The Bucks County Writers Workshop
Article Archives #6 2006
NOVELIST CLIVE CUSSLER IN BITTER HOLLYWOOD CONTRACT DISPUTE. Cussler had extraordinary say over the film version of his novel Saraha. In the end, no one was happy. By Glenn F. Bunting in The Los Angeles Times. Wired fror Books interview with Cussler.
IAN McEWAN, PLAGIARIST?. A mini-tempest erupted because of similarities in McEwan's Booker-nominated novel Atonement and an autobiography by a WW2 nurse. By Charles Isherwood in The New York Times. To hear Don's two interviews with McEwan go to Wired for Books. For the short podcast versions go to McEwan #1 McEwan #2
IN DEFENSE OF STEPHEN KING. In his latest novel, King brings on his most fearsome monster of all, that quivering mass of ego and insecurity known as...the writer. By Jim Windolf in The New York Times Sunday Book Review. HIS LIFE AS A WRITER. Philip Roth, now collected in three Library of America volumes. By Bob Thompson in the Washington Post. AUCTION OF TRUMAN CAPOTE'S PERSONAL GOODS NETS $242,000. But the collection's highlight, an unpublished hand-written manuscript, failed to sell. By Jeremy Gerard at Bloomberg.com.
The New Yorker, Nov. 6, 2006NOVELIST IN THE U.S. SENATE. On November 7, James Webb, author of six acclaimed novels, beat George Allen to win election to the U.S. Senate from Virginia. This in spite of, or because of, Allen's attempt to cherry-pick so-called salacious passages in Webb's novels in an attempt to destroy Webb's character. Sometimes the good guys win. A victory for fiction writers. [see the George Allen entry below for a lecture on the difference between fiction and nonfiction]
One Beautiful Cover!
The New Yorker issue Nov. 6, 2006
I scanned this for all to see
Click to enlargeWILLIAM STYRON DEAD AT 81. The author of Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie's Choice died on Nov. 1 of pneumonia. To hear Don's two interviews with Styron go to Wired for Books. For a short a podcast version go to Book Beat: The Podcast
JOANNE AND TRUMAN SHOW. Truman Capote and Joanne Carson (widow of Johnny Carson) were an odd couple. Truman died in Joanne's home in 1984. Now, hundreds of items of Capote memorabilia owned by Carson are on the auction block. By Robin Abcarian the Los Angeles Times.
ASTOUNDING STORY. How science fiction came into its own. By Nebula and Hugo winner Frederik Pohl in the September/October 1989 issue of American Heritage Magazine. GEORGE ALLEN CITES OPPONENT'S NOVELS TO IMPUGN HIS CHARACTER. As writers we should be outraged that James Webb's fiction would be cherry-picked in a character assassination attempt. The sleaze is not in Webb's novels, but in Allen's senatorial campaign. A writer can certainly have character flaws, but his fiction is not the place to find them. Stephen King and John Grisham went to Virginia to support Webb. Said Grisham: "I seriously doubt George Allen is much of a reader, but if he would read more, maybe he would understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction." [Don] THE PERFECT THING. How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness. The Apple iPod, now five years old, has changed how we think about music and listen to it. Here's a fascinating excerpt from Steven Levy's book -- as posted on the Simon & Schuster website. DOONESBURY'S WAR. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who almost never gives interviews, reveals himself in this sensational article by Gene Weingarten in the Washington Post. A CROWDED AUTUMN BOOK SEASON. At no time in recent memory has there been such a traffic jam of big-name authors unleashing top-drawer books. By Julie Bosman in The New York Times. BOOKED-UP PUBLISHERS COULD BE A BIND. This fall, the largest number of new titles by brand-name authors in recent memory is hitting bookstores, and the publishing world is asking itself an unusual question: Can there be too many good books? By Josh Getlin the Los Angeles Times. $100,000 SOBOL AWARD FOR FICTION. A fat new literary prize offer is underway with some unusual requirements: The book must be unpublished and the author must not have an agent. The catch is, it costs $85 to enter and the sponsors expect to receive up to 50,000 manuscripts, making it akin to a lottery. Robert Weil, executive editor at W.W. Norton, says it sounds like a Barnum & Bailey exercise, and that it's not a serious way of getting published. Charging writers to read their works is banned by the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR), a professional association for literary agents. FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT: AMBROSE BIERCE. DaRK PaRTY ReVIEW, a Boston-based online literary magazine, queries Ambrose Bierce Site and BCWW webmaster Don Swaim about the life and disappearance of the legendary curmudgeon.
Goldie from the past -- but still worksMYSTERY OF THE MISSING NOVEL. Is it possible to prove libel in fiction? The short answer is probably no -- even though W.W. Norton backed out of publishing Robert Lemmon's noveL Happyland, apparently for fears of libel. By Rachel Donadio in The New York Times Sunday Book Review.
pub date July 2024, advance orders acceptedHARRY CREWS, AGING WILD MAN, PUBLISHES AGAIN, QUIETLY. Cult writer Crews' 23rd novel was published, not by a mainstream publishing house, but by a little outfit in LA, Blood and Guts Press. To hear Don's interview with Crews go to Wired for Books. For a short podcast version go to Book Beat: The Podcast
WRITING OFF READING. Michael Skube in the Washington Post says that when high school and college students with A averages can't write simple English, it shouldn't be surprising that people ask what a high school diploma is really worth. GUNTER GRASS: HERR CONSCIENCE. An international storm arose when Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass revealed that as a teenager he was a member of the notorious Nazi Waffen-SS. Grass talks to Don Swaim about his war years in a forty-minute interview -- but leaves out the newest revelation. Go to Wired for Books. For a short podcast version go to Book Beat: The Podcast
LAURA LIPPMAN'S WRITING ADVICE. Lippman's a mystery writer who sets her novels in Baltimore, with ex-newspaper reporter Tess Monaghan as Lippman's heroine. Some goods tips from Lippman's web site.
BCWW LAUNCHES STUART CUMMINGS RIPLEY WEBSITE. Ripley, America's greatest unknown author, is clebrated by members of the Bucks County Writers Worklshop with biography, recollections, essays, pictures. First and only Stuart Cummings Ripley site on the Internet
MICKEY SPILLANE DIES AT 88. A simple plot: violence, sex, and royalty checks. By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times.
RESURRECTION OF PEARL BUCK. China, yes China, rethinks Bucks County's own Pearl Buck. By Sheila Melvin in The Woodrow Wilson Quarterly.
FBI HOT ON THE TRAIL OF ARTHUR MILLER (AND MARILYN MONROE). Thanks, J. Edgar Hoover, for protecting America from the likes of them. By the Associated Press.
DONALD HALL NAMED POET LAUREATE. To hear Don Swaim's 1990 interview with Donald Hall go to Wired for Books. For a short podcast version go to Book Beat: The Podcast
THE BEST WORKS OF FICTION IN THE PAST 25 YEARS. The New York Times polled a couple of hundred selected judges -- and Tony Morrision's Beloved came in first, while Philip Roth had more entries than anyone else. Here's an analysis of the poll by A.O. Scott in The New York Times Book Review. [From Don: A superficial poll aimed at a headline, not substance -- too small, the judges not necessarily reliable, and some of our best authors left out.]
A WRITER UNBLOCKED A successful screenwriter published his first novel last year -- and tells us that writing for Hollywood is a whole 'nother thing. By Wesley Strick in the Los Angeles Times.
