Glen Duncan, author of the genre novel The Last Werewolf, opened his New York Times review of Colson Whitehead‘s Zone One with this controversial line: “A literary novelist writing a genre novel is like an intellectual dating a porn star”. Understandably, this led to some uproar. Now he’s doubling down on his stance.
In Defense of Criticism
The Bad Sex Award
What’s it like to win the Literary Review‘s Bad Sex award? As 2010 “winner” Rowan Somerville reports, “It’s a hard pill to swallow … Despite the magazine’s assertion that ‘it’s only a bit of fun’ there’s an atmosphere of bullying peculiar to public schools about the whole thing.”
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“So we baste on, birds within the oven, burned back ceaselessly into the past.”
November’s still a way’s away, so that gives you plenty of time to learn and master F. Scott Fitzgerald’s turkey recipes.
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Red 14’s Latest Cinematic Book Trailers
After successfully raising funds through their Kickstarter campaign (which we’ve mentioned previously), Red 14 Films has begun releasing the first of their cinematic book trailers. First up is this video for Jason Ockert’s novel, Neighbors of Nothing. Look out for works for Monica Drake, Matt Bell, and Scott Dominic Carter in the near future as well. In the meantime, you can also check out an earlier video put together for Athena Lark’s Avenue of Palms.
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A Seminal Work
Over at The Literary Hub, real-life writer Anthony Marra has conducted a hilarious interview with Dana Schwartz, the creative mind behind everyone’s favorite–if uncomfortably familiar–Twitter account, @GuyInYourMFA. Here’s the New York Times review of Marra’s latest novel, The Tsar of Love and Techno.
Glad to hear they’re doing well.
Recommended Reading: “Patterns” by Kristiina Ehin, which has a better opening line than anything else you’re going to read this month, I promise.
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Getcha Popcorn Ready
Think of this as the film world’s equivalent of our Great Book Preview: Metacritic pores over the “50 Most-Anticipated Films” of the coming year.
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Crowdsourcing a Book
Important Indiegogo Alert: Kenneth James is editing the personal journals of novelist and critic Samuel R. Delany in a five-volume series. The first volume is complete, and James is asking for a bit of help to complete the second. Neil Gaiman has offered substantial monetary support.
Wyatt Mason on Lipsky/Wallace
The David Foster Wallace interview, Although of Course…, comes under the scrutiny of one of Wallace’s most attentive readers, in the NYRB.