sales


Four Questions for...Immigrant Writing Prize Creator Ilan Stavans

The Restless Books publisher, and creator of the just-announced Prize for New Immigrant Writing, said he hopes the literary honor will help dispel negative stereotypes of immigrants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EL James tops five-year Amazon Kindle chart

Amazon has released a list of its best-selling Kindle books over the last five years in the UK, with Fifty Shades writer EL James topping the ebook chart. Amazon has released the data to mark five years today (5th August) since it opened the Kindle Store in the UK. EL James’ original Fifty... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook chart #kindle store #el james


August 2015: Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

Our August 2015 selection from BlueInk Review, a service which reviews self-published books, ranges from fantasy to middle grade, memoir to self-help The post August 2015: Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #top reviews #self-published books #blueink review #middle grade


The 'Girl on the Train' Tops E-book Sales in First Quarter

Paula Hawkins's blockbuster debut, 'The Girl on the Train,' led ebook sales for the first quarter of 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paula hawkins #blockbuster debut


For Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, a personal revelation

Like many Facebook users, Mark Zuckerberg turned to the social network to announce that he and his wife were expecting a baby. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook users #mark zuckerberg


Boris Johnson to write Shakespeare biography

Boris Johnson is to write a biography of William Shakespeare for Hodder & Stoughton for October 2016. The publisher has confirmed the deal, which was reported in the Sunday Times to have been done for £500,000. The newspaper reported that Johnson’s advance was almost seven times his salary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder stoughton #sunday times #boris johnson #william shakespeare #winston churchill #nielsen bookscan


IndieReader’s Top 10 Five-star Reviews of Self-Published Books

A selection of the top ten books that have received five star reviews on IndieReader, a service which reviews self-published books. The post IndieReader’s Top 10 Five-star Reviews of Self-Published Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Asks: Your Top Seuss Books

The Cat, the Lorax, and Horton...those are your favorite Dr. Seuss protagonists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Go Set a Watchman knocks EL James's Grey from top of UK book charts

Harper Lee’s long-lost novel has sold over 200,000 copies in the UK over the past weekEL James’ reign at the top of the UK book charts for the last month with her erotic bestseller Grey has been ended by a novel written in the 1950s and abandoned in a box for decades: Harper Lee’s Go Set a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #number sold #harper lee #fifty shades #bookseller revealed #sales drop


My Job In 5: Ania Duggan, Commissioning Editor- Audio, Penguin Random House Group UK

Describe your role I project manage the creation of our audiobooks by a wide range of fiction and non-fiction authors. This involves reading manuscripts and identifying books to record, acquiring audio rights if necessary, casting the right voices to bring stories to life and arranging... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First-day sales for Harper Lee 'top 105k'

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) racked up first-day sales in the UK of over 105,000 copies, across print and digital editions, according to publisher Penguin Random House. Meanwhile Waterstones' own sales for the title are approaching 30,000, m.d. James Daunt told The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #first-day sales #harper lee #digital editions


iBooks Bestsellers: iBooks Bestsellers: James, Hawkins at the Top

E.L James’s 'Grey' and Paula Hawkins’s 'The Girl on the Train' took the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list for the week ended July 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paula hawkins #ibooks bestsellers


Go Set a Watchman's UK sales top 100,000 in one day

Harper Lee’s ‘parent novel’ to To Kill a Mockingbird sets tills ringing despite ambivalent receptionDespite the widespread doubts over the decision to publish Go Set A Watchman, and despite the cries of horror that went up around the world over the weekend as readers discovered that the godlike... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #atticus finch #william heinemann #wednesday morning #news agenda #publishing history


Christian Bookseller Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award-Winner Reflects on Five Decades of Writing

Author Josh McDowell on childhood molestation, what he's learned in 55 years of writing, and winning the Christian Bookseller Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman': Don't write Atticus Finch off as a racist just yet [Video]

Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" won't be released to the public until Tuesday, but readers already know that the book reveals a darker side to Atticus Finch. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why write YA?

Ahead of YALC 2015, Gemma Malley, director of communications at Book Trust and author of seven YA novels, takes a look at why authors write YA. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Books From Telgemeier and Whedon Top Comic-Con Announcements.

The San Diego Comic-Con once again hosted 130,000 avid pop culture fans, and amid the excitement a great deal of publishing news was announced. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job in 5: Natalie Baker, development editor, Igloo Books

Describe your role. I work as development editor and am fortunate to be a part of a wonderful team on the adult list. Our work is collaborative by nature, but there is a huge emphasis on project management and overseeing projects from research through to completion. What do you like best... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #igloo books #adult list #project management