Writer Unboxed

Many readers of the writers’ blogosphere are aware that today is Patry Francis Day. Patry, a longtime blogger (her blog Simplywait is a must-read for writers) and author of the chilling psychological thriller THE LIAR’S DIARY, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, which leaves her little energy to promote the paperback […]

I read an interesting blurb on booktrade.info’s website last week about Richard Wright, an author famous for his powerful, controversial and often racially charged novels. Wright died in 1960 before finishing a work in progress called A Father’s Law. Now, 48 years after his death, his daughter is having the story published–even though it ends […]

Ever heard of the New Weird literary movement in genre fiction?  I’m embarrassed to admit I hadn’t either until Therese pointed out that Hal Duncan, one of our first interviews, is considered one of the titans of New Weird (apparently, according to the linked Wikipedia entry, the movement’s already over [eyeroll] ).  I wanted to […]

From IMDb News:
Filmmaker Peter Jackson has signed on to produce two movies based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, after resolving his legal feud with studio bosses over unpaid royalties. Jackson has been involved in a long and bitter despite with bosses at New Line Cinema after claiming he had not been properly paid […]

Google Notebooks updates are up. Check them HERE.
I really like to read the Writer’s Almanac daily. Love me my poetry fix, and the graphs that follow the poem often include mini biographies of writers whose birthday falls on a given day. Today’s outtakes were particularly enjoyable. Here are a few:
It’s the birthday of writer […]

From Banbury Cake:
OXFORD author Philip Pullman has written a new book, aimed at fans of his award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy.
Earlier this month, Mr Pullman, 61, attended the premiere of The Golden Compass, alongside film stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.
He said he was delighted with the £90m movie adaptation of Northern Lights, the first […]

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read. –Groucho Marx
I have a confession to make: I haven’t read a novel in months. Months! I’ve been pushing hard to finish the final draft of my wip (new goal: end of the year or bust) and […]

One of the things I like about Writer Unboxed is that it takes genre writing seriously – we respect each other as writers and don’t make any assumptions about just where mystery, fantasy, romance, horror or whatever fits in the total spectrum of fiction writing. People who don’t know me well often take it for […]

It’s something music can do well: evoke the feeling of a text in underlayments, make it palpable through rhythm and phrasing. Even without accompaniment. There’s an a capella version of Shenandoah in which you can hear the sound of the river in the current of voices.
Poets do it too, with phrases that twist and […]

Halloween is over, but here at my house we’re still working off our Snickers high while images of this year’s vivid costumes linger. (My son went as an evil jester, and not even I would want to meet up with anyone wearing that thing on a non-Halloween eve.)
Created characters can be whatever we want them […]

Lots of industry news this week. First, the winner of the prestigious Booker Prize was announced: Anne Enright, Irish author, has come away with top honors. There are two interesting charity events taking place: All About Romance is holding an auction to benefit victims of Katrina and a bunch of renowned children’s book illustrators are […]

Legal troubles for Houghton Mifflin, a push to end the selling of ARCS & galleys, the death of Harlequin’s NEXT line, a film partnership for HarperCollins and more. Read the latest books & business news at the WU Google Notebook HERE.
Write on, all!