Elissa Bassist took an intro improv class and used what she learned to create some rules for writing funny fiction. (Thanks, Rachel)
What Improv Can Teach You about Writing Humor
We Need to Talk About Lionel
“Officials in charge of an Australian writers festival were so upset with the address by their keynote speaker, the American novelist Lionel Shriver, that they censored her on the festival website and publicly disavowed her remarks.” Dang. (We agree, it was pretty bad – she wore a sombrero for most of her speech.) Writers’ conferences: They’re intense.
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Summer Reading at The Brooklyn Rail
Want to know what artists Paul Chan and Richard Serra, poet Eileen Myles, and translator Charlotte Mandell are reading this summer? Check out The Brooklyn Rail’s Summer Reading List.
Book Decor
Will books in white wrappers become this year’s deer head? At The New York Times: Physical books find new life as design objects.
Cross-Genre
Back in April, Dreamworks announced its plans to adapt Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell for the silver screen, with the author writing the script. A few months later, Rowell published a new book, Landline, that marked a return to adult fiction. At The Rumpus, Amanda Green sits down with the author to talk about YA, her productivity and the importance (or not) of getting up early to write. FYI, our own Janet Potter reviewed Eleanor and Park and Fangirl.
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