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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Delia Ephron writes rom-coms. Then her life turned into one.

The author behind such favorites as “You’ve Got Mail” shares her own made-for-Hollywood tale in “Left on Tenth” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-09 12:00:29 UTC ]
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The Book Sales Boom Has Ended

Sales of print books dipped 8.9% in the first quarter of 2022, putting an end to a long sales surge. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Here are the Top 10 Most Banned and Challenged Books of 2021

These are the 10 books the American Library Association reports as being the most banned or challenged titles of 2021. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-04-05 14:07:04 UTC ]
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ALA Releases Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021

ALA kicked off National Library Week with the release of its annual State of America's Libraries report, and its "Top 10 Most Challenged Books" list. The 729 challenges tracked by ALA in 2021 represent the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling its list 20 years ago,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“I Write about People Whose Lives Are on Fire”: A Conversation with Sandra Cisneros, by Emily Doyle

Interviews   Sandra Cisneros’s success as a poet, short-story writer, novelist, and essayist is tied to her determination to write about others with awareness and love. Her work is populated by powerful people—powerful in their pain, joy, and hunger for... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-01 16:29:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #in-person events #hotel rooms #ryszard kapuściński


Register Today for AAPI Communities in Conversation #4 Featuring Top Chef Sheldon Simeon

Registration is still open for the fourth installment in the AAPI Communities in Conversation series, featuring Sheldon Simeon, author of 'Cook Real Hawai’i' in conversation with Michelle Young, from the Waimea Public Library. The live stream is set for Tuesday, April 5, at 1 p.m. ET. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Awards: HarperCollins India Wins Top ‘Publishing Next’ 2021 Industry Honor

The eighth cycle of the Publishing Next industry award recognizes Indian publishing houses, professionals, and books. The post Awards: HarperCollins India Wins Top ‘Publishing Next’ 2021 Industry Honor appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-29 17:11:25 UTC ]
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Essence climbs five places in top 10 media agencies table

Only three of the top 10 media agencies changed position in Nielsen Ad Intel's billings table in 2021. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2022-03-27 14:42:19 UTC ]
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Oz editor-in-chief rages against the ‘tearing down’ of News Corp journalism | Weekly Beast

Christopher Dore says some critics make him ‘cringe’. Plus: ‘Furries’ at elite Brisbane school?Christopher Dore has been the editor-in-chief of the Australian since 2018, and has quite the pedigree in editing Rupert Murdoch’s Australian mastheads. Dorey, as staff call him, has edited the Daily... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-03-25 03:05:12 UTC ]
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Brown Joins R&L as Senior Executive Editor of Religion

Veteran university press and religion publisher Richard Brown will join Rowman & Littlefield as senior executive editor of religion and his tasks include reviving the company's Sheed & Ward Catholic book imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan on the Freedom of Writing Anonymously

How’s this for fun? Take 27 incredible writers—including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, PEN Awards, Women’s Prize for Fiction, Edgar Award, and more—and invite each of them to write an erotic short story. Then publish the collection in one steamy anthology with the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 08:50:16 UTC ]
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February Religion Bestsellers: Jennie Allen Tops; Francine Rivers Reigns

Bestselling author Jennie Allen debuts at #1 on our Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list with her new guide to friendship, ‘Find Your People.’ Francine Rivers takes three spots in Religion Fiction with her brand new release ‘The Lady’s Mine’ as well as her 1991 hit Western romance, ‘Redeeming Love’. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rare Thoughts on Writing From Cormac McCarthy in This Unlikely Interview

Knopf announced March 8 that it will publish two novels by Cormac McCarthy this fall, his first in 16 years, but don’t expect a book tour. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author lives an entirely private life. “He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t give lectures, and doesn’t do book signings,” Michael... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-15 08:55:34 UTC ]
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Wiley on Track to Top $2 Billion in Sales in Fiscal 2022

Despite a number of challenges, third quarter revenue at John Wiley rose 7% over the comparable period in fiscal 2021 and the company is poised to have sales exceed $2 billion for the first time in its history. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bigger and bigger': Amazon attains top spot for UK adspend in 2021

Nielsen documented a 20% increase in adspend in 2021 following previous 17% decline. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2022-03-02 09:07:47 UTC ]
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Writing a Memoir Taught Me How to See My Mother

Until I was five years old, my mother and I lived with her parents in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We never talked about my father. We never said his name, which meant that we never said my full name, Sherry Zimmerman. I first saw my full name written out in an inscription in a children’s alphabet book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:49:55 UTC ]
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Always Writing: Spotlight on Pam Muñoz Ryan

The author’s new middle grade novel, Solimar, follows the adventures of a soon-to-be 15-year-old Mexican royal who can predict the future and must work to protect her country’s fragile natural world. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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George Saunders on Overcoming Uncertainty in Writing

The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. It is from Story Club with George Saunders, a Substack publication and literary community where Saunders offers weekly discussions of the craft of the short story. Both free and paid subscriptions are... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-25 09:51:07 UTC ]
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Three Religion Presses Name New Top Executives

Three publishing veterans—all women with extensive backgrounds in editing, acquisitions, and management —will take over leading roles at Westminster John Knox, Brazos, and Liturgical in challenging times for the church and society. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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