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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Ahead of a new stage revival, the creators and cast of Channel 4’s classic 90s newsroom sitcom remember close encounters with future Bond stars, writing episodes at the last minute and the meaning between that mysterious titleWhen Drop the Dead Donkey debuted on Channel 4 on 9 August 1990, it... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:55:00 UTC ]
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The anthology “Burn Man” selects from decades of Mark Anthony Jarman’s work, bringing the writer’s lush and searing stories to new readers. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-01-14 10:00:16 UTC ]
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The trial of the man suspected in the near-fatal stabbing of Salman Rushdie has been delayed because of the writer's upcoming memoir about the knife attack. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-04 01:09:08 UTC ]
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A Moncton comic book shop is selling one of the most valuable issues of Spider-Man comics out there. The Comic Hunter in Moncton is looking for $60,000 for a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-12-03 21:53:26 UTC ]
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A 73-year-old man who was first trapped in Gaza and then forced to walk from northern to southern Gaza to avoid Israeli airstrikes has reunited with his family at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-11-22 02:43:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic Book Fairs will no longer offer a separate diverse voices book case. But they still fail to address many questions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-25 14:12:58 UTC ]
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With debates over book bans growing more contentious, the education publishing company tried to find a happy medium that may not exist. Across the nation, it’s time for the Scholastic Book Fair. The beloved and nostalgia-triggering event, where kids go and pick out an armful of books to take... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-10-25 13:50:00 UTC ]
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Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 82. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-09-28 12:32:43 UTC ]
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A statement cited increased costs and removal of UK state funding as the magazine, which featured writers including Paul Murray, Caleb Azumah Nelson and Sally Rooney, is to consider its future Literary magazine the White Review will not be published “for an indefinite period” according to a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-09-26 09:06:39 UTC ]
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“We are thrilled to announce that The Paris Review has won a 2023 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize.” Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2023-09-13 14:10:36 UTC ]
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Today, the Whiting Foundation announced the winners of its sixth annual Literary Magazine Prizes, honoring “seven print and digital magazines that are among the most distinctive and lively publications at the forefront of American culture.” This cycle, each winner will be granted $20,000 in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-12 12:00:56 UTC ]
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'Guernica,' 'Mizna,' 'Orion,' the 'Paris Review,' the 'Los Angeles Review of Books,' 'n+1,' and 'Oxford American' are the winners of this year's Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sex, Time, and Memory: Annie Ernaux’s Young Man, by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 08/21/2023 - 15:04 The Young Man—forthcoming from Seven Stories in September 2023—is Annie Ernaux’s first novel in English... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-08-21 20:04:48 UTC ]
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The novelist discusses his career and his recent essay about cadavers in crime fiction, and the actor Richard E. Grant talks about his memoir and his love of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-08-18 17:55:09 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble will reopen its bookstore at The Avenue at White Marsh in a redesigned format on July 26, the bookseller announced Wednesday. It's one of several changes and new stores planned for the center. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2023-07-19 17:11:00 UTC ]
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If you believe that the role of a novel is to instruct readers on correct moral positions, then Trial is a masterpiece. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2023-06-20 16:38:36 UTC ]
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She had a modest career as an actress but was best known for following in the footsteps of her mother, the best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-16 21:20:41 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy, who wrote nihilistic and violent tales of the American frontier and post-apocalyptic worlds that enthralled and appalled readers, died on Tuesday at the age of 89, his representative confirmed to CBC... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-06-13 20:01:40 UTC ]
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In honor of Pride Month, the White House today announced a set of actions designed to protect LGBTQIA+ communities, including the appointment of a new coordinator within the Department of Education to facilitate a response to the rising number of book bans at the state level. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Snyder, a visionary and imperious executive at Simon & Schuster who presided over the publisher’s exponential rise during the second half of the 20th century and helped define an era of growing corporate power, has died Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-06-08 01:26:39 UTC ]
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