tagged with literature

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All in all, I would urge readers to not pay too much attention to big prestigious literary prizes. In a perfect world, I would wish for every writer a magical bag of money that is never empty (to level the financial question) and simply do away with them all: no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, no National Book Award, no PEN/Faulkner, no Man Booker, no Nobel Prize in Literature. Let writers write, let critics have their say, let readers read, let time decide.

- Benjamin Hale, “A Passion for Immortality: On the Missing Pulitzer and the Problem with Prizes.”

The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone’s neurosis, and we’d have a mighty dull literature if all the writers that came along were a bunch of happy chuckleheads.

- William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958 (via writeworld)

“Digital publisher Electric Literature has launched a new digital literary magazine that will publish one story a week. Recommended Reading is a free online publication, available in ePub, Kindle and through email and Tumblr.”
Follow it on Tumblr.

“Digital publisher Electric Literature has launched a new digital literary magazine that will publish one story a week. Recommended Reading is a free online publication, available in ePub, Kindle and through email and Tumblr.”

Follow it on Tumblr.

(Source: mediabistro.com)

Literary Paint Chips. Visit link, hover over the names to read the descriptions.

For Limpopo: “Then Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, ‘Go to the banks of the great gray-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, and find out.’ ” The Elephant’s Child, Rudyard Kipling.

[UPDATE: Literary Paint Chips: Gallery 2]

Literary Paint Chips. Visit link, hover over the names to read the descriptions.

For Limpopo: “Then Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, ‘Go to the banks of the great gray-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, and find out.’ ” The Elephant’s Child, Rudyard Kipling.

[UPDATE: Literary Paint Chips: Gallery 2]

Yep, Full Stop is on Tumblr.

Yep, Full Stop is on Tumblr.

“Ok aspiring fiction writers, if you’ve ever wondered how to write a successful novel, the secret is here: kill off your characters. Of the handful of books that won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2011, all 13 novels had the common theme of putting to death main characters…” Read more…

“Ok aspiring fiction writers, if you’ve ever wondered how to write a successful novel, the secret is here: kill off your characters. Of the handful of books that won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2011, all 13 novels had the common theme of putting to death main characters…” Read more

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Yep, Tin House is on Tumblr.

Yep, Tin House is on Tumblr.

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The Oxford Literary Festival erased my festival virginity. And I have to say, I couldn’t get enough. I had no expectations and could only fit in two events during this short visit to England. The two talks I attended were presented by Sarah Hall, a novelist from Cumbria (where my better half was born), and Ian Rankin the well-known crime novelist and creator of the beloved character, Rebus.

Still hurting from jet-lag I had to fight the thick atmosphere of breath and nuances of perspiration in the small room that cradled Sarah’s talk. Unassuming, a delight to listen to, she immediately whisked me away into her readings. I was inspired listening to her explain her craft and it was evident her writing demanded the reader draw deep from the well of his reading abilities.

Ian’s talk couldn’t have been more different. A larger crowd, and he was the ringmaster. In many ways it was more entertainment rather than a session of deep insight. He did give some background to his start (some of it quite humorous) and he read from his latest WIP to the delight of his avid following.

If there’s one reason for an unpublished writer to attend a literary festival, it’s to understand the range of literature. The world holds all sorts of readers. And you soon realize there is no type of literature better than the other. One writer’s fans are no more engrossed than another’s.

But even more advantageous is the hearing, seeing, and talking with other writers that help you understand you are not alone — the same issues, problems, and struggles exist for those who are unpublished beginners to those who are legends and will be forever immortalized in history.

I could not have been so fortuitous in my haste in choosing these two authors given the schedule: I experienced the dichotomy between the literary and the commercial. And it cleared my mind, and gave me new strength.

Had to prevent myself from purchasing too many books. I had enough on my mind to carry on as it was.

Oliver works it on Tumblr, Beckett theme by Jonathan Beckett