Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing review – did tech change literary style?

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 ]
News tagged with: #stop printing

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing review – did tech change literary style?'


New DRM Will Change the Words in Your E-Book

The next ebook you buy might not exactly match the printed version. And those changes are there to make sure you're not a pirate.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #printed version


Yet more literary furor over fake book reviews

British crime writer R.J. Ellory is the latest author to be caught out writing glowing online reviews of his own work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest author


Review: 'The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat' by Thomas McNamee

'The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat' is a not-very-filling biography of the late Craig Claiborne, a food editor, restaurant critic and cookbook author who helped shape the modern American food world.The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #food editor #restaurant critic #cookbook author #helped shape


Review: 'Engines of Change' by Paul Ingrassia details key cars

In 'Engines of Change,' Paul Ingrassia looks at history through 15 iconic cars, including the Ford Model T, Chevrolet Corvette, Volkswagen Beetle, Toyota Prius.It would be impossible to count the number of automotive makes and models that have come and gone since the car was first invented — or... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Book review: 'Enemies: A History of the FBI' by Tim Weiner

In 'Enemies: A History of the FBI,' Tim Weiner ('Legacy of Ashes') offers a scathing indictment of the FBI, before J. Edgar Hoover and since.Each week, the FBI sends reporters an email of "top ten news stories" that it hopes will hit the headlines. The press releases usually highlight crooks... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review #press releases


For Kate Morton, a Change of Perspective Changed Everything

After leaving England and returning to Australia, the best-selling author wrote a novel about a writer who left England and returned to Australia. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-20 09:00:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kate morton #best-selling author


The Review’s Review: Mathematics of Brutality

A novel of revolution, a graphic novel of Portland punk, and a photo book of the mosh pit. Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2022-02-11 15:22:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #photo book #graphic novel


Profile lands Kars' Cundhill History Prize-winning history of Guyanese revolt

Profile has acquired the Cundill History Prize-winning Blood on the River: A Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast, a "gripping and immersive" work of history uncovering a little-known slave revolt, by Marjoleine Kars. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-13 00:06:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #slave revolt


History Press lands book on how CIA shaped history from Charlwood

The History Press has snapped up a new book on how the CIA has shaped history, by David Charlwood.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-21 23:38:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #history press


Review: Larry Elder complained we'd never reviewed his books. So we did, like it or not

David Ulin read four of the recall candidate's books, from the jeremiad "Showdown" to the memoir "A Lot Like Me," and found not a writer but a brand. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-08 13:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Climate science may change minds. Climate sadness can change hearts.

In a series of letters, Daniel Sherrell shares his anger and guilt over the state of the planet. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #climate science


The Literary Arts Emergency Fund will award 3.5 million to 282 literary organizations this year.

Exclusive: the Literary Arts Emergency Fund, launched and administered by the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazine & Presses, and the National Book Foundation, has announced that it will distribute $3.5 million in emergency funding to 282 nonprofit literary arts... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-15 19:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american poets #literary magazine


Indie Success: Word by Word

The winner of the BookLife Prize Nonfiction Contest is a collaborative project as unique as its subjects—and contributors Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie success


Histories of Violence: Unlearning History

THIS IS THE 37th in a series of dialogues with artists, writers, and critical thinkers on the question of violence. This conversation is with Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, a theorist of photography and visual culture. She is a professor of Modern Culture and Media and the Department of Comparative... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-03-02 13:30:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post histories #critical thinkers #modern culture #comparative literature #brown university


Living History: 5 Comics About History and Culture

Next time you or the kids are looking for an informative nonfiction or historical fiction read, pick up one of these comics about history and culture. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-10 11:42:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #living history #historical fiction


'New York Times Book Review' Adds Excerpts to Digital Reviews

The 'New York Times Book Review' will now add excerpts from the first chapter of books being reviewed to a select number of reviews it publishes digitally. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #select number #times book


Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find literary fiction literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-26 11:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing industry #updated regularly #literary fiction #literary agents


Facebook rolls out high-tech ad registry with a low-tech twist

Facebook is rolling out its Canadian political ad registry today with a low-tech twist — a bid to prevent people based outside of Canada from running ads in the upcoming federal election. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2019-06-10 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook rolls #running ads


If you want to change Facebook, you have to change Zuckerberg

An investor asked Mark Zuckerberg if he would give up some of his power for the good of the company. She didn’t get an answer, but she asked the right question. At Facebook’s annual shareholder meeting, a shareholder stepped up to the microphone and asked Mark Zuckerberg if he’d be willing to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-05-31 09:15:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


'The Gulf' Is A Climate Change Novel For A Changed World

Political temperatures rise and vicious storms pound the coast in Belle Boggs' witty debut, set in Obama's America. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2019-04-30 22:02:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #climate change #belle boggs #witty debut