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 ]
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Recent Top Reviews of Self-published Books from BlueInk Review

Our monthly selection of reviews from BlueInk Review, a service which reviews self-published books. The post Recent Top Reviews of Self-published Books from BlueInk Review appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Foreword Literary Now Fuse Literary

Following an out-of-court settlement with Fore Word Magazine, Foreword Literary, the literary agency formed in March 2013, has changed its name to Fuse Literary. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Agent Q&A: Melanie Rostock, K Literary Agency in Spain

Melanie Rostock with the K Literary and Film Agency in Barcelona offers best-practice advice for literary agents and tips on promising international markets. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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March’s Top Reviews of Self-published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred reviews of self-published books from BlueInk Review honor two works of fiction: a dystopian saga and a thriller set in Australia. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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February’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

February's notable reviews of self-published titles include stars for a 'startling' memoir about the Vietnam War and a 'fascinating' exploration of human rights. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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January’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month’s starred reviews of self-published books includes a pair of notable new novels, one about dysfunctional childhood in Western and another about a busy single mother. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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December’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred reviews of self-published books includes a "stellar" historical novel and a "touching" memoir of life as a teacher of disadvantaged students. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Banning bad reviews undermines the very purpose of reviews

In an interview with Poynter back at the beginning of November, BuzzFeed book editor Isaac Fitzgerald said that the site will not include negative reviews. "Why waste breath talking smack about something? You see it in so many old media-type places, the scathing takedown rip. If you can’t say... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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November’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred self-published books of note include a fictional tragedy in pre-colonial Nigeria and a memoir where beer pong meets sado-masochism. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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October’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's recipients of starred reviews from BlueInk include a novel about a schizophrenic New Yorker who believes he is Beethoven and a timely look at profiteering in American medicine. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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September’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's “starred” reviews of self-published books include a collection of spiritualist lectures, an examination of the Andean Q’ero faith and a pair of compelling novels. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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August’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

Among this month's starred reviews: a novel in which the discovery of a sexy 19th-century manuscript leads to erotic adventures, and a comprehensive guide for psychotherapists. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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July’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred reviews from BlueInk Review of self-published books includes several "stay-up-all-night-until-your-eyes-bleed" thrillers, as well as a memoir from the ringmaster of The Big Apple Circus. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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June’s Top Reviews of Self-published Books from BlueInk Review

Self-published books receiving starred reviews from BlueInk this month include a novel about a wisecracking cat that investigates the death of its owner and a memoir of escaping Romania under Soviet rule. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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May’s Top Reviews of Self-published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred self-published titles include a novel about lesbian nuns in pre-WWII Germany and a memoir from the daughter of 1960s cult leaders, among others. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Changed Reading. Now It Could Change Writing

Throughout its 17-year history, Amazon has helped change the way that books are sold, the format in which they’re read and how they are published. Now it could change how they’re written. In addition to the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon introduced a subscription book format... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo Libra Colour Review: A Color E Ink Screen

Kobo’s latest e-reader introduces a color E Ink screen that brings graphic novels, children’s books, and your favorite book covers to life. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2024-04-30 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Agent Richard Parks Dies at 83

Parks, who ran his own eponymous literary agency for more than 35 years, counted Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Carroll, and Susan Straight among his clients. He died of complications from dementia on April 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A Secret Letter to the KGB Turned A Lost Family History Into a Novel

Journalist Sasha Vasilyuk’s debut novel Your Presence Is Mandatory is a poignant look at the reverberating effects of war through the story of a Ukrainian World War II veteran’s struggle to hide a damaging secret for the sake of his family.  Vasilyuk’s book begins with death—the first chapter... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
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They Saw Dallas as a Literary Hub, Then Got to Work Making It One

“We are a literary city”: Will Evans started saying it in 2013, when he started the publisher Deep Vellum. Alongside the bookstore Wild Detectives and others, they’ve put Dallas on the literary map. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:05:49 UTC ]
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