Posts by author
Roxie Pell
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Surface Envy
No matter how many times you tell them not to, people will judge a book by its cover. This Italian publisher has capitalized on our weakness for pretty things with iconic cover art that toes the line between literature and…
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Survivor Literature
YA authors now find themselves walking the fine line between fiction and reality. They have a duty to portray illness accurately, as they must avoid harmfully romanticising dying…they must also be careful not to cross into territory which is too…
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Apocalypse Now
Take that, Mom and Dad. Turns out studying literature can be practical. The Atlantic looks at the evolution of climate fiction, a new genre that’s getting readers interested in environmental issues and inspiring students to study STEM subjects: In this…
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Fringe Benefits
A pervasive, and frustrating, myth is that dancing pays enough for us to stop complaining—that we get paid enough to be cool with however we’re treated. But that’s not true. For the Times, Rumpus friend and contributor Antonia Crane details the…
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Rockin’ the Suburbs
The big city may be full of stories, but books like Judy Blume’s Wifey and Karolina Waclawiak‘s The Invaders remind us that the suburbs are equally worth writing about. Over at Electric Literature, Jason Diamond makes the case for settling…
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Mixed Media
Music and literature make a pretty good pair. Check out this guide, recently updated to include all of the music referenced in Haruki Murakami’s novels (and then go read them).
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People Talk
In a new history of the evolution of language, Matthew Battles focuses on humans’ relationship with writing. For Slate, John H. McWhorter argues that Battles’s distinction between the written and spoken word misunderstands how we use the Internet: Much of…
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By Any Other Name
Sometimes privilege can be confusing. Over at the Guardian, male writers explain why they decided to publish under female pseudonyms: Does it help to be identified as a woman, or to have no gender at all? Someone needs to tell…
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You May Read a Book
Why live in the moment when you can start planning your 2016 reading list now? Next spring, Rumpus contributor Paula Whyman will release her debut linked story collection “You May See a Stranger.” One of its stories was featured in…
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In a World…
With so many contemporary young adult novels taking place in dystopian settings, we’re beginning to wonder whether it’s even possible to come of age in a world that isn’t on the brink of collapse. Soon enough, paragon network of teenage…
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Highest Grossing
Capital ruins everything. For the Irish Times, Fiona O’Connor laments the age of the literary blockbuster: “I like it, I like it”, the anti-critic’s jingling ethos in the celebration of banality.
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Repost At Your Own Risk
140 characters may not seem like much, but when writing is your career, every letter counts. Joke-stealers beware: Twitter is coming for you.