Suspend Your Disbelief

Archive for 2011

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The Risky Email Test

This is a little revision device I’ve whipped up to try to tell if a paragraph or page or section is too soft or vulnerable, if it needs to be edited out. Or if it’s too autobiographical in a way that could lead to questioning from my grandmother’s bridge club. You know how, after you’ve sent a risky email–maybe to someone you’re desperately in love with, or to your boss, or to a professor to lay into him a little bit when you aren’t really allowed to do that–there’s this feeling you get that maybe you should have waited until […]


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Real-life literary mysteries!

by Celeste Ng

Writers are sometimes a shy bunch, but two recent writing-related mysteries take that to a new level. Call it “stealth lit,” maybe. Case #1: The Mysterious Incident of the Sculptures in the Libraries Intricate sculptures carved from books have been appearing in Scottish libraries. Way back in March, the Guardian reported on the first occurrence: A tiny tree has taken root in the hearts of librarians at the Scottish Poetry Library. None of the staff at the Crichton’s Close library know who left the fragile paper tree on a table among their bookshelves. It was discovered by Julie Johnstone on […]


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Book-of-the-Week Winners: How the Mistakes Were Made

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured How the Mistakes Were Made as our Book-of-the-Week title, and we’re pleased to announce the winners. Congratulations to: Laurence Pritchard (@Laurence99) Daniel Levin (@Daniel_Levin) Rick Rofihe (@RickRofihe) To claim your copy of this collection, please email us at the following address: winners [at] fictionwritersreview.com If you’d like to be eligible for future giveaways, please visit our Twitter Page and “follow” us!


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Lit Wall Decor

by Celeste Ng

Am I the only one that does spring cleaning in the fall?  Maybe it’s the cold, rainy weather that makes me want to brighten up my house and settle down with a good book and a cup of tea. Should you, too, find yourself simultaneously wishing to spruce up your digs and get some reading done, here are some options for incorporating literature into your wall decor. First, Spineless offers posters made out of the full text of classic novels. That’s right–whip out your magnifying glass, and you could read The Wizard of Oz (right) from start to finish. Says […]


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A note on paraphrasing

by Celeste Ng

The worlds of monument-building and writing don’t overlap much–but recently, the unveiling of the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial on the national mall offered an important lesson on why every word matters. Perhaps you heard about it? In 1968, shortly before his assasination, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a speech titled “The Drum Major Instinct.” In discussing what he called “the desire to be up front… the desire to be first,” he concluded: Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum […]


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Hot off the Presses: 2011 National Book Award Finalists Announced!

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Approximately one hour ago, the finalists for this year’s National Book Awards were announced on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s morning radio program, Think Out Loud. The event took place in front of a live audience at the new Literary Arts Center in Portland, Oregon, at approximately 9am Pacific Time. And we’re pleased to announce that some of our favorite fiction titles last year have been selected. Congratulations to: Fiction: Andrew Krivak for The Sojourn Tea Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife Julie Otsuka for The Buddha in the Attic Edith Pearlman for Binocular Vision: New & Selected Stories Jesmyn Ward for Salvage […]


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Heathrow's writer-in-residence

by Celeste Ng

Does the above photo–of London’s Heathrow Airport–inspire you to write? English novelist Tony Parsons is hoping it will inspire him. Earlier this summer, Parsons spent a week in Heathrow as the airport’s writer-in-residence, working on a collection due out this month. Reports the airport’s press release: Departures: Seven Stories from Heathrow will be Parsons’ 13th book and his first collection of short stories. Inspired by Airport, the 1960’s bestselling novel about a large metropolitan airport and the personalities of the people who use and rely on its operation, Parsons wants to revive this genre of airport fiction made famous by […]


Reviews |

The Box: Tales from the Darkroom by Günter Grass

by Gregory Parker

Germany’s literary superstar Günter Grass is obsessed with the past. His second memoir, The Box, challenges readers to distinguish between fact and fiction in latter half of the author’s life. His unconventional approach might undermine the memoir form, but the result is a compelling account of Grass’ compulsion to write.




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