Harper Lee never wanted Go Set a Watchman brought out, Sylvia Plath’s diary was burned by Ted Hughes – the controversial world of literary legacies When a writer is born into a family, the Polish poet Czesław Miłosz said, that family is finished. Yes, but when a writer dies that family’s troubles have only just begun. Wills may be contradictory and instructions to literary executors confused. Works left behind on computers or in desk drawers may be of uncertain status: were they intended for publication or not? And if the writer is famous enough, there’ll be biographers to deal with: can they be trusted to paint a kindly portrait? In their lifetime, authors have a measure of control. Once they’re gone, it’s left to others to guard their reputations.The vigilance can be fierce, with the appointed custodians (whether spouses, children, lawyers, agents, editors or friends) not so much keepers of the flame as dragons guarding a cave. Posterity is rarely kind to them: however they act, they will be accused of acting badly. If they deny the author’s wishes, as those acting for the French philosopher Michel Foucault have recently done by consenting to the publication of a book he hadn’t finished and didn’t want to come out, they will be called treacherous. And if they are overly loyal, destroying work the author disowned but that deserves to be saved, they will be called philistine or just plain stupid. Either way, they can’t shirk the role allotted them. They have an estate to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
Her novels and essays explored the agitated, fractured state of the nation’s psyche. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-23 17:15:33 UTC ]
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Joan Didion, one of the most widely respected journalists and writers of the latter half of 20th century, has died due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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bell hooks, the activist, author, groundbreaking intersectional feminist theorist, and professor, died on December 15 at her home in Berea, Ky. She was 69. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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CrimeFest is offering a bursary for a writer of colour to attend its festival in May 2022 and appear on a panel. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-19 23:32:15 UTC ]
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In acerbic essays and novels, she wrote about Hollywood's wild excesses, and her own, becoming a literary phenomenon. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-19 13:42:08 UTC ]
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Stephanie Land’s best-selling memoir inspired the popular Netflix series. She’s not done fighting for people navigating the red tape of poverty. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-12-16 10:00:03 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild has launched a National Letter Writing campaign, asking its 11,000 members and supporters to send emails and letters to school boards, lawmakers, and newspapers arguing that banning books harms students. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The author, educator and activist who was among the most influential feminist thinkers of her time has died. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2021-12-15 18:37:52 UTC ]
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She wrote more than 30 books, drawing on history, politics and her own life while examining race, class and gender in America. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-15 17:25:58 UTC ]
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Her first novel, “Interview With the Vampire,” launched a blockbuster book series and was adapted into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-14 00:33:11 UTC ]
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As a Village Voice critic, he became one of the leading chroniclers of the emergence of hip-hop and had a powerful influence on later critics. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-09 00:26:12 UTC ]
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It is almost exactly a year since I rode into Barcelona on a second-hand bicycle I had bought in Lisbon a thousand miles earlier. As well as all the normal enjoyment of seeing your book on a shop shelf, I’m also slightly amazed when I stop to think that it was only 12 months ago that Iberia was... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 22:47:22 UTC ]
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Agatha Christie, the Queen of Mystery, is the best-selling novelist of all time. What makes her work so timeless? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-12-06 11:40:00 UTC ]
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In the last few years, we have seen a boom in books written by trans authors. Here are some graphic trans memoirs right on the cutting edge. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-12-06 11:38:00 UTC ]
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Literary critic Edmund Wilson, an early champion, called her “a writer in a class by herself.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-03 01:22:24 UTC ]
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What launched as a sort of support group in the early days of Covid-19, Friends & Fiction celebrated its 100th episode on November 24. PW caught up with show's creators and hosts, Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Patti Callahan Henry, to talk about the remarkable... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Longtime editor and publishing executive Charlie Conrad died on November 21. He was 61. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. copyright law protects all kinds of creative material, but recipe creators are mostly powerless in an age and a business that are all about sharing. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-11-29 21:11:57 UTC ]
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Canelo has landed a historical fiction saga which navigates the fall out of the Great Sheffield Flood, by debut author Joanne Clague. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-26 10:12:45 UTC ]
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Katie Daynes' Why Do Things Die? (Usborne), illustrated by Christine Pym, has been announced as the overall winner of the School Library Association (SLA) Information Book Award for its “gentle, non-judgemental” tone on "a rare topic" for young readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-25 10:32:58 UTC ]
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