This thoroughly entertaining conversation between Robert Birnbaum and Arthur Phillips is not to be missed. Topics include faking Shakespeare, beagles, being anti-social in Brooklyn, pilates, and writing for a living.
Arthur Phillips, Still Writing
Pulitzer Playlist
Soundtracks make for excellent background music when writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Junot Díaz wrote his first book with the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack on loop, he said during an interview with The Daily Beast.
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Threat Level Seven
It’s hard to know exactly what North Korea will do these days, but if you’re looking for context, The Morning News published a cartoon guide to recent history.
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2012 Costa Award Finalists Announced
The 2012 finalists for the Costa (formerly Whitbread) Book Awards have been anounced. In the “Novel” category, they are Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May, The Heart Broke In by James Meek, and Days of the Bagnold Summer by Joff Winterhart. The Costa site has lists of the nominees in all categories.
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J.E. Fishman on The New York Times
On The Nervous Breakdown this week, J.E. Fishman considers the book review practices of The New York Times: “My view is very much eastern, very much old school, where a book review from the Times was the only sure sign that an author had arrived. But maybe it’s time to rethink that, and this rethinking has been long overdue.”
Bright Star
Keats on film! See the trailer for Jane Campion‘s Bright Star.
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