George Saunders: what writers really do when they write
theguardian.com – Saturday March 4, 2017
Many years ago, during a visit to Washington DC, my wife’s cousin pointed out to us a crypt on a hill and mentioned that, in 1862, while Abraham Lincoln was president, his beloved son, Willie, died, and was temporarily interred in that crypt, and that the grief-stricken Lincoln had, according to the newspapers of the day, entered the crypt “on several occasions” to hold the boy’s body. An image spontaneously leapt into my mind – a melding of the Lincoln Memorial and the Pietà. I carried that image around for the next 20-odd years, too scared to try something that seemed so profound, and then finally, in 2012, noticing that I wasn’t getting any younger, not wanting to be the guy whose own gravestone would read “Afraid to Embark on Scary Artistic Project He Desperately Longed to Attempt”, decided to take a run at it, in exploratory fashion, no commitments. My novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, is the result of that attempt, and now I find myself in the familiar writerly fix of trying to talk about that process as if I were in control of it.
What Moonlight Teaches Us About The Importance Of Creative Writing Training
huffingtonpost.co.uk – Tuesday February 28, 2017
Tarell McCraney, the writer of the play which is the basis of the film Moonlight which was last night’s Oscar winner for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay amongst other awards, was in the year above me at Yale, where we were both studying for an MFA in Playwriting at Yale School of Drama.
Poetry, love and psychosis: can writing help us come to terms with mental illness?
theguardian.com – Thursday February 23, 2017
Paula Keogh never intended to write about her relationship with Michael Dransfield, one of the most prominent – and colourful – poets in Australian literature.
“I was actually doing a PhD on Michael’s poetry,” she tells Guardian Australia. “And my supervisor discovered that Michael and I had known each other and been very close, and she said, ‘Hang on, I don’t know whether you’re writing the right thesis here, maybe you should write a memoir!’”
Furniss Lawton Literary Division Assistant
jobs.thebookseller.com – Tuesday February 21, 2017
Role: To work within Furniss Lawton, the literary division of the James Grant Group. The role will be to assist and support the literary agents in the six-person Furniss Lawton team, with a particular focus on working with Rowan Lawton and Eugenie Furniss in the effective running of Furniss Lawton. This is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about publishing and the media to learn more about the industry and the skills necessary in managing authors and talent clients.
Sydney book club finish writing second novel together titled The Shifting Light
dailytelegraph.com.au – Saturday February 18, 2017
MORE than six years ago, the members of a Sydney book club came up with the idea of writing a book together to fund a trip to Russia.
The women, who called themselves the Book Sluts because they would read anything, were in the Blue Mountains on a weekend away drinking vodka and discussing Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
Publishers hire ‘sensitivity readers’ to screen manuscripts for offensive content
washingtontimes.com – Saturday February 18, 2017
Authors and publishers are increasingly hiring “sensitivity readers” to screen books for culturally offensive material before sending them to market.
A cultural climate that has the publishing industry increasingly under the microscope by fans has created a demand for specialized book scanners. Individuals are paid a small fee, roughly $250 per manuscript, to look for content deemed problematic.
Abridged 0 - 49: Babel Submission Call
firstwriter.com – Thursday February 16, 2017
Abridged is looking for poetry and art for its 0 – 49: Babel issue.
Up to four poems can be submitted and art can be up to A4 landscape and should be 300dpi or above.
Publishers Association of New Zealand announces Association Director appointment
booksellers.co.nz – Wednesday February 15, 2017
The Council of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) today announced the appointment of Catriona Ferguson to the role of Association Director.
Catriona is currently the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Book Council and was previously a Literary Advisor for Creative New Zealand. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the Association, particularly in the areas of grants and funding – and equally a life-long passion for books, reading and outstanding creative content.
Faber CEO speaks out after winning trade publisher of the year
theguardian.com – Friday February 10, 2017
Faber & Faber’s chief executive has called for publishers to oppose crackdowns on free speech and the rise of so-called fake news. Stephen Page made his comments after the publisher of TS Eliot, Kazuo Ishiguro and Costa book of the year winner Sebastian Barry scooped the Frankfurt book fair independent trade publisher of the year award.
D H H Literary Agency launches The Dome Press
thebookseller.com – Friday February 10, 2017
D H H Literary Agency has launched its own publishing company, The Dome Press.
The press, whose name is taken from the The Dome periodical that was published in London's Cecil Court by the Unicorn Press in the late 1800s, will have "a broad approach", covering all genres. Its ethos is to "champion great storytelling and give authors a voice" and to discover and nurture both new and established writers while embracing "fresh outlooks".
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