TODAY’S WRITING TIP: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite
it.” — Elmore Leonard
“The joys which nature gives to us and does not withhold entirely from even the most abandoned among us—the discovery of new truths, the enjoyment of art, the spectacle of suffering eased and attempts to cure it as far as possible—all these are enough for the happiness of life. One is inclined to fear that everything else is madness and illusion.”
Two elderly nursing home escapees head to the world's largest heavy metal festival, headlined by Danzig.
“The joys which nature gives to us and does not withhold entirely from even the most abandoned among us—the discovery of new truths, the enjoyment of art, the spectacle of suffering eased and attempts to cure it as far as possible—all these are enough for the happiness of life. One is inclined to fear that everything else is madness and illusion.”↩︎ Deutsche Welle
A curious fact about the giants of utopian literature: The authors' own lives are far more interesting than those they imagined Imagined Lives in Cold Cities
Happy Monday! We are thrilled to be hosting the cover reveal for Fireside Fiction’s newest addition–a speculative fiction novella entitled Every River Runs to Salt by World Fantasy Award nominee and Tiptree Award honoree Rachael K. Jones. Without further…
Camille Saint-Saëns, Problems and Mysteries
A curious fact about the giants of utopian literature: The authors' own lives are far more interesting than those they imagined Imagined Lives in Cold Cities
Happy Monday! We are thrilled to be hosting the cover reveal for Fireside Fiction’s newest addition–a speculative fiction novella entitled Every River Runs to Salt by World Fantasy Award nominee and Tiptree Award honoree Rachael K. Jones. Without further…
Longtime literary agent Elaine Markson, 87, died on May 21. She is remembered by Alice Hoffman: "Everyone knows that if Elaine Markson was your agent you had a fierce and loving protector for life. I was Elaine’s second client, back when she was working out of her apartment where the windows faced Washington Square Park and her eleven-year-old son watched TV as we talked about books. I fell in love the first time I met her and she remained my agent and great friend for 40 years.... Elaine was the one agent in America who didn’t care about making deals. She was there for the authors, and I know that she was always there for me. She was excited to receive any new manuscript and got back to me the following day. She was my coach, my cheerleader, my truest believer. I would not have had the courage to become a writer without her."
… on who is doing the living: Does Literature Help Us Live? | by Tim Parks | NYR Daily | The New York Review of Books
NEWS YOU CAN USE: The greatest places in the world to drink beer.
Hollywood’s Age Of Anxiety: People In The Industry Are Stressing Themselves Out More Than Ever
“Speak to writers, producers, actors and executives — speak, in fact, to the whole chain of employees toiling across the film, television and music industries, as THR did — and you’ll have trouble finding people who won’t admit to heightened feelings of stress, anxiety and depression, three interlinked mental-health issues that have escalated over the past decade in the entertainment sector. … The current industry turbulence has set alarm bells ringing louder than at any time since the Great Recession.”
In The Age Of The Internet, Trolling Of Controversial Artists Can Be Dangerous
Once the internet has something, it can republished and rediscovered by new trolls. Thus, the cost of damages trolls can inflict on individuals and businesses can be substantial—and ongoing. Setting aside the malicious Wikipedia rewrites and Yelp and Google review attacks, victims can find their computers hacked and destroyed and their homes vandalized. Once a private investigator gets into the mix the price climbs.
Little-Known Hemingway Short Story Published For First Time
“Not seen by many beyond scholars and academics over the last six decades, the story” – “A Room on the Garden Side”, written in 1956 – “takes place in Paris’s Ritz hotel and is narrated by a character called Robert, who shares the author’s own nickname, Papa. Robert and his entourage of soldiers, who are all due to leave the city the next day, drink, quote Baudelaire and debate ‘the dirty trade of war’.”
Where Have All The Big-Budget Romantic Comedies Gone?
To Netflix, of course, which made a decision after watching the data on viewers streaming old romantic comedies since studios were only producing things that would do well with 12-year-old boys (and their parents). "That business decision has led to what Netflix has deemed 'summer of love,' a three-month period in which the platform is releasing a slew of exactly what Witherspoon described longing for: 'romantic movies.' They’re not all comedies, per se, but they’re the kind of movies that give viewers the feels." … Read More
The Blazing Hot Author Who Didn’t Even Read A Book From Start To Finish Until He Was 17
Jason Reynolds, who produces high-quality, award-winning young adult books (and now middle grade books too) at an astonishing clip, explains his strategy to get kids reading: “Young people – especially young men – it’s not that they hate reading, it’s that they hate boredom. So my thing was: I need to write a story that is interesting, that is gripping, that can connect to them and their experiences, and write something that’s not very intimidating.”
Why Do Writers Love Writing About Long, Hot Summers?
Think about Call Me By Your Name or Sag Harbor, for instance. “At its most basic, this means a release from the usual constraints, although at the same time summer provides a usefully closed system.”
More Of The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries In Pictures
We’re suckers for these galleries – it’s pure library picture porn. The amazing images of these libraries around the world speak to the place books have in our consciousness.