What else is there to say, really? Available from Pamela Fugate Designs. If totes aren’t your thing, the store offers cargo bags and T-shirts as well. And check back every day in December for another bookish gift idea from FWR!
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Okay, this might be the writer’s cabin to end all writer’s cabins. In fact, I’m not sure you can even call this amazing flip-down, glass-walled writing retreat with 360-degree views a “cabin.” Says dornob.com: At 500 square feet, it is not a huge retreat but it serves its purpose perfectly: fold-up sides keep it secure when not in use, while doubling as privacy screens, light blocks and thermal barriers as desired. Essentially a glass house on the inside, folding down three of the four exterior walls gives the occupant a nearly 360-degree connection to the surrounding context. With a writing […]
This wide brass cuff is pretty on its own—but when you add the text of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, it’s elevated to a fitting gift for a bookworm. The designer, Jezebel Charms on etsy, describes itself as “literary jewelry with a steampunk edge” and makes versions with quotes from other Austen novels, Shakespeare, Dickens, the Brontes, and more. Or, for the gents, how about a pair of Dracula cufflinks—complete with drops of blood? Available from Jezebel Charms on etsy. And check back every day in December for another bookish gift idea from FWR!
Gift-giving season is upon us–and this year, Fiction Writers Review comes to the rescue, offering a bookish gift (that’s not a book) every day in December. Protect and beautify your iPhone—and show your love of books—with this Penguin Books iPhone case. I love the slightly faded, antique look of the covers—such a contrast from the sleek, futuristic iPhone beneath. Available from society6.com. And check back every day in December for another bookish gift idea from FWR!
Everywhere you look, there are reasons not to write. If you believe in omens–as I do–you may start to wonder if the universe is trying to tell you something. You may feel like you shouldn’t even start writing. Recently, the Huffington Post offered 10 reasons not to write your novel. And some of them are pretty damn good. For instance: 2. Someone has already written your novel, and better than you ever could. Certainly you’ve visited a bookstore, picked up a new release novel the plot summary of which filled you with loathing. “That’s the idea I had,” you mutter. […]
This week’s feature is Miroslav Penkov’s debut collection, East of the West, published this year by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Penkov was born in 1982 in Bulgaria and came to the U.S. to study in 2001. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology followed by an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas, and now teaches creative writing at the University of North Texas, where he is a fiction editor for the American Literary Review. His stories have won The Southern Review’s Eudora Welty Prize and have appeared in or are forthcoming from A Public Space, One-Story, Orion, […]
Last week we featured Quarantine, by Rahul Mehta, as our Book-of-the-Week title, and we’re pleased to announce the winners. Congratulations to: Leonard Nash (@LeonardNash) Jennie Coughlin (@jenniecoughlin) N. Hao Ching (@hao) 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!
News flash: eBooks are growing more popular by the year–wait, make that the minute. But there’s one market where paper books are still king: babies. The New York Times reports that even eBook-reading parents prefer paper books for their tots. This is the case even with parents who themselves are die-hard downloaders of books onto Kindles, iPads, laptops and phones. They freely acknowledge their digital double standard, saying they want their children to be surrounded by print books, to experience turning physical pages as they learn about shapes, colors and animals. Parents also say they like cuddling up with their […]
Like many writers, I tend to think of job-related writing–like copywriting, or editing, or ghostwriting memos–as Not Really Writing. In the Huffington Post, though, Holly Robinson expresses a very different point of view: “Doesn’t it bug you to write other people’s books when you could be working on your own?” another writer asked me recently. Not a bit. In fact, I love telling other people’s stories. What other job would allow me to walk in another person’s shoes so completely that I’d feel their blisters? Working as a book doctor or ghost writer, I have the opportunity to immerse myself […]
