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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Newsweek's new owners think they can succeed at something its previous owners failed at: printing a weekly magazine in the United States. IBT Media, the obscure media company that bought Newsweek in August, said Tuesday that it intends to rev ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matt Cowdery, Hachette's representative in the GCC, reflects on several publishing issues impacting the region including importation certificates, the Arab Spring and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hilton Als' 'White Girls' is a magnificent collection of essays that mixes criticism and memoir, fiction and nonfiction.Hilton Als' "White Girls" is as much about white girls as the author's previous effort "The Women" was about femininity — which is to say quite a lot and not at all. Like its... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What do we lose in a world without handwritten letters? A new book explores how the digital age affects how we communicate.New York Times bestselling author Simon Garfield is worried that we are losing track of our communications. No, he's not griping about NSA mass surveillance and government... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reducing the number of books submitted for the Man Booker is a key aim of the new entry rules... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the Oct. 21 issue of Advertising Age, you'll find the closely watched annual Magazine A-List, which honors 10 glossies that are doing really, really well. I'm part of the editorial team that, each summer and fall, works on the list (which involves a lot of in-depth research and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 28-year-old novelist from New Zealand, the youngest ever to win the prize, addressed the critics who have approached her complex novel with trite assumptions about gender.Running on a mere 2½ hours of sleep and exactly 12 hours after winning the Man Booker Prize for her novel “The... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, at the age of just 28, has become the younger ever winner of the Man Booker Prize for her novel "The Luminaries." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eleanor Catton took the 2013 Man Booker Prize for "The Luminaries" at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday night.This post has been updated. Please see note at bottom for details. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eleanor Catton has won the Man Booker Prize 2013 with The Luminaries. Catton's second novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will present the Man Booker Prize when the winner is announced on... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After banning Ralph Ellison's novel earlier this month, the Randolph County school board voted to bring 'Invisible Man' back to school libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lady Antonia Fraser has resigned as an adviser to the Man Booker International Prize as a result... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Randolph County Board of Education recently voted to ban Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel from libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The prestigious UK writing prize will now be open to any works that are published in the UK and were written in English. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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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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News reports are saying American authors will be considered for the prestigious UK literary prize next year, while the Booker Prize organizers say these stories are 'incomplete' but haven't discounted the possibility. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week's buzz round-up looks at the controversial possible changes in the Man Booker Prize rules, New Zealand's publishing decline, Frankfurt tips and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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