For Electric Literature, Amy Klein discusses being a debut author during the coronavirus quarantine, as bookstores close and events are canceled for the public’s safety. Despite her panic, she learns to get creative when promoting her new book, The Trying Game: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind. “Ultimately, this may not be as devastating for writers—or independent bookstores—as it initially felt to me,” Klein writes. “Authors can boost themselves, each other, and small bookstores on social media, and reach a captive audience who may be searching for distraction during a socially distant time.”
A Book’s Debut Amidst a Pandemic
“We need a theory of jerks.”
“Everywhere you turn, are you surrounded by fools, by boring nonentities, by faceless masses and foes and suckers and, indeed, jerks?” If so–as this insightful if somewhat confidence-shattering piece at Aeon suggests–the jerk may be you.
Writer Etiquette
What’s the one question you should never ask a writer starting a new book: how’s the writing going? “Nothing can damage a novel in embryo as quickly and effectively as trying to describe it before it’s ready,” Mark Slouka writes. Follow his advice for how to keep your writer friends.
●
●
Crosswords Uncrossed
Even if you’ve already seen the outstanding documentary Wordplay, you’ll still want to check out this Atlantic article on how Will Shortz makes his New York Times crossword puzzles.
●
●
Be Mine
Yesterday, one of my Curiosities included a link to an old Millions review of AM Homes’s domestically disturbing novel May We Be Forgiven. Today, she has a great new story over at The Guardian just in time for Valentine’s Day.