Karen Stevens's collection of essays offers practical advice and inspiration for those embarking on the long, lonely journey of writing a novelAccording to Karen Stevens, "writing a novel is the longest and loneliest journey a writer can embark upon". Her collection of essays by established and new writers splits that journey into four stages: inspiration, research, voice and form. There is also practical advice from a literary agent and an editor who notes honestly that "chance does play a part" in getting published. Lionel Shriver is equally frank about what comes after the acceptance of your first novel: "struggle and disappointment". Although Hanif Kureishi candidly admits, in an excellent piece from 2002, that "most writers do not entirely understand what they are doing", these essays are both perceptive and inspiring. Alison MacLeod writes beautifully on the voice of a novel: "It is the unknown quantity every novel needs." Kishwar Desai admits to being driven by "the demons of insecurity" to over-research, and Jane Feaver, writing about form, advises authors to develop "an alertness to the collective materiality of words". But all agree with Wena Poon: the process of writing a novel is a "strange and wondrous journey".PublishingPaperbacksEssaysPD Smiththeguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 02:17:52 UTC ]
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In “Yellowface,” R.F. Kuang satirizes the publishing industry with a tale of a struggling writer who passes off her recently deceased friend’s book as her own. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-16 09:00:23 UTC ]
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Some in the book industry have already begun exploring automation of its pitches to readers. We took this functionality for a test drive“Blurb writing is a mini art form,” Iris Murdoch once wrote in a letter to former Penguin blurb writer Elizabeth Buchan. And like many other art forms,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-16 09:00:05 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-15 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Mother’s Day was never a real holiday to my mother—more about marketing than raising me. No white carnations or special dinners for her. But that my memoir about her, Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son, was published just before this Mother’s Day would make her smile. Likewise, that I have... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-12 13:21:24 UTC ]
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In new novels by the National Book Award finalists Gary D. Schmidt and Brandon Hobson, adolescent boys navigating parental loss find strength in ancient mythology. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-12 09:00:15 UTC ]
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MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award–winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates talked about the war on books, the imbalance of power, and learning as liberation at the PEN America World Voices Festival on May 11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Our Migrant Souls,” the author’s first nonfiction book in nearly a decade, is a deeply personal meditation on Latino American experience. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-09 09:00:12 UTC ]
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What do Amanda Gorman, Truman Capote, John Updike, and Joyce Carol Oates have in common? Each won a Scholastic Art & Writing Award as a teen. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards began in 1923 and continue to support young writers thanks to The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 12:47:48 UTC ]
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A large-format photo book reveals the toll of industrialization on the landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-05 09:00:51 UTC ]
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The author of Original Sins, an account of addiction and shame, on his book’s impact on his evangelical parents, reading the Patrick Melrose series while waiting for drug dealers, and how looking middle class saved him from arrestMatt Rowland Hill, 38, is the author of Original Sins, about... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 17:00:41 UTC ]
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Now a co-founder of Semafor, formerly of Politico, BuzzFeed and the New York Times, the author expertly pulls readers inBen Smith is a willing passenger on the rollercoaster also known as the internet. He reported for Politico, was founding editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed News and did a stint as a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 06:00:28 UTC ]
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Visual artist and poet José Faus, journalist C.J. Janovy, and writer Desideria Mesa, join host Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss Kansas City’s literary legacy and its future. The group focuses on new book ban legislation, as well a white... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:53:54 UTC ]
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In “Affinities,” his latest book of essays, the critic Brian Dillon meditates on images by photographers, filmmakers, dancers and other artists, exploring their attractions and affiliations. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-25 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Ava Chin’s memoir is an expansive family history encompassing perilous journeys, sensational crimes and social change. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-24 12:37:54 UTC ]
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Award launched at London book fair aims to help older authors take the plunge and submit a first workLondon book fair, which concluded earlier this month, always brings with it a flurry of headlines about debut authors signing six-figure publishing deals. Most of these have at least one thing in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-23 09:00:35 UTC ]
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The award-winning author on how Trump, Covid and anti-Asian rhetoric inspired her latest novel, digging her way out of ‘post-book fatigue’, and learning to touch type using UlyssesCeleste Ng, 42, is the award-winning author of three novels, including Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-22 17:00:15 UTC ]
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You've seen every movie on Shudder and have a whole bookshelf devoted to King, but can you guess the horror book based on its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-20 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, Romantic Comedy, which begins behind the scenes at a television show similar to Saturday Night Live, where a female comedy writer is gobsmacked that her schlubby straight male... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-20 08:53:29 UTC ]
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A BookToker offers a quick disclaimer before a negative review to head off some anticipated complaints in the comments... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-19 10:31:00 UTC ]
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