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 ]
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Review of Books published a fairly wild essay by Miguel Esteban who, at the tender age of 14, commissioned a now-famous essay on race in science fiction from Octavia Butler. The whole piece is worth a read (the gall of teenage boys! the grace of Octavia!) but... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-26 13:40:52 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House said the book, tentatively coming in 2022, would be “an intimate and heartfelt memoir from one of the most fascinating and influential global figures of our time.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-07-19 20:26:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House announces book is expected in late 2022 with proceeds going to charityThe Duke of Sussex has agreed a publishing deal to write his memoirs and said he would do so “not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become”.The global deal for his “literary memoir” was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-19 18:37:55 UTC ]
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Lauren Child's latest story focuses on Christmas in a Clarice Bean story that is full of empathy and hope Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-17 02:08:43 UTC ]
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Essay Photos by Mai Al-Nakib / Courtesy of the author Civilizations, empires, dynasties, and monarchies end, leaving behind ruins of their fabled splendor. Traces of achievements become more or less decipherable, contingent upon the mercy of... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-07-07 12:48:10 UTC ]
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"Razorblade Tears," S.A. Cosby's follow-up to the Times Book Prize-winning "Blacktop Wasteland," follows two men hunting the killers of their gay sons. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-07-06 13:00:10 UTC ]
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Find an in-depth look at Literati's book club launch, what users can expect, how much it is, and more beyond standard Literati reviews. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-07-06 10:35:00 UTC ]
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“Fox & I” is Catherine Raven’s memoir of her relationship with a bushy-tailed creature — no, not a dog. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-07-06 09:00:01 UTC ]
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Reissued tales of classic journeys are being snapped up as Britons long for escape while having to stay at homeSome will go on a “great trudge” from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. Others will explore the canyonlands of Utah or the mountains of Iran. But there is one idiosyncrasy they will all... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-04 07:30:15 UTC ]
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The organisers of the 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival have apologised for not including any female writers of colour in the programme . Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-02 16:32:23 UTC ]
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Former Review Bookshop manager Katia Wengraf has raised more than £10,000 online to help fund her new independent store, Mount Florida Books, in a former tattoo parlour in Glasgow. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-20 21:34:09 UTC ]
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After a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic, 'PW' will again begin accepting print galleys for review consideration. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Annette Gordon-Reed’s “On Juneteenth” combines history, analysis, and memoir to explore the significance of the holiday and its Texas roots. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-16 22:19:05 UTC ]
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The bestselling author of Wonder is back with Pony, a standalone novel that promises to be a new American classic. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Walker Books is launching its third Young Sportswriter of the Year competition, in partnership with the Guardian and the Football School series of books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-10 01:41:47 UTC ]
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Santanu Battacharya has won Spread the Word’s Life Writing Prize 2021, with "The Nicer One", hailed by judges as a "gut-punch of a piece". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 14:59:56 UTC ]
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“Dear Senthuran” is an epistolary memoir of gender identity, diaspora and the solitude of success. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:08:44 UTC ]
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I have known plenty of failure in my writing life. Inspired partly by Henry David Thoreau, I set out to be a writer after college. Which effectively meant that I worked part-time as a carpenter and bookseller for the next dozen years without publishing a word. My current day job is as a teacher... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-04 08:49:40 UTC ]
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'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch,' historical fiction about Kepler's mother, is Galchen's first novel since 2008's 'Atmospheric Disturbances.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-03 14:00:33 UTC ]
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On the 125th anniversary of the Book Review, we look back at some of our earliest flourishes, curlicues, flowers and scrolls. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-05-28 16:20:05 UTC ]
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