RIP Alan Sillitoe
On Sunday, British writer Alan Sillitoe passed away at 82 years of age. He was perhaps best-known for his story “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.” A generous graduate school professor turned me on to Sillitoe’s work when I reached that inevitiable point that male writers seem to reach where they get pissed off.…
continue readingSpring Cleaning and Catching Up
It has been a hectic 2010 so far, coming off a very busy end of 2009. I feel like the last few months have been a blur of travel, interviews, concerts, galley reviews, edits, and more red pencils than I care to admit. But now it’s time to dust off things here at Slushpile.net. Keep…
continue readingInfamous Released
To help get over the pain of submitting your taxes today, swing by the bookstore after you escape the long lines at the post office and pick up Infamous by Ace Atkins. Another entertaining merger of fact and fiction, Infamous focuses on Machine Gun Kelly and his wife Kathryn as they go on a crime…
continue readingWallace Archives Sold
The Daily Texan is reporting that Harry Ransom Center acquired David Foster Wallace’s archive.
continue readingTracking What Works and What Doesn’t
So much of publishing success remains a mystery. Huge marketing budgets don’t ensure success, as Charles Frazier found out with the infamous release of Thirteen Moons failed to capitalize on the success of his earlier work Cold Mountain. And while everyone may jump on book trailers or Twitter pages or whatever the latest thing is,…
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