When Fiction Makes You Question Everything You Know About Power I picked up Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” thinking I was getting science fiction. What I got instead was a gut punch about how quickly civilization can unravel and how the people we dismiss as powerless often see the clearest path forward. Lauren Olamina, […]
Category: Blog
AI writing tools and what they actually change for authors — An Honest Close
Here is the thing I keep coming back to on this. The topic of AI writing tools and what they actually change for authors rewards more careful attention than the typical coverage provides, and the reason is not complicated once you know where to look. What I find most interesting, and I think you will […]
The Books That Survived Their Publishers (But Not Our Collective Memory)
When Publishers Give Up Too Early Last month I found myself defending a novel that sold maybe three thousand copies in 1987 to a friend who insisted I was just being contrarian. The book was Diane Johnson’s “Persian Nights,” a sharp-eyed comedy about Americans abroad that predicted our current moment of cultural collision with uncomfortable […]
The Literary Novel in Crisis: When Great Expectations Meet Market Realities
The Great Disconnect Between Literary Ambition and Commercial Success We tell ourselves stories about the state of literary fiction, and most of them are beautifully crafted lies. The story goes like this: serious novels by serious writers find their serious readers, and the ecosystem sustains itself through a delicate balance of artistic merit and commercial […]
The Genre Cross-Read: The hybrid author model — traditional and indie publishing
Here is the thing I keep coming back to on this. The topic of the hybrid author model, traditional and indie publishing, needs more careful attention than the typical coverage provides, and the reason is not complicated once you know where to look. What I find most interesting, and I think you will too, when […]
Science fiction and speculative futures: Curated pathway
Here is the thing I keep coming back to on this. The topic of science fiction and speculative futures rewards more careful attention than the typical coverage provides, and the reason is not complicated once you know where to look. What I find most interesting (and I think you will too) is Ted Chiang and […]
Non-fiction and the essay revival — An Honest Close
Here is the thing I keep coming back to on this. The topic of non-fiction and the essay revival rewards more careful attention than the typical coverage provides, and the reason is not complicated once you know where to look. What I find most interesting, and I think you will too, when you look at […]