Liam Callanan uncovers the alchemy behind George Garrett’s final story, “Thanksgiving.” With each new twist, Garrett creates the mystery and momentum that spur us on to “read further, hoping to discover the answer,” writes Callanan.
Ever wonder if ‘power to the people’ is just a pipe dream? A few years back, writers Lisa Dierbeck, Joshua Furst, DW Gibson, Dale Peck and Choire Sicha decided to put art to the test and formed a collective called Mischief + Mayhem. From their site: The collective came together in response to the increasingly homogenized books that corporate publishers and chain retailers have determined will sell the most copies. We recognize that there are readers who want to be challenged instead of placated. The collective intends to promulgate writing unconcerned with having to please conservative editorial boards or corporate […]
In which to read, that is. ABE Books asked this provocative question recently, wondering if it was “weird” to read on one’s stomach: I’ve asked around and have found many people who sit up, against the headboard or a pillow or two, and prop the book on their knees. Many side-readers. But no tummy-reader-elbow-proppers like me. Am I so strange? And across the literary interwebs, people responded, including Alison Flood of the Guardian: My technique is also lying on my side, but I prop myself up on a few pillows and hold the book in both hands. If it’s a […]
Three weeks ago, 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 conversations about 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. Last […]
Nothing says “awesome reality TV” like “authors.” Right? On EW.com, Breia Brissey wonders why no authors have been featured in over 11 seasons of Dancing with the Stars: Even if you don’t watch the show, it’s hard to avoid the casting news each season. And if I’ve learned anything at all by watching week after week, it’s that the producers use the term ‘stars’ loosely. I get it. Dancing with the People You’ve Probably Heard About in the News, Regardless of Star Quality was never really a viable name choice. So I won’t hold that against the ABC powers that […]
In a generation of “Pointers,” the relationship between and among songs on an album—its narrative—is all but lost in favor of hit single after single. But in Jennifer Egan’s new book, A Visit from the Goon Squad, an array of stories mix into a cohesive novel, each chapter self-contained yet fluid as the grooves of an LP.
Boston author Jonathan Papernick has found a new market for selling his fiction: the farmer’s market. Reports the Boston Globe: [W]orking as a character he calls Papernick the Book Peddler, the Brandeis University writer-in-residence fills a neon-painted shopping cart with copies of his newest work, a collection of short stories called “There Is No Other,’’ and walks through local farmers’ markets offering his wares. […] “I call it market-fresh fiction for the people,’’ Papernick said. “I don’t need to rely on good reviews if I can show readers my book, talk to them about it, let them flip through it, […]
Literature can bring people together—but it can also cause romantic tensions. Reports the New York Times: For Erin and Daniel Muskat, a couple in Brooklyn, the ink-stained quarrel has disrupted the togetherness of their reading habits. Ms. Muskat, 29, bought an iPad for her husband, 33, who works at his family’s shoe business, before their honeymoon in June, but quickly discovered that his electronic reading impinged on her old-fashioned reading. “I brought a book with me and I barely read it,” said Ms. Muskat, a media consultant. “We used to go to the beach and we’d both take out books, […]
Tim Ferriss, author of the Kindle-published The 4-Hour Work Week, has an interesting look at the economics of how writers get paid: – For a hardcover book, authors typically receive a 10-15% royalty on cover price. This means that for a $20 cover price, the author will receive $2-3. If you have a $50,000 advance, a $20 cover price, and a 10% royalty, you therefore need to sell 25,000 copies (“earn out” the advance) before you receive your first dollar beyond the advance. This is the basic rule, but several quietly aggressive outfits — both Barnes and Noble’s in-house imprint […]
Two weeks ago, 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 conversations about 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. Last […]
