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 ]
This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Sari talks with Alia Volz, the author of reported, historical memoir, Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco — about being raised by colorful hippie parents who ran an illegal pot-brownie... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-23 20:00:24 UTC ]
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Holly Bourne answers our questions about her YA novel tackling toxic relationships, The Places I've Cried in Public (Usborne), which has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 08:58:47 UTC ]
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The 12-strong longlist for this year's Spread the Word Life Writing Prize has been announced, with the prize open to UK writers who do not have an agent or have yet to publish a full-length work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 20:48:32 UTC ]
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Writing doesn’t pay. According to a report released last year by the Royal Society for Literature and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, most writers earn below the minimum wage. The numbers are stark: two thirds of writers earn between £100 and £10,000. Only 5% of writers can expect... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 05:32:29 UTC ]
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Poet Carol Ann Duffy and the Manchester Writing School have launched an international poetry project in response to the coronavirus. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-19 14:30:11 UTC ]
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Searching this cookbook mega-index is the best way to find out what's for dinner. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2020-04-18 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Once upon a time Ken Kesey wrote an endearing tale about a wily squirrel and a hungry bear. The unlikely picture book was one of two written by Kesey nearly three decades after his well-known 1962 novel set in a psychiatric hospital, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Who knew? Kesey—as well as... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-17 08:48:38 UTC ]
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Jenny Downham answers our questions about her latest YA novel, Furious Thing (David Fickling Books), which has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2020. 1. Can you sum up Furious Thing in one sentence? There are many ways a girl’s sense of self can be whittled away — this book explores what... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-16 09:06:03 UTC ]
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What promises to be yet another book about 20-something New Yorkers swiftly morphs into a poignant story about motherhood. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-13 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Bernardine Evaristo, Amelia Gentleman and Kate Clanchy are among the longlisted authors for this year's Orwell Prize for Political Writing and Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-07 16:58:58 UTC ]
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The University of East Anglia (UEA) has announced a major strand of its ambitious CW50 anniversary campaign, which celebrates 50 years of creative writing at UEA. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-01 15:44:04 UTC ]
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If there’s karma, publishing ‘The Red Lotus’ now means that my next novel better be about a cure for a horrific disease. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The prodigious Anthony Horowitz has three books slated for 2020, each of which is packed with the writer’s trademark plot twists and hidden messages Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-27 06:53:44 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has said it is “forensically reviewing” its publication programme to decide on possible title moves following the closure of major high street chains during the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-24 15:41:34 UTC ]
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One audiobook listener scoured the internet and came up with this list of the best websites offering good audiobook reviews. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:34:10 UTC ]
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We ask that all titles sent in for review consideration going forward be submitted via our GalleyTracker platform only using digital review copies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jessica Kingsley Publishers has launched a non-fiction writing prize for trans and non-binary writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-12 09:48:12 UTC ]
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In this episode, writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit reflects on her new memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence. Solnit talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the deep impact of gendered violence on daily life and what it means to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-12 08:49:53 UTC ]
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“Young Heroes of the Soviet Union,” by Alex Halberstadt, is a moving and often funny memoir about the author’s family and their history. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-03-11 16:29:22 UTC ]
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Today, Simon & Schuster announced their acquisition of the first book by Michael Schur, creator of postmodern morality play and philosophical sitcom The Good Place, otherwise known as the best thing on television for a while there. How to Be Good: A Definitive Answer for Exactly What to Do,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-10 16:57:41 UTC ]
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