What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright

Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her, What composes a life and what makes of life art? What makes of memory history, and whose history, and how do we survive loss? We might expect the author of five books of poetry and two children’s books to incorporate the lyric in her first book of nonfiction, but Chang goes further. If her memories arrive at times as poetry, she denies them the protection of a poem. For instance, at the end of a letter that begins, “Do you remember those Fridays in gym class . . . ,” she realizes that memory may be “the exit wound of joy.” Such insights pierce us before we can register surprise. Elsewhere, she covers her mother’s mouth with three Mandarin characters in the photo on her certificate of naturalization, inserting her reservation into the official record along with her daughter’s grief. I reached out to Chang, moved by this book’s innovative form. “It was always my goal as a writer to be able to make whatever I want,” she told me via Zoom video hosted by the low-residency MFA program at Antioch University, which she directs. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Voelcker Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: Knopf Nabs Galassi's Debut Novel

Muse pulls from Galassi's own life and follows a book editor who, Knopf explained, "is caught in the middle of the decades-long rivalry between two publishing lions over the work of a beautiful, iconic female poet." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Could A New "Privacy Generation" Change Our Surveillance Politics?

The United States needs to strike a balance between respecting individual freedoms and protecting national security, says everyone from the director of national intelligence to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It's the standard reaction to the stream of revelations about the extensive... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small Paper Sees Big Lift With CMS Change

Most small newspapers would be happy with an online publishing system that solves more headaches than it creates. Finding software that makes digital revenue and reader traffic skyrocket seems like the stuff of dreams. But that’s precisely ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: CONTEC Makes Its Debut

In March of this year, following a wonderful day of programming at TOC Bologna, I sat at dinner with a few of our speakers from the day—my friend and CONTEC Frankfurt speaker Paul Rhodes included—and the conversations at that table were simply absorbing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Snyder debut to Two Roads

John Murray Press imprint Two Roads has acquired Girl Runner, a debut novel from Carrie Snyder... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piatkus buys Haysom debut

Emma Beswetherick, editorial director of Piatkus Fiction, has secured world rights in a “... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Changes coming to Engadget's RSS feed

Hey there, Engadget's main news feed will soon be changing over to a new version featuring excerpted content. You'll still get the headlines and a good chunk of each post, but for those wanting the full story, you'll need to click through to the site (which has been the industry standard way of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus buys YA concubine debut

Quercus has signed world rights to a YA novel it describes as "The Handmaid's Tale meets... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber buys Australian debut

Faber has acquired a debut novel set in medieval England from Australian author Robyn Cadwallader... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Changing Job Market

A panel of industry experts gathered to discuss the state of publishing’s ever-changing jobs market at a Publishers Weekly Discussion Series on September 25, at Random House’s offices in midtown Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Auctions for North Korea debut

Patrick Walsh of Conville & Walsh said he has had "very serious interest worldwide... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin buys Hofmeyr YA debut

Puffin editorial director Ben Horslen has pre-empted world rights to an "exceptionally... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CILIP rejects name change and has no confidence in Vaizey

CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, has voted to retain its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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STUDYeBUDDY Preps For Frankfurt Debut

Seven months after its New Delhi launch, the STUDYeBUDDY e-bookstore now offers digital content from 32 publishers, including Usborne, Crabtree Publishing, Kendall Hunt, Ashgate, Ocra, Carson-Dellosa, Global Finance School, Pustak Mahal, Popular Prakashan, and Aardash Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small publishers concerned over Man Booker changes

The Man Booker Prize submission rule changes will have a negative impact on small publishers,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker Prize reveals criteria changes

The Man Booker Prize has extended its criteria and will from next year accept any novels... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade caution over Man Booker rule changes

If the Man Booker Prize does open itself to US writers, the administrators could have a tough job... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker to announce rule changes this week

The Man Booker Prize has admitted that changes are being made to its rules. However the award has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China’s CN Times Books Debuts U.S. List

CN Times Books is the U.S. publishing subsidiary of Beijing Media Time Book Co. Ltd., one of the largest trade book publishers in China. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder Children's Books buys YA debut

Hodder Children's Books has bought two novels from debut author Carla Spradbery, acquiring... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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