Square Pegs

Those who found themselves concerned when we published the pretty-much-founded rumor about the New York Times Book Review reaching out to mass market fiction in the future can breathe easy once again (though we will note that the Washington Post has already scrambled down the slippery genre slope). The Los Angeles Times continues to ignore popular fiction (though, in all fairness, they do appear to have regular column for mystery novels — which, as we noted, have been discovered to contain some sort of literary value). Our exhaustive research reveals little to no connection between the books reviewed by the […]

We try to run a clean blog, but this week’s news is tilted toward the titillating. Must be Spring — makes us all a little frisky. Plus The Guardian always manages to bring something interesting to our attention. As it turns out, men and women write porn differently. Now, we don’t think this is news to the many men and women who write porn. We think it’s been well-established (or should be) that men are visual creatures whereas women use whatever sense pleases them at the moment. We like to call it freedom of choice. Porn and the novel

Perhaps it’s the thought of all those publishing people…laughing that makes us nervous. The Book is back (though, we confess, due the piles of bound and printed material lying around, we missed the news it was gone). The 2004 BA Conference in Brighton (perhaps something special was slipped into the water?) was a virtual lovefest for The Book. It all sounds very exciting even if our brain continues to see the word “Punch” whenever we encounter Richard and Judy. Brighton 2004: the good news Conference

Or maybe it’s that we find self-help books comforting. It’s hard to say. Either way, this article was just a little too interesting to let pass without comment. Plus we’re sure we know someone who’s writing on this very subject. My brain is so cool: Welcome to the world of neuroscience self-help books

Conventional wisdom (which we never trust) says why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? In the publishing biz, this translates to: never, ever, no matter what put your work online for free. Because that’s bad. Or not, as several authors have learned. We recall the trend beginning with Doug Clegg, but are willing to be corrected if we’re wrong. And, of course, Cory Doctorow offers his books for free (but, like all good authors, doesn’t shun the idea of being paid for his work). Stanford professor Lawrence Lessig offers his writing for free — with

Unpublished authors can enter the first annual Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award contest. Grand prize is a publishing contract. Deadline is July 1, 2004. Visit the Mysterious Press website for rules and regulations and other information. Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award for a First Mystery

The Association of Hispanic Arts presents a workshop entitled Choosing a Literary Agent to help aspiring authors find a literary agent. Monday, May 3, 2004, 6:30 p.m., PS 122, 150 First Ave, East 9th Street, New York, NY. Visit the website to learn more. Latino Arts Website (drill down to the Encuentros section)

The Orange Prize for Fiction will be adding a new award next year, geared toward emerging female writers. The award is open to all women of any nationality who publish a book in the UK between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005. Focus is on emerging talent. Orange Prize for Fiction Announces New Award for 2005

Award-winning author Stephanie Bond will lead a workshop focusing on self-editing, writing great books, and the business of writing. Phew! Sounds like a long day; we’d bring snacks. Saturday, May 22, 2004, Millersville, MD (we don’t know, but presume an online map will shed light on the location). Visit the website below for more details. Maryland Romance Writers

Ending a month of nail-biting, the Orange award has whittled down its long list to a much shorter one. Margaret Atwood and Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are notable names on the list. The Orange, for women only, boasted a deeper-than-normal long list and competition was fierce. Now the finalists get to bite their nails until the winner is announced. Orange Prize for Fiction – Short List