Whiskey: 15 Seconds of Fame is the basic demand of our age

“Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought.” 

Fame is the basic demand of our age. Attention must be paid to tweets, posts, pictures. Literary fame is a different beast, though no less grubby ...

       In The Korea Herald Joel Lee profiles the The Republic of Užupis-author, in Seoul Literary Society hosts novelist Ha Il-ji (or, as Dalkey Archive Press transliterated the name, Haïlji).
       Among the information of interest:

When writing a novel, he has to finish it within 40 days due to his limited time off from teaching at a university, Ha said. "I finish a bottle of whiskey every two or three days to keep total concentration on my work."

The history of literature is not tidy, and the path of the modern novel is particularly long and improbable. Can its origins be traced to Iron Curtains of Protestantism

“Take those demons, for example. For some of us, writing is not a matter of being driven by them, but casting them out. Difficult family relationships? Sort them out on the page. Horrible love life? Write it again with a better ending. Feeling your age? Slip into the skin of a 20 year old and go off and have some fictional adventures. It’s not a horrible, exhausting struggle; it’s therapeutic.” The Guardian: Writers

       In the Wall Street Journal Jennifer Maloney previews a new site, suggesting Literary Hub Is a New Home for Book Lovers, which: 'aims to carve out a central online space for books'.
       This 'Literary Hub' is scheduled to go live 8 April and -- scroll down -- given the "partners' involved (a really nice mix) should be able to offer some interesting content.
       Apparently:

Focusing on literary fiction and nonfiction, it will present personal and critical essays, interviews and book excerpts

       (Maloney observes parenthetically; "Organizers are still discussing whether it should publish its own book reviews".)