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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Alight Media takes top digital media outreach spot from Global

The company claims to reach “over half” of adults across 146 UK towns and cities. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2023-07-12 08:53:16 UTC ]
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The Rest is History: Andrew Ridker on Writing About the Recent Past

For years I refused to read historical fiction. It seemed to me that there was something artificial—dishonest, even—in summoning a time and place that hadn’t been experienced firsthand. I couldn’t see past the affected dialogue, the funny hats, and my suspicion that the author was making it all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 08:51:46 UTC ]
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Top 25 Overall Bestsellers: June 25–July 1, 2023

Here’s a peek at the top 25 books of the week. New titles include, at #1, yet another Colleen Hoover book—this one an updated edition of her self-published 2016 novel, 'Too Late.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Yomi Adegoke: ‘There’s something inherently cringe about writing fiction’

The influencer and Slay in Your Lane co-author talks about her journey via Twitter to become a writer, and channelling her experience of social media into debut novel The List“Honestly, I’m a better painter than I am a writer,” says Yomi Adegoke, cackling, as she takes a sip of prosecco.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-01 08:00:07 UTC ]
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Writing a Book is an Act of Prayer

Lamya H’s powerful memoir Hijab Butch Blues is an honest grappling with what it means to be queer, to be a devout hijabi Muslim person who resists gender normativity, to love faith and community. Seeking other queer women in Islam as a young person, H wonders if Maryam, whom no man has touched,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-06-29 11:12:00 UTC ]
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Adventures in Memory: On Searching for Truth by Writing Fiction

As a fiction writer, I’ve always felt compelled, memoir style, to pore over my life’s timeline. But in a novel, I can erase, revise, smash, crash, reconstruct, and transfigure that squiggly narrative. A novel has no obligation to mirror or represent anything familiar, recognizable, or real. And... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-28 08:52:54 UTC ]
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Sarah Crichton Steps Down as Editor-in-Chief of Henry Holt

Sarah Crichton will "step back from her duties as editor-in-chief" at Henry Holt & Co., assuming the role of editor-at-large on July 5, Holt president and publisher Amy Einhorn has announced in a letter to staff. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cormac McCarthy's fearless approach to writing

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author was always willing to experiment with his prose, pacing and narration, crafting an oeuvre that varied wildly in style and structure. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-06-16 17:42:27 UTC ]
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The Young Heroes of the Writing World

Ohio State University professor emeritus Harvey J. Graff praises a new wave of very young authors all trying to change the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Study of Reality: On Trauma, Quantum Mechanics, and Writing Science Fiction

Before I dedicated my life to taking pot-shots at the nature of the universe—I mean, before I became a science fiction writer—I was a frightened child. Death scared me, but living was the constant terror. My father told me I had chosen this. I had come to him in a dream before I was born […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-14 08:53:04 UTC ]
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Legendary Knopf Editor Robert Gottlieb Dies at 92

Knopf executive v-p and publisher Reagan Arthur said it would be hard to name an editor who had a more lasting and profound impact on American letters than Gottlieb: "He had a vision not just for what worked on the page, but what worked in the marketplace." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Coffee House Press Names Executive Editor and Makes Additional Hires

Coffee House Press in Minneapolis is building up its staff after 30% of its employees resigned this past month. Jeremy Davies was named executive editor and three Texas booksellers have also recently joined the press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lambda Literary Awards Return In Person to Much Fanfare

On pause since 2020, the June 9 event honored LGBTQ+ writers from across the country and celebrated the organization's history and expansion of advocacy efforts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s Okay to Have a Love/Hate Relationship With Your Writing

One of my moments of greatest relief as a writer—equal, perhaps, to the swell and crest of learning that my first novel would be published—was when, decades ago, my Intro to Creative Writing professor assigned Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” and I arrived at this passage: “Very few... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-06 08:53:36 UTC ]
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Brandon Taylor: ‘Writing is the most fun I’m capable of having’

The American author talks about growing up queer in a family of ‘wolves’, poverty and class in the US, and the 19th-century writers who inspired his latest novelBrandon Taylor writes quickly. “I can type almost as fast as I can think,” he says. The first draft of his debut novel, the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-03 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Salman Rushdie to write a book about being stabbed on stage

Author tells Hay literary festival he needs to ‘get past’ the knife attack he suffered before writing anything elseSalman Rushdie is writing a book about being stabbed on stage in New York last year, an attack which left him without sight in one eye, the author told the Hay literary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-01 20:20:47 UTC ]
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Luis Alberto Urrea Writes Like He’s a Mexican Faulkner

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[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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IVP Academic Promotes Three Editors

Rachel Carhart, Colton Bernasol, and Zach Gordon move to new and expended roles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amis, Hitchens and Larkin: bad behaviour and a messy personal life were once a gift for authors. Not any more | Martha Gill

Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints‘As you get older you realise that all these things – prizes, reviews, advances, readers – it’s all showbiz, and the real action starts with your obituary.”Martin Amis first started spinning in favour of his future... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-27 17:31:09 UTC ]
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Amazon's Kindle Scribe updates include support for direct on-page writing

We were enamored with the Kindle Scribe when we reviewed it, but we weren't blind to its shortcomings, including its limited editing capabilities. Now, Amazon has rolled out an update for the device, which solves some of the issues we had with it and makes it a much better option for... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-05-23 05:17:53 UTC ]
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