Literary Jabs
To pound out some publicity for his upcoming book, Craig Davidson intends to fight a willing literary pugilist at his book launch in October. More often than not, publicists are trying to keep their writers out of trouble. But in this case, “the idea was thought up by his publicist, Stephen Myers at Penguin, who met…
continue readingNow Drop and Give Me Twenty Character Descriptions!
You might remember my rant about how the majority of books about writing are shit. As I’ve preached for some time now, The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction by John Dufresne and 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might by Pat Walsh…
continue readingWho Gets Top Billing?
Roy Hattersley provides an interesting perspective on literary festivals in today’s Guardian. “At breakfast during the Keswick Festival, I heard two writers on the next table arguing about which of them was performing at the time of day reserved for the top of the bill,” Hattersley writes. “When I suggested to Penelope Lively that…
continue readingNew Review in Paste
Be sure to pick up the August issue of Paste on newsstands now. Besides being an all around kick-ass magazine, this particular issue features my review of Altaf Tyrewala’s No God In Sight. This is a fascinating book about modern life in India. It won’t be released until August 22, but it’s definitely one to add to…
continue readingCongratulations Jeff
I’ve been meaning to write and offer my congratulations to Jeff from Syntax of Things. My fellow book-blogger and his lovely wife Elaine welcomed their first child, Marlena Elise, into the world on Saturday evening/Sunday morning. Congratulations to Jeff and Elaine. Be sure to check Syntax of Things often as I’m sure Jeff’s book postings…
continue reading