Slog (Free subscription) | 11/22/2009
Nobody's reading toda y. Here is a trailer for a short story by Colson Whitehead that appears in the second volume of Electric Literature , a nifty new literary magazine with amazing authors like Lydia Davis and T Cooper in every issue: Maybe you should think about buying Electric Literature today. Or if you prefer your literary magazines to be free and entirely on the internet (but still good) ,...
Naki (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
Isabella Van Wagenen aka Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in Hurley, New York in 1797. She was released following the New York Anti Slavery Law of 1827, however slavery was not abolished nationwide for 35 years. She lived for a time with a Quaker family who gave her the only education she ever received. She became an outspoken advocate of women's rights as well as blacks' rights. In 1843, she...
<HTMLGIANT> (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
Pop culture is the arena for our hopes, our fears and our most cherished dreams. It is our greatest export to the world. That’s why as your secretary of postracial affairs I’ll concentrate on the entertainment industry. Published a couple weeks ago in the NYT, but I didn’t know about it till I saw it linked [...]
Slog (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
The always-amazing Colson Whitehead has a great editorial over at the New York Times , celebrating one year of a postracial society . He argues: I have observed that journalists employ Google searches to lend credence to trend articles, so I compared recent hits on the word “postracial” with those of a previous year. There have been more than 500,000 online mentions of postraciality this...
Tayari's Blog (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
The striking woman in the photo above is Marie NiDiaye, the first black woman to win France's top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. (thanks Raquel! photo from LAT ) Spooky new story by Kelly Link. I haven't read it yet, but I love her so I will print this story out to read on the subway. Y'all know how I feel about NaNo, but if you cough up a novel this month, FastPencil will give you a free printed...
WriteBlack (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
MediaBistro.com (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
"Press? I could tell by your clothes..." sniffed one greeter at the New York Public Library's black-tie Library Lions gala last night, analyzing this GalleyCat editor's corduroy jacket, wrinkled slacks, and uncharacteristically snazzy leather shoes. The guests sipped cocktails in a lavishly decorated salon inside the library, the room decked out with candles, ten-foot-tall floral arrangements,...
Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
I’ve heard of writers’ block, but it seems most of my clients are plagued by the question of which of their ideas to tackle next, not where to find an idea. But just in case others out there just don’t know what their next writing project should be, Colson Whitehead offers some suggestions (and a handy printable dartboard!) for novelists stuck in a rut. Sure, he can be snarky (I balked...
Isak (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
After announcing an admirable top ten list last week, Publisher's Weekly today announces its favorite one hundred titles published in 2009. (The poor chaps with November and December publication dates are, apparently, shit out of luck, as they surely won't qualify for the 2010 list either.) Beyond those already mentioned, several Isak loves (or ones I suspect will be future loves) made the extended...
Notable Books (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
PW Top 10 Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon by Neil Sheehan In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin Big Machine by Victor LaValle The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes Stitches by David Small Shop Class as Soulcraft by...
Makura no Soshi (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
A busy weekend of extracurricular outings and multiple events at the Texas Book Festival . Poetry is not big on the TBF's programming agenda, but there were plenty of strong fiction and nonfiction events. Started out on Saturday morning with Dave Cullen's talk on his new book Columbine . Cullen is widely regarded as an expert on Columbine and his book looks at the overlapping narratives of nine individuals...
Jess (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
The founders of Electric Literature , a new quarterly literary magazine, seek nothing less than to revitalize the short story in the age of the short attention span. To do so, they allow readers to enjoy the magazine any way they like: on paper, Kindle , e-book, iPhone and, starting next month, as an audiobook. YouTube videos feature collaborations among their writers and visual artists and musicians....
escapegrace (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
Colson Whitehead describes his what-to-write-next dartboard for The New York Times . I recently published a novel, and now it’s time to get back to work. If you’re anything like me, figuring out what to write next can be a real hassle. A flashy and experimental brain-bender, or a pointillist examination of the dissolution of a typical American family? Generation-spanning door-stopper...
Tomorrow Museum (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
“What is more visually appealing, (a) a Pall Mall butt floating in a coffee mug, or (b) those new Pop Art place mats in the Crate & Barrel catalog? If you answered (a), do we have a genre for you.” – My favorite tweeter, Colson Whitehead, on what to write next.
MediaBistro.com (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
"Congratulations to all ten of you. I'll put you all in my blog." author Margaret Atwood told the 2009 Whiting Writers' Award recipients last night. She delivered some droll advice for the winners: "Write a cookbook or a book about vampires. Or troll through the classics, adding monsters...Or, better yet, write a vampire cookbook." Last night, ten authors received a $50,000 check...
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