One Burning Question: A Conversation with Evelyn C. White
“I understood in that moment that my life had changed forever. And it has.”
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Posts Tagged: publishing industry
Blood from a Door Nail: Talking with Susan Shapiro
Susan Shapiro discusses her forthcoming book THE BYLINE BIBLE.
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VISIBLE: Women Writers of Color: Bethany C. Morrow
Bethany C. Morrow discusses her debut novel, MEM, how it felt to read Toni Morrison for the first time, and her hope for Black girl readers.
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Flying Blind: A Conversation with Kate Angus and Joe Pan
Kate Angus of Augury Books and Joe Pan of Brooklyn Arts Press discuss the challenges and triumphs that come with running an indie press, and the recent decision to make Augury an imprint of BAP.
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Writing History
I was pretty sure I could produce a manuscript superior to anything [this editor had] ever published before by letting my cat walk over my keyboard a few times.
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Everything as Story: A Conversation with Kendra Levin
Kendra Levin discusses her new book, The Hero Is You, her influential mentors, her career in publishing, and the creative struggles that led her to put writing aside for many years.
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The Rumpus Book Club Chat with Transit Books
The founders of Transit Books discuss Wioletta Greg’s debut novel, Swallowing Mercury, and the challenges and rewards that come with starting a small independent press.
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Congratulations on Publishing Your First Baby
As the old saying goes, making a baby takes two people, but delivering one takes a team.
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Faith, Gods, and Gay Sex: A Conversation with Matthew Gallaway
Matthew Gallaway discusses his second novel, #gods, moving from a big publishing house to an indie press, and why it was important to him to depict gay sex in writing.
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VISIBLE: Women Writers of Color: Lisa Factora-Borchers
Lisa Factora-Borchers talks about being a Catholic feminist, writing across genres, and pushing back against a singular narrative about New York.
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Literary Rim Shots: A Chat with John Grisham
John Grisham discusses his advice for young writers, the literary mafia, and why he finally wrote a (literal) beach read.
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The Eternal Hunt for Relevance: Doree Shafrir Discusses Startup
Doree Shafrir discusses her debut novel, Startup, the differences between journalism and fiction, and why she chose to tell this particular story.
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VISIBLE: Women Writers of Color: Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas discusses her debut novel, The Hate U Give, landing an agent on Twitter, and why she trusts teenagers more than the publishing industry.
...moreThe Real Lives of Working Writers
Bestselling and award-winning writers Danielle Trussoni and Walter Kirn host the Writerly podcast, a weekly discussion of all things pertaining to the real lives of working writers. From getting and firing an agent, to book publicity, to contracts, to working with an editor, to writing your first draft—Writerly will cover it all. And, follow Danielle […]
...moreTaking a Stand with Roxane
I wouldn’t have volunteered at The Rumpus for the past three years, if I didn’t believe in the power of words. But words ring hollow if they are not met with action. Outrage tweets and Facebook posts mean noting if you don’t march, call, email, filibuster, stand, sit-in, demand, riot, challenge, and vote. Today, Roxane […]
...moreWhat’s at Stake: The NEA and the Literary Ecosystem
As a poet I get it: talking about “literary infrastructure” is boring. Who wouldn’t rather talk about poets, poems, or aesthetic movements? When we start hearing a lot about the organizations dedicated to supporting authors, presses, and readings rather than the people making literature it probably means those organizations are threatened. Well, welcome to 2017! […]
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Sound & Vision: Arthur Fournier
Allyson McCabe talks with Arthur Fournier, an independent dealer of books, serials, manuscripts, and archives, about how he developed his niche, and how digital access has both enriched and complicated the work of archiving and collecting.
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The Rumpus Interview with Emily Raboteau
Emily Raboteau discusses her essay, “Know Your Rights!” from the collection, The Fire This Time, what she loves about motherhood, and why it’s time for White America to get uncomfortable.
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The Rumpus Interview with Terry McDonell
Terry McDonell talks about his new memoir The Accidental Life and his career in the magazine business, which spans the beginning of New Journalism through the digital revolution.
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The Rumpus Interview with Alice Mattison
Alice Mattison discusses her newest book, The Kite and the String, a meditation on her lifelong journey through the craft of writing, the joys of teaching writing, and the importance of community.
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When Marketing Trumps Truth
This is how gay-male-identifying, biological women become straight chicks. Investigative journalism morphs into emotional memoir.
...moreThe Rumpus Interview with Paula Whyman
Paula Whyman discusses her debut collection You May See a Stranger, discovering truth in fiction, and how memory interferes with good storytelling.
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The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #53: Meet WTAW Press
Peg Alford Pursell is the author of the forthcoming book of flash and hybrid prose, Show Her a Flower, A Bird, A Shadow (ELJ Publications). Her work has been published in VOLT, the Journal of Compressed Arts, and RHINO, among others, and shortlisted for the Flannery O’Connor Award. She produces Why There Are Words, the acclaimed Bay Area reading series she […]
...moreRethink Your First Chapter
For Catapult, Anuradha Roy talks about the process of receiving editorial feedback and how we’re inclined to react poorly to that feedback. Roy takes us from the phone call from her brand-new publisher, suggesting she re-think her first chapter, to her old-wisdom, pottery influenced conclusion: I now see fiction—my own and that of others—as work […]
...moreIt Was a Joke
In an essay on author authenticity for The Millions, Alcy Levy examines Percival Everett’s satirical novel Erasure—about a black author whose own satirical novel is taken seriously—in light of recent literary identity shake-ups such as James Frey and Michael Derrick Hudson, who changed his name to Yi-Fen Chou to get a poem published: This exposes a major […]
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The Rumpus Interview with Will Evans
Will Evans, Executive Director of Deep Vellum Publishing, talks about publishing translated works as well as the Texas and Dallas literary scene he wants to help grow.
...moreAnti-Blackness in Sci-Fi Publishing
Less than two percent of science fiction stories published in 2015 were by black writers. And a recent study found that black speculative fiction writers face “universal” racism—more damning evidence demonstrating the institutionalized racism in book publishing, and the importance of introducing more diversity at every level of the process.
...morePublishers 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 works by writers of color, the people working behind the scenes still lack much-needed diversity. Recent studies have found that the majority of those who […]
...moreData vs. Instincts
In the world of publishing, everything’s a gamble. How do successful editors manage to push out bestsellers? Is it good instincts, or data-driven predictions? Turns out, it’s a mix of both, and the influences are rarely ever clear.
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The Rumpus Interview with Ranbir Singh Sidhu
Ranbir Singh Sidhu discusses his new novel, Deep Singh Blue, growing up in rural California, and the privileged, problematic world of publishing.
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