Suspend Your Disbelief

Author Archive

Shop Talk |

Famous Rappers and Their Literary Counterparts

by Celeste Ng

If William Faulkner were a rapper, who would he be? (Or, if you prefer, if Lil Wayne were a writer, who would he be?) Flavorwire matches famous rappers with their 20th-century literary doppelgangers with surprisingly apt comparisons: Ja Rule = Jay McInerney In the 1980s, McInerney was a fresh-faced up-and-comer whose novel Bright Lights, Big City had just taken the New York literary world by storm. Similarly, Ja Rule exerted an iron-fisted rule over the radio waves in the late 1990s and early 2000s. McInerney and Ja Rule both celebrated cocaine culture and had an arsenal of flashy new-fangled tricks […]


Shop Talk |

Wall Street Journal to Launch Book Review Section

by Celeste Ng

The news lately is almost always about book review sections folding—but the Wall Street Journal will soon be LAUNCHING a review section of its own. Reports GalleyCat: Former Atlantic editor Robert Messenger will helm a brand new pull-out book review section at The Wall Street Journal. According to the New York Observer, Messenger will edit the new section and supervise web reviews as well. Current books editor Erich Eichman will answer to Messenger as well. An internal memo projected that the section will launch sometime in September. The New York Observer sees this as the WSJ’s first salvo in a […]


Shop Talk |

What's in a (Pen) Name?

by Celeste Ng

The Washington Post takes a look at pen names and why writers use them: In the ’80s and ’90s, pen names began to serve less sociopolitical needs. Now a pseudonym provides an artistic reboot, or serves as an experiment, or permits a writer to reach the wallets of a new audience. […] Authors also use pen names that italicize the genre in which they’re writing. Are you more likely to read a pulpy mystery by a writer named Robb or a writer named Nora? What would look better in swirling, golden script on the steamy jacket cover of a romance […]


Shop Talk |

Book of the Week Giveaway: Rich Boy, by Sharon Pomerantz

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week, Fiction Writers Review launched a Fan Page on Facebook. The goal is threefold: to introduce new readers to FWR, to create an informal place for conversation about books and writing, and also to give away lots of free books. Each week we’ll give away several free copies of a featured novel or story collection as part of our Book-of-the-Week program. All you have to do to be eligible for our weekly drawing is to be a fan of our Facebook page. No catch, no gimmicks. And once you’re a fan, you’ll be automatically entered in each subsequent drawing. […]


Shop Talk |

Tomorrow! Free stories on the NYC subway!

by Celeste Ng

In one of the coolest promotions ever, One Story will be handing out free issues—each containing a complete short story—tomorrow at Brooklyn subway stations. Says the magazine’s blog: From 7:30-9 am on Wednesday, September 8th, volunteers will be handing out free copies of One Story at subway stations throughout Brooklyn, as part of the “One Story, One Borough” campaign, in our ongoing effort to save the short story. Each issue will include an invite to a One Story reading by Brooklyn OS authors James Hannaham, Reif Larsen and Caedra Scott-Flaherty at noon at The Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday, September […]


Interviews |

Imagined Landscapes of History: An Interview with David Ebershoff

by Brian Bartels

Brian Bartels talks with David Ebershoff–author, editor-at-large for Random house, and Columbia professor–about such topics as the role research plays in his writing, writing the book you want to read, the advice his gives his students about drafting, and how he approaches revision.


Shop Talk |

How Many Indie Bookstores Is Too Many?

by Celeste Ng

Here at FWR, we’re all for indie bookstores. We love their support of authors and readings, their knowledge of the books they sell, and their ties to the community. But is there such a thing as too many indie bookstores? In Westhampton Beach, NY, the answer might be yes. Newcomer indie bookstore Books & Books, which opened in July, is giving established indie bookstore The Open Book some competition, and not everyone is happy. The New York Times reports: Terry Lucas, a librarian and the owner of the Open Book, which she founded in 1999, said Books & Books is […]


Shop Talk |

Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

How is it September already? Summer seems to have suddenly vanished–school is starting, college football is underway, and it was fifty degrees here in Ann Arbor yesterday. Fall is on the horizon. Likewise, the 3rd annual Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon is nearly complete. But you still have until the end of today to join in! Just send an email to info@dzancbooks.org saying that you’d like to be included in this year’s event. However, even if you’re not participating you can still help support the cause by donating on behalf of one of the writers involved. No amount is too small–$5, $10, […]


Shop Talk |

Recently on FWR…

by Anne Stameshkin

Here’s a recap of the features that rounded out August on Fiction Writers Review: Tyler McMahon interviews Tatjana Soli, author of The Lotus Eaters. Says Soli: I traveled in Asia briefly with my husband years before I thought of writing the book. Once I was deep into the research, I planned a trip to Vietnam that had to be cancelled due to a family emergency. But then a strange thing happened once I had the first draft down—I had this particular place so strong in my head, it was literally feeding the story. I was afraid that if I went […]


Shop Talk |

The 3-Day Novel

by Celeste Ng

Last week we told you about Dzanc’s Write-a-Thon, which runs September 2-5 and helps raise money for Dzanc’s Writer-in-Residence Program and the Dzanc Prize. If that got your creative juices flowing, here’s another write-a-thon-type opportunity: the International 3-Day Novel Contest. Yes, you read that right: the goal of the contest is to write a novel in just 3 days. (Nanowrimo ? Ha! We laugh at your extra 27 days!) At The Millions, Sean Di Lizio explains: The 3-Day Novel Contest is held annually in early September on the Canadian Labor Day long weekend. In 1977, a writer’s group in Vancouver […]




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