Suspend Your Disbelief

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Harvard Bookstore as Forbes success story

by Celeste Ng

I’m very lucky to live within walking distance of Harvard Bookstore, one of my favorite bookstores on earth. The fact that it’s an independent bookstore is just icing on the cake—the store is just wonderful, with a great staff, and in a decade I’ve never once succeeded in visiting without spending a half-hour or more there. So I was thrilled to see Forbes recognizing the success of Harvard Bookstore and its owner, Jeff Mayersohn. The title of the article—“The Man Who Took on Amazon and Saved a Bookstore”—reminds you how hard it is to run an indie bookstore these days, […]


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Book of the Week: Aerogrammes and Other Stories, by Tania James

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Our new feature is Tania James‘s collection Aerogrammes and Other Stories (Knopf). James is also the author of Atlas of Unknowns (Knopf, 2009), which was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, an Indie Next Notable, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, and a Best Book of 2009 for The San Francisco Chronicle and NPR. Her short fiction has appeared in such places as Boston Review, Granta, Guernica, Kenyon Review, One Story, Orion, and A Public Space. The title story of her collection was a finalist for Best American Short Stories 2008 and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She […]


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Book-of-the-Week Winners: The Green Shore

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

For the last two weeks we’ve been featuring Natalie Bakopoulos’s debut novel The Green Shore, and we’re pleased to announce the winners: John Yunker (@TouristTrail) Jennifer Solheim (@JenniferSolheim) Nona Sebastian (@cNonaSebastian) Congrats! To claim your free copy, 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! Thanks to all of you who are fans. We appreciate your support. Let us know your favorite new books out there!


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Snacks of Great Writers

by Celeste Ng

I think deep down, every writer believes that there’s some magic formula for inspiration. Get the right time of day, the right location, the right kind of pen, even the right sitting or lying position, and bing! Writing Happens. But for some writers, food is part of the magic formula. One of my writing teachers used to swear by Cherry Coke—and wouldn’t drink it unless she was writing, for fear of using up the magic. For me? Red candy: Swedish fish are best, but Twizzlers will do in a pinch. To that end, artist Wendy MacNaughton provides this illustrated guide […]


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How to write more: Blackmail yourself?

by Celeste Ng

Perhaps, like many of us, you’re the kind of person who won’t do anything without a (proverbial) gun to your head. But it’s hard to type while holding a gun to your own head, no? Leave it to technology to solve this problem: enter Aherk!, which describes itself as a free “goal-oriented self-blackmailing service.” Now in beta testing, Aherk! has three basic steps: Define a goal. Tell us what it is that you want to achieve and set a deadline. Put your ass on the line. Upload a compromising picture that will be posted to Facebook in case you fail […]




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