Square Pegs

Publisher’s Lunch points us to what has to be the most fascinating article we’ve read in weeks: A Day in the life of the OED. Various staff walk us through what they did on a particular day. By turns hilarious (intentionally? unintentionally?) and jaw-dropping, the article makes us realize how very lazy we really are. We were especially fascinated by the team that started a new range of the alphabet…our imagination immediately wondered if perhaps they were trying to tell us something. Logic interjected with the day’s downer: same old 26 letters, they’ve most likely moved on from “G” to […]

Perhaps you’ve received one too many rejections. Perhaps you’re afraid of failing. Perhaps you feel like you’re beating your head against the wall. Or perhaps you simply think the opportunity has passed you by. Well, today’s your lucky day: the New York Times has published the author interview for you. Nod your head knowingly as Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club recounts her struggles and frustrations — and the serendipitous moment that lead to her greatest success (and all it took was a moment of confusion). It will remind you that you’re not alone. Parlaying an

This is ever-so-slightly off-topic, but what the heck — it’s that kind of day. Recently we clarified Hollywood press release language (which meant all our readers were clear on the recent WB Network “resignations”); now we feel compelled to point out a Hollywood cultural phenomenon. Yes, kids, it’s the inevitable lawsuit. We realize the movie biz isn’t the most original industry in the world, but we are perpetually bemused by the fact that every single motion picture released is apparently plagiarized in some manner. Seriously, what are the odds? We cannot comment on the merits of this particular suit (actually,

We have reservations about a writer’s conference and retreat being held in such a beautiful region of Italy, but the organizers of the Women’s Fiction Festival and Writing Retreat seem committed to their locale despite the obvious opportunity for distraction. Tapping into the burgeoning women’s fiction market in Europe, sessions will cover the world’s second largest market, looking at the translation game, and, of course, writing. We presume much of this will be discussed over a bottle of Chianti, but that’s the optimist in us. We can personally attest to the organizational skills and enthusiasm of the conference team…and we

There are, we believe, two major groups of writers: those who write every day, without fail (we pretend we fall into this camp); and, those who write in chunks and spurts and live for the deadlines that create discipline (we mostly fall into this group, though we don’t call it procrastination). Then there are the authors who seem to be actively avoiding their work. Maybe it’s because the idea needs more time to gestate. Maybe it’s because they’re a little bit afraid…and we suspect there’s a little of both in Yann Martel, award winning author of Life of Pi, who

We don’t mean to enter the dangerous world of sexual politics (frankly, it’s too early in the morning), but there is an interesting theme we find in interviews with female authors. Rarely do we hear of a man who slips his writing time in between preparing meals and shuttling kids to all the things kids do (we’re not entirely sure what this encompasses — our recollection of childhood revolved around books, books, and more books. And a disastrous foray into softball.). This omission continually fascinates us: both men and women discuss getting up early, staying up late, working through lunch

Something about this article about Donna Leon gave us pause. We can understand her writing schedule. We (sort of) get why she doesn’t publish her books in Italy, despite making her home there. We even appreciate her reaction when her dissertation disappeared (revolution does that to things). It’s the opera thing we don’t get. It is rare to find an author so consumed by another passion, yet apparently that’s what is happening here. Death (and divas) in Venice

We’ve never believed much in the concept of writer’s block. To us, it seems like something formed by external circumstances rather than an inability to put words to paper (clearly, we’ve never suffered from this). The New Yorker explores the concept of writer’s block and some possible reasons, including the usual suspects: depression, alcoholism, fear. And the Literary Saloon counters with a concept that makes us laugh: perhaps some authors should be a tad less prolific (more blocked). On one level, we must agree. On another…writing doesn’t always pay the bills; sometimes writing in volume does. Blocked Writer’s block

We hope you are sitting down. Preferably with a stiff drink in hand. Because we are about to reveal something so scandalous, it will change the way you think about books…oh, sorry, we were just informed that The Post article referenced below has been in our “Comment Upon Someday” file for a long time — we were just waiting for the right moment. And here it is. As it turns out, not every cover quote is, um, the honest-to-god truth. In fact, authors have a lot of reasons for giving them…some of which are entirely selfish! Yes, you read it