The wild bunch: Kate Mosse on why we love out-of-control women

From The Girl on the Train to Gone Girl, badass women rule in today’s blockbusters. Author Kate Mosse picks her favourite justified sinnersThis year has been, in fiction at least, the year of the wild woman. Novels driven by vengeful, unreliable female narrators and psychopathically flawed protagonists have topped the bestseller charts – Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, Renée Knight’s Disclaimer, Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, following in the footsteps of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Complicated, flawed, delusional, violent, transgressive and out of control, these are women seeking retribution and taking matters into their own hands. Mad, bad or misunderstood, they are satisfying to read about and satisfying to write. So where do such characters come from? One of the most commonly asked questions at any literary event is how a character comes to life. Is character the keystone, the first component of a novel? Or is it an idea that first whets the author’s appetite? A period or an object? Or imagination, pure and simple? We give different answers, of course, because we each have our own technique. Besides, the various inspirations for a new book often happen near-as-dammit simultaneously and unconsciously, with lots of conflicting ideas rushing forward at the same time. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #bestseller charts #paula hawkins #lisbeth salander #gillian flynn #literary event

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Malorie Blackman: I love gadgets, but e-reading has to be carefully handled

Childrens Laureate enthusiastic about children reading digitally but thinks publishers should proceed with cautionAuthor and Childrens Laureate Malorie Blackman is enthusiastic about the potential for children to read books digitally, but thinks the publishing industry should proceed with... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Tarted-Up Book Covers Belittle Women's Fiction

The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Love, Life and Manga: Moyoco Anno Talks With ‘PW’

Acclaimed manga artist Moyoco Anno is best known as one of the most influential creators in the josei manga genre—Japanese comics aimed at older women. She talked with PW about her life life creating manga, women in Japan and life married to a Japanese pop culture star, when you’re a pop culture... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook reveals news feed experiment to control emotions

Protests over secret study involving 689,000 users in which friends' postings were moved to influence moodsIt already knows whether you are single or dating, the first school you went to and whether you like or loathe Justin Bieber. But now Facebook, the world's biggest social networking site,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How YA Books Engender a True Love of Reading in My Students

Tina Yang tutors children of non-English speaking immigrants and explains how YA novels, rather than classics, have engendered a deeper appreciation for reading. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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107 Reasons to Love Foyles of Charing Cross Road

In appreciation of the reopening of London’s most famous bookshop, Foyles of Charing Cross Road, we look back on its history and into its future 107 ways. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McBride wins Bailey's Women's Prize

Irish author Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (Galley Beggar/Faber &... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dig In: Four Wild Recipes from Barton G. Weiss's 'The Big Dish'

Barton G. Weiss's new cookbook, "The Big Dish," is all about spectacle. Here are four of his most jaw-dropping offerings. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Loving Laughter

Even though Best to Laugh (Univ. of Minnesota Press, Sept.) is set in Los Angeles rather than in smalltown Minnesota, like Lorna Landvik’s eight other novels, she says it’s her most autobiographical work yet. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Lay All Your Love on ABBA

Mama Mia! Here we go again! My, my! How can we resist? Booksellers might want to take a chance on Weldon Owen this week by visiting booth 1550 and dropping off their business cards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: A Love Letter to Literature: Azar Nafisi

Readers who were inspired by Azar Nafisi’s paean to literature in Reading Lolita in Tehran—there were enough to keep the book on the New York Times bestseller list for 117 weeks—can rejoice at the appearance of The Republic of Imagination (Viking, Oct.), an homage to American literature and a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For Soothing Relief, Dr. Oz Loves iPad Apps

Specs Who Dr. Mehmet Oz Age 53 Accomplishments Cardiac surgeon and professor at Columbia University; host of The Dr. Oz Show; author; founder of Dr. Oz The Good Life magazine (May/June issue is on newsstands now) Base New York What’s the first information you consume in the morning? Whether my... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Inspirational' women choose favourite books for Baileys

Nineteen "inspirational" women, including Caitlin Moran, Dawn O’Porter, Tanni... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women's fiction is a sign of a sexist book industry

Joanne Harris says the book industry is sexist. Why else are there categories for 'women writers' and no equivalents for writers who happen to be men?This is the year of reading women, people, remember? We're all reading female writers and helping address the literary gender imbalance which is... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Religion Update Spring 2014: Love and Marriage, and Kids, and Books, Go Together

The topics of marriage and raising children are both evergreen and ever new for first-timers,” says Philis Boultinghouse, senior editor at Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tartt, Lahiri, Adichie on Baileys Women's shortlist

Debut novelists Eimear McBride, Audrey Magee and Hannah Kent join Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Donna... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Editor, Translator Discuss “All Russians Love Birch Trees”

The editor and translator of Olga Grjasnowa’s All Russians Love Birch Trees, as part of the Publishing the World book club, reflect on the novel and publication. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Talks with Angie Smith: A Legacy of Love

Angie Smith wrote her bestselling children's book in memory of her daughter Audrey Caroline, who died the day she was born in 2008. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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