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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In a bombshell letter filed with the court this week, attorneys for the National Security Council official who led the prepublication review of John Bolton’s bestselling memoir 'The Room Where It Happened' confirmed the official's position that the book was cleared of classified information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Opening today for submissions in its 2021 cycle, the Aspen Words Literary Prize is focused on fiction that illustrates 'the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.' The post Aspen Words Literary Prize Opens 2021 Submissions Seeking ‘Transformative Fiction’ appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-10 17:05:39 UTC ]
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The Aspen Institute has just announced the winner of their 2020 Literary Prize: Christy Lefteri, for her novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which tells the story of Syrian refugees in Great Britain. The Aspen Words Literary Prize was established to celebrate a work of fiction that spotlights a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 22:00:41 UTC ]
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Niki Chang is leaving The Good Literary Agency (TLGA) to join David Higham Associates (DHA) in April as a literary agent. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-24 09:01:20 UTC ]
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The still-young Aspen Words Literary Prize's longlisted titles point up 'humor in the midst of serious situations'–in issue-driven fiction. The post Aspen Words $35,000 Literary Prize Names Its 2020 Finalists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-19 15:30:55 UTC ]
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Unusual for its focus on socially relevant fiction, the Aspen Words Literary Prize has six debuts among its 16 longlisted titles for 2020, is third year. The post Aspen Institute Names Its 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-11-18 06:30:13 UTC ]
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Aspen Words has announced the longlist for the 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize, a $35,000 award given to a work of fiction that “illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.” The longlist includes sixteen books: twelve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-14 17:00:04 UTC ]
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Guide to Literary Agents editor Robert Lee Brewer shares his simple two-step process on how to get a literary agent. The post How to Get a Literary Agent: A Simple Two-Step Process by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2019-10-22 17:30:09 UTC ]
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The titles agents are taking to this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair have a strong environmental theme—be it scientific polemics, nature writing or warnings on the dangers of technology—as ‘up-lit’ looks set to continue raising readers’ spirits. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-30 07:28:56 UTC ]
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Sceptre will publish Signs of Civilization: How Punctuation Changed History by Norwegian academic Bård Borch Michalsen later this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-23 00:43:47 UTC ]
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This year's BookCon literary fan fest drew mixed reviews from attendees, some of whom felt that publishers focused more on merchandising rather than on providing booklovers with an experience or giving them free swag. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury imprint Sigma has snapped up Dr Alice Bell's book on the history of climate change. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-20 17:01:46 UTC ]
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When her first book came out, Lulah Ellender became obsessed with an author whose book launched the same week. She reflects on past feuds and how resentment now festers onlineWhen my first book was published last year I wasn’t prepared for how unhinged I would become. I’d expected review-induced... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For centuries, women have been using their words to educate and inspire — from Coretta Scott King’s tales from the frontlines Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-03-05 14:00:03 UTC ]
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Library and information association CILIP has opened up nominations for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards to other industry bodies and is introducing a ‘children’s choice’ prize, in response to the recommendations an independently chaired diversity review. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the late summer of 1941, as millions of Americans were debating whether to become involved in the war against Hitler, the journalist Dorothy Thompson wrote a celebrated essay for Harper's magazine. The title was Who Goes Nazi?, and Thompson explained that she had devised "a somewhat macabre... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head has signed a book that exposes the "bias, hype, incompetence and fraud" in the peer-reviewed world by Dr Stuart Ritchie following a four-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The lack of information regarding pre-publication review policies at various government agencies raises First Amendment questions, the plaintiffs say. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Good Literary Agency has made two new hires, Nicola Chang, of Aitken Alexander Associates and Arzu Tahsin, former publishing director of Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook published a blog post today detailing the changes it has made to how it manages users' data. You can read a broader summary of that report here, but among the new changes is a tweak to how Facebook collects and stores call and text history.... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2018-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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