Suspend Your Disbelief

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When procrastination is good for you

by Celeste Ng

Maybe it’s just the time of year—has anyone ever finished a project during the holiday season? Ever? In the history of time? But I’ve been doing some quality procrastination lately. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. On Monday, we talked about Mark Frauenfelder’s suggestion that being creative outside of your field can help you be more creative in your field. Now here are two other posts to make you feel less bad about procrastination—and maybe even make it helpful. Both are from Grub Street’s excellent blog, the Grub Street Daily. First, Katrin Schumann discusses the value of “cross-pollination” […]


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Book of the Week: The Angel Makers, by Jessica Gregson

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

This week’s feature is Jessica Gregson’s debut novel, The Angel Makers. Originally published in 2007 in the United Kingdom by PaperBooks, the novel has been released this week in the U.S. by independent publisher Soho Press, which specializes in literary fiction and international crime series. Gregson is also the author of The Ice Cream Army (PaperBooks, 2009). She currently lives is Glasgow, Scotland, where she is working towards her PhD in International Development at Glasgow University. In the opening of her recent review of this book, Contributor Cyan James writes: Time for an embarrassingly personal admission: while reading Jessica Gregson’s […]


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Book-of-the-Week Winners: East of the West

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured East of the West, by Miroslav Penkov, as our Book-of-the-Week title, and we’re pleased to announce the winners. Congratulations to: Jane Roper (@janeroper) Janet Somerville (@janetsomerville) Theo Ward (@theopward) To claim your free subscription, 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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Bookish Gift Idea #6: "Dear Sugar" mugs

by Celeste Ng

Every writer—no, everyone—should know Sugar, The Rumpus’s wise and warm advice columnist. Reading the “Dear Sugar” column is a reminder of what it means to be part of the human experience. (And seriously—every writer should read this one, at least.) The Rumpus offers two mugs emblazoned with some of Sugar’s best advice: “Be brave enough to break your own heart“—from the advice she’d give her 20-year-old self—and the very classic “Write like a motherfucker” from arguably her most famous column. Try not writing with THAT on your desk. Both mugs are available in The Rumpus shop. And check back here […]


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Melbourne. Santiago. But not…

by Celeste Ng

National Geographic recently released a list of the “Top 10 Literary Cities.” But it seems a bit controversial to me. Here’s the ranking: 1. Edinburgh, Scotland 2. Dublin, Ireland 3. London, England 4. Paris, France 5. St. Petersburg, Russia 6. Stockholm, Sweden 7. Portland, Oregon, USA 8. Washington, D.C., USA 9. Melbourne, Australia 10. Santiago, Chile You read that right: Portland, Oregon, is in the top 10, but New York City is not. It’s hard to argue with some of the choices on the list—London, Paris, St. Petersburg—but New Yorkers, what gives?


Reviews |

The Angel Makers, by Jessica Gregson

by Cyan James

Ever wish your problems would disappear? Jessica Gregson’s history-laced debut (released this week in the U.S. by Soho Press) follows a village of Hungarian women who “make angels” of abusive husbands. But it doesn’t end there. Yank on your rain boots and follow her into a complicated rural wasteland for a bracing read.


Shop Talk |

Whittle a spoon, write more?

by Celeste Ng

If you’re not a geek (and I use that term as a positive term), you may not know who Mark Frauenfelder is.  But you need not be a geek to learn from his recent post on LifeHacker.  Frauenfelder is editor of DIY-geek-tech MAKE Magazine, and two of his tips on accomplishing more in the day are useful to creative writers, too. The first is a time-honored writing trick—he talks about going into “Robot Mode” when running down his to-do list: I don’t think about how many items are on the list or how many I have left to accomplish. I […]


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Bookish Gift #4: Subscriptions to Literary Magazines

by Celeste Ng

Think of them as the literary equivalent of beer-of-the-month clubs. For less than the price of a hardback book, you can send an entire year’s worth of brand-new literature straight to a friend or loved one’s mailbox. And you’ll be supporting organizations that, in turn, support emerging and established writers alike. But which magazine to pick? It’s hard to go wrong with lit mags, but here are some of our favorites (click on any title to learn more): Old stalwarts like Ploughshares, The Paris Review, and Glimmer Train offer a buffet of treats to the omnivorous reader. Got a friend […]


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Bookish Gift Idea #3: Posters to encourage reading (for kids)

by Celeste Ng

Here’s a gift for a young reader in your life—or any reader who is young at heart and has a little wall space to fill. Remember those “Give a hoot–read a book” posters at the public library when you were a kid? Here’s a roundup of newer, cooler versions to spruce up a book nook or bedroom. Above, the Edgar Allen Poe “READ” print is available from MonsterGallery. Or how about this lovely hand-drawn fox with a Faulkner quote, from Gayana? This cheerful giraffe from Bunch of Bees offers some reading-related wisdom: Check back every day in December for another […]




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