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 ]
Many people who read this month’s column will be carers. If you are not one now, you may be later and some of us will always be in this role. What does this mean? A carer (I use the NHS definition) is anyone who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-01 15:01:50 UTC ]
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On this day in 1940, Maxine Hong Kingston was born in Stockton, CA. Kingston, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, took the literary world by storm with her seminal work The Woman Warrior (1976), which blends autobiography and mythology. The Woman Warrior, the winner of the 1976 National Book... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-27 16:42:53 UTC ]
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The phrasemaking of politicians and publishers can have parallels. Richard Charkin muses on 'a terrific show' at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021. The post Richard Charkin: Reflections Following His 48th Frankfurt Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-10-26 16:52:23 UTC ]
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The TV news star's memoir, 'Going There,' is fearlessly, wildly entertaining, often emotional and sure to upend the idea that she wants your love. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-26 13:00:12 UTC ]
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An author draws from the Orpheus myth for a story about loss, imagination, and redemption. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Benjamin Zephaniah is writing a “powerfully moving” picture book about the voyage of "HMT Empire Windrush" to be published by Scholastic UK in April 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-23 10:30:14 UTC ]
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The New York Times Book Review first appeared on Oct. 10, 1896, but its roots can be traced back to its very first issue of The Times on Sept. 18, 1851. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-22 11:33:55 UTC ]
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This fictional portrait of Henry VIII’s scheming aide Thomas Cromwell — the first volume in a trilogy — won the Man Booker Prize in 2009. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:24:11 UTC ]
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The novel’s headline-making candor and explicitness led the Book Review to assure its readers, “It is a book one can very well get along without reading.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:21:29 UTC ]
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A memoir and a history of Iran’s turbulent 20th-century politics, one comic strip frame at a time. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:21:11 UTC ]
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What did the Book Review look like in 1896, in 1916, in 1962? Scroll down to see what it looked like — and how it changed — through the decades. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:11:48 UTC ]
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The Times would later call this 1995 memoir of a hardscrabble Texas childhood “one of the best books ever written about growing up in America.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:16 UTC ]
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In 1925, the Book Review raved about the “sensitive” love poems and “piercing” satire from a young star of the Harlem Renaissance. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:15 UTC ]
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This tale of Gilded Age New York City became, in 1921, the first novel by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:14 UTC ]
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This brilliant 1976 memoir evokes the author’s Chinese immigrant family and summons the ghosts who haunt it. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:13 UTC ]
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The best-seller lists as we know them today have their roots in the Aug. 9, 1942, issue — but the Book Review has been tracking sales for much longer than that. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:10 UTC ]
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Novelist Julia Elliott and poet and writer DaMaris B. Hill join hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to consider the writing and face of rural America—particularly as it might look 30 years from now. First, Elliott talks about growing up as an outsider in her own South Carolina... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-21 08:50:35 UTC ]
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Australian dramatist David Williamson’s new book is a mash up of memoir and autobiography, which casts himself as a former ‘plunderer’ of other’s lives. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-10-20 03:57:12 UTC ]
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Schiff’s “Midnight in Washington” is that rare memoir by a politician that actually has something to say. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-19 18:00:03 UTC ]
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