At Entertainment Weekly, Colson Whitehead shares how he found his voice for his newest novel, Harlem Shuffle, and how it has evolved over time. “After my poker book, The Noble Hustle, I’ve been able to find my voice really quickly,” Whitehead says. “I think it was writing in that first-person voice: There was a confidence there, and it stayed with me. Not a lot of people liked that book, but I’ve felt sure-footed ever since. [While] I can easily find flaws with my earlier novels, I really feel 100 percent behind my last four. I also know it can all come crashing down, so I keep working and trying not to coast. The fear that my luck has run out keeps me going.”
Colson Whitehead’s Voice Is Here to Stay
Edgar Award Nominations
The Mystery Writers of America has announced the nominees for the 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Awards [pdf]. Nominees include Tana French for Faithful Place and Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon for Zora and Me (featuring Zora Neale Hurston, girl detective).
Glamour’s Page 194 Girl
At Glamour‘s blog, the fashion magazine shot heard round the world: a nude photo of a girl who–gasp!–wears a size 12 and doesn’t have a six-pack. And, she looks happy. Apparently, this is what readers of fashion magazines have been waiting for.
New Coen Brothers Trailer
Recommended Viewing: The trailer for Joel and Ethan Coen’s forthcoming film, Inside Llewyn Davis.
Joshua James
If you like your music country/folk-ish with a difference, Joshua James new album Build Me This might be of interest. No Depression, the roots music blog, describes the album as a hybrid of “chain-gang chants, country-fuzz rave-ups, gospel rafter-raisers, southern blues grinds, and civil war camp songs.” Try not to be taken aback by the Jared Leto-in-a-mud-mask cover art.