Sandra Cisneros on Her First Apartment
Rachel Martin, host of the NPR series Next Chapter, sits down with Sandra Cisneros, beloved author of The House on Mango Street, to reflect on Cisneros’s experience of moving into her…
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Amanda Hildebrand
75 posts
Amanda Hildebrand is a painter and writer based in Los Angeles. She Instagrams: @amandahilly.
Your Favorite Pokémon’s Book of Life Advice
Never fear Pokémon GO-ers (and those of you who have managed to avoid the Poké-wave); the pocket monsters aren’t quite done yet—they’re writing a book. More specifically, it’s an “inspirational…
Kid’s Lit: Team Order or Team Nonsense?
Children’s literature as a genre has grown exponentially from early morality-racked lesson books to modern goofy masterpieces such as Captain Underpants—how did we switch from Order to Nonsense, and have…
Soldiers-Turned-Authors on War Literature
For NPR Books, Quil Lawrence talks with a handful of soldiers-turned-authors about the genre of war literature that has been catalyzed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These authors want their…
Remembering Killed-Off Characters
In an epic confessional letter at Lit Hub, author Stuart Nadler mourns all the characters he’s abandoned, maimed, and murdered for the sake of the grueling writing process. These lost creations…
Publishers Need Diversity, Too
The publishing industry is at a cultural turning point, with recognition and celebration of writers of color on the rise. But despite the surge in the publishing industry’s interest in…
Outside the Lit Community, Looking In
Most writers, especially those who are just starting out, feel lost and lonely in a literary world that seems to have pre-constructed cliques that are so hard to infiltrate. Anne…
Fiction’s Rise of Female Friendships
Readers are shifting focus from outdated gender expectations and conceptions of identity, and as a result, complex, non-compartmentalized female friendships are blooming in fiction. Books about these friendships are spaces…
You Have to Get Up
Corporate escapee-turned-author Xu Xi shared a few choice fiction writing tips with the Jakarta Post. She suggests utilizing the formulas in spreadsheets to calculate timelines and characters’ ages, and recharging your…
Cuba’s Unfinished Race Revolution
I want readers to understand how racism and antiracism can exist at the same time even in a revolutionary setting. Antiracism in Cuba: The Unfinished Revolution by author and professor…
Serial Fiction While You Wait for Next Week’s Episode
NPR talks with the creators of Serial Box, a company self-described as the “HBO for readers.” Serial Box releases “episodes” you read over a 10-16 week season, in the hopes…
Dolly Parton, Book Lady
Forbes walks through the colorful and boundless career of Dolly Parton, pop icon, writer, actress, entrepreneur, and “Book Lady.” Following a childhood dream, Parton created The Imagination Library, which is…