For NPR, Dick Meyer’s “Literary Death Sprial: The Fading Book Section” is definitely worth a read, especially together with FWR’s recent essay on this topic, “A Review of One’s Own,” by Lee Thomas.
In the late 1990s, I ran a small, independent bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin, called Canterbury Booksellers. I knew I wanted to be a writer at the time, but I had no idea how to go about the process. Working at the store gave me not only shelter as a writer-in-progress, but also afforded me the opportunity to meet other writers, learn about the publishing industry, and to spend my days surrounded by people who loved nothing more than discussing writing and books. It was, in short, idyllic. But this was also during the era when chain stores were proliferating and […]
Over the past decade, book reviews and newspaper book sections have faced, and continue to face, serious danger of extinction. Lee Thomas explores what our culture stands to lose if the edited book review is in jeopardy, positing that book lovers, writers, and critics might yet find a way to profit–rather than suffer from–the sea changes of the publishing industry and online review forums.
In a comment to an earlier blog post, Celeste asked the following questions, which deserve a discussion of their own: I think this is an issue that writers of any minority group–-religious, ethnic, and so on–-face: must we write about our “own” group? Do we have a responsibility to write about our own group? And, on the flip side, if we write only about our own group, do we limit ourselves unnecessarily? Do we risk being dismissed by a larger audience? Thoughts?
I’m itching to do some traveling (and the reading that goes with it); in the meantime, let’s talk books. A few months ago I blogged about the wonderful Idlewild Books in Manhattan–a travel bookstore organized by country rather than genre. For more destination-specific recommendations, The Millions‘ Kevin Harnett suggests some fiction (and nonfiction) to take on the road. Last June, Joan Silber also contributed a post about reading abroad. Frommer’s website offers reading recommendations for a huge variety of destinations, among them cities like New Orleans, Buenos Aires, and Toronto, and countries from Japan to Iceland. For inspiration on where […]
In his acceptance speech, Haruki Murakami defends his decision to accept the Jerusalem Prize, which some Palestinian groups pressured him to refuse. Any number of times after receiving notice of the award, I asked myself whether traveling to Israel at a time like this and accepting a literary prize was the proper thing to do, whether this would create the impression that I supported one side in the conflict, that I endorsed the policies of a nation that chose to unleash its overwhelming military power. This is an impression, of course, that I would not wish to give. I do […]
The 2009 South East Asia and Pacific regional short lists for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize have been announced, and FWR contributor Preeta Samarasan’s Evening is the Whole Day made the cut for Best First Book. Congratulations, Preeta!! Here are the short lists: Best Book Aravind Adiga, Between The Assassinations Helen Garner, The Spare Room Joan London, The Good Parents Paula Morris, Forbidden Cities Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap Tim Winton, Breath Best First Book Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger Nam Le, The Boat Mo Zhi Hong, The Year of The Shanghai Shark Bridget van der Zijpp, Misconduct Preeta Samarasan, Evening is […]
On the Virginia Quarterly Review blog, Michael Lukas worries that AWP’s heightened emphasis on the short story is a contributing factor to what he calls the “Short Story Bubble”–and its eventual burst. I’m not sure I entirely buy his argument, but hey, it’s worth discussing… All around the country, thousands of young fiction writers are scribbling furiously, focusing their creative and psychological energies on producing and publishing short stories, not necessarily because the short story is their favorite form. But, rather, because it’s the form best suited to the workshop, because they think it’s the easiest way to get published, […]
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop and Hyphen announced today that Shivani Manghnani‘s “Playing the Sheik” has won their 2008 Short Story Contest. The story will appear this April in Hyphen‘s Issue 17. Among the finalists is FWR contributor Celeste Ng, for her story “Girls, At Play.” Congrats to Shivani, and to Celeste and the other finalists! The AAWW is currently selling raffle tickets ($20 apiece) to raise money for the Workshop and support Asian American literature. The prize, should you wish to enter, is this rather fetching Vespa.
Happiness is a warm puppy (and also a good book). Paced like an epic novel, David Michaelis’ Schulz and Peanuts is the perfect biography for fiction-lovers.
