The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard“I’ll see your eidolon next Tuesday,” writes Will Self, 61, when I email to arrange a video call to discuss his new collection of journalism, Why Read: Selected Writings 2001-2021, which is centred on the concern (as he later told me, or my on-screen spirit-image) that “people are dumbing down their entire response to their own culture by their unfettered use of social media”. Self’s 26 previous books include Umbrella, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2012, and its sequels Shark and Phone, the latter a single 624-page paragraph which the Telegraph called an “epic anti-tweet”. Speaking from his home in south London, he said he liked the description “because the book was a deliberate attempt to call people’s attention to what was being lost by the digital. I don’t think the Umbrella trilogy is that hard to read at all; it’s only hard to read in contrast to a tweet. By Donald Trump!”How did you pick the pieces in Why Read?Until fairly recently, certainly since 2001, I probably wrote an average of 150,000 words of journalism every year, so there’s a vast amount to choose from. My New York editor said that in the age of the web, collections like this need a theme or else readers feel they’re just getting a grab bag they could’ve sourced themselves. So the emphasis fell on the impact on reading and writing of what I choose to call... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-26 18:00:32 UTC ]
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Philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah has been named chair of the judges for the 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker International Prize-winning translator and publisher Deborah Smith is to support national charity The Reader by match-funding donations to the total value of £5,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, during questioning at a congressional hearing Tuesday, sidestepped questions about whether President Trump’s vitriol toward CNN was factoring into the Department of Justice’s review of a mammoth media merger. AT&T is trying to buy Time Warner Inc. — which owns... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You probably heard that Facebook is testing a separate feed where only promoted content appears alongside posts from friends and family. While the test is small (six countries) and only applies to publishers, I've been inundated with "organic is dead" emails, tweets and posts from clients,... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Saunders takes the £50,000 purse for his 'Lincoln in the Bardo' published by Random House in the States, by Bloomsbury in the UK. The post George Saunders Wins the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Saunders has become the second American author to win the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for his first full-length novel, Lincoln in the Bardo (Bloomsbury). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winner of the Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards, will be announced Tuesday afternoon, and American author George Saunders is the odds-on favorite to take it home. The Guardian reports that Saunders’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” a novel about Abraham Lincoln... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Saunders, the second American to win the £50,000 fiction award, was honored for 'Lincoln in the Bardo,' his first novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want to win the Man Booker Prize? Kiera O'Brien crunches the numbers to tell you how. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The prize used to champion unknowns and outsiders. But a 2014 rule change has cemented the neo-colonial cultural dominance of the US and the UKThe upstairs room of an indie bookstore. A book launch for a local author. Crisps and wine are being handed out, a buzz is in the air, congratulations... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At this writing, the winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is still being chosen. 'We're kind of locked into a room,' says juror Colin Thubron. The post Man Booker Juror Colin Thubron: ‘The Prize Is Important’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperFiction crime and thriller publisher Julia Wisdom has signed The Nowhere Child by Australian author Christian White. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What a to-do there has been about this year's Man Booker Prize. First, it was the shortcomings of the longlist, which, according to Britain's Telegraph, had "overlooked some of the year's most exciting releases". Then, of course, it was all about the shortlist, which had too many Americans on... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This essay is adapted from Code Girls, by Liza Mundy, published by Hachette Books. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, Mundy and contemporary technologists will discuss her book and the role of women in technology at a Future Tense happy hour event in Washington, D.C. For more information and to RSVP, visit... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brand says it ‘missed mark’ after being accused of racism in campaign promoting body lotionDove has apologised after publishing an advert on its Facebook page which showed a black woman turning into a white woman. The brand was accused of racism over the online advertising campaign and it later... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The magazine mogul passed away in his New York home on Sunday. The post S.I. Newhouse Jr., Longtime Chairman of Condé Nast, Dead at 89 appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2017-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.P. Donleavy, the incorrigible Irish American author and playwright whose ribald debut novel "The Ginger Man" met scorn, censorship and eventually celebration as a groundbreaking classic, has died at age 91. Donleavy, a native New Yorker who lived his final years on an estate west of Dublin,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize, considered one of the most prestigious fiction awards in the world, was revealed Wednesday. Three American authors made the cut from the longlist: George Saunders, for “Lincoln in the Bardo”; Paul Auster, for his novel “4 3 2 1”; and Emily Fridlund for... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Called 'a group of novels grown from tradition but also radical and contemporary,' the 2017 Man Booker Prize shortlist of six books is announced in London. The post The 2017 Man Booker Prize Fiction Shortlist Includes UK, UK-Pakistani, and US Authors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker Prize has announced its shortlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and it includes books by Paul Auster and George Saunders. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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