Frank Herbert on his Boeing, Stephen King on his Wang, and Philip Roth worrying that writing would become too easy … Matthew Kirschenbaum’s account of literature in the digital ageIn a photograph taken in his high-tech home office at 29 Merrick Square, London, in 1968, thriller writer Len Deighton is hard at work on his next novel, Bomber. An electric typewriter is perched atop a desk, a huge telex machine extrudes paper coils on to the florid carpet, and a video camera on a tripod is pointed at the author’s face. In the foreground is another, bulkier, typewriter connected by a fat cable to a cabinet or console. The author of Billion Dollar Brain had lately taken delivery of a magnetic tape selectric typewriter (MT/ST) (marketed in Britain as the IBM 72 IV). It was first posited at IBM’s main offices in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1957; the finished product weighed 200lb and cost $10,000. And with it Deighton was about to compose the first novel ever written on a word processor.In fact, as Matthew Kirschenbaum points out in his unexpectedly engaging history of word processing, it was Deighton’s sedulous assistant Ellenor Handley who did most of the typing (until 1968 she’d had to redraft each novel dozens of times). As she typed, her keystrokes were saved to tape, and corrections could be made before a final printout. It was a vexing process in which writing happened both on paper and in the typist’s harried imagination; IBM’s literature commanded the user to “visualise... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new book argues that corporate publishing has transformed what it means to be an author. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-11-01 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite an infatuation with most things e-ink, I’ve resisted the world of e-ink notebooks. I’m one of the few who once owned a Kindle DX, that huge e-reader that existed for only a few years before being retired. In the last few years, we’ve seen Amazon get into e-ink... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-10-30 13:30:56 UTC ]
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The 13th Sharjah Publishers Conference has opened with broad-based considerations of issues facing the world book industry today. The post Sharjah Conference: ‘The Power of the Written Word’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-30 04:48:43 UTC ]
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In “The Woman in Me,” the pop star mines her extraordinary story for generic lessons. But the details speak for themselves. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-10-29 19:33:11 UTC ]
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Police services across Canada in early October saw a demo of Fusus — a service that makes it easier for police to access privately owned security camera footage. It's becoming more common in America, but Canadian researchers have concerns it is overkill. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-10-27 08:00:00 UTC ]
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The actor Michelle Williams reads the audiobook version of the recently liberated pop star’s memoir, “The Woman in Me.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-24 21:32:55 UTC ]
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Novelist, poet, and educator Heba Abu Nada, a beloved figure in the Palestinian literary community and the author of Oxygen is Not for the Dead, was killed in her home south of Gaza City by an Israeli airstrike on Friday. She was thirty-two years old. In her final tweet, written in Arabic on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-24 15:54:33 UTC ]
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“The Upstairs Delicatessen,” a memoir by Dwight Garner of The New York Times, traces his life’s twin passions. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-24 09:00:14 UTC ]
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From her Louisiana roots to the quasi-imprisonment of her conservatorship, Britney Spears' 'The Woman in Me' paints the pop star's life as a Victorian nightmare. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 20:46:28 UTC ]
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Quick snapshots from two long-time Frankfurt veterans, Kalem Agency and Italian Literary Agency, on their latest projects. The post LitAg Short Takes: Kalem Agency and Italian Literary Agency appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-20 12:05:43 UTC ]
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Poet, editor, and writer John Freeman and novelist Omar El Akkad join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the final issue of Freeman’s, a literary magazine founded in 2015. El Akkad, a contributor to the volume, describes founding editor Freeman’s intense and uniquely... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-19 08:10:54 UTC ]
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The tech industry is reeling from the combination of a rough economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and some obvious business missteps. And while that led to job cuts in 2022, the headcount reductions have unfortunately ramped up in 2023. It can be tough to keep track of these... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-10-16 15:52:41 UTC ]
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In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle reviews John Plotz’s personal reading of a fantasy classic by Ursula K. Le Guin The American author Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) is widely regarded as one of the finest authors of what is broadly termed ‘speculative fiction’.... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-10-13 14:00:53 UTC ]
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Bryan Washington’s Family Meal, Mary Gabriel’s Madonna: A Rebel Life, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Roman Stories, andWerner Herzog’s Every Man for Himself and God Against All all feature among the Best Reviewed Books of the Week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s book review aggregator. * Fiction 1.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-13 11:00:52 UTC ]
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We're now getting close to the end of Amazon's second Prime Day sale event for 2023. Most of the deals we're tracking are still live, so you can still shop early for the holidays — or buy something for yourself at a discount. If you missed out on the deals from the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-10-11 22:10:30 UTC ]
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We're into day two of Amazon's second Prime Day sale event for 2023, and it's still a great opportunity to shop for your holiday gifts early — or get something for yourself. If you missed out on any of the deals from the company's Prime Day event in July, this year's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-10-11 14:20:09 UTC ]
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Judges praise the final six ‘exquisite and ambitious’ works in contention for the £50,000 award for nonfictionBooks tackling climate change, China, the NHS, European revolutions, ballet and music feature on the shortlist for this year’s Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction.The six-long list... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-08 19:00:48 UTC ]
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A new collection of her novels and stories is a showcase for a science fiction pioneer. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-08 09:00:34 UTC ]
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Lena Andrews, author of 'Valiant Women,' pays homage to the oft-forgotten women on the WWII frontlines with this selection of brilliant histories. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In his fond memoir “Making It So,” the actor traces the path from the working class to the Shakespearean stage to “Star Trek” superstardom. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-03 09:00:17 UTC ]
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