Friday Finds for Writers

The weekly collection of writing-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • Let’s start with an important question, raised this time in the context of Michael Chabon’s latest novel: “Can a white author write black characters?” Tanner Colby says yes. (via Page-Turner)
  • Next: Poet Mark Doty describes “the hardest job in publishing: editing an anthology.”
  • What happens when writers don’t finish the job they’ve contracted to do? For some authors who received advances from Penguin–for books they ultimately didn’t deliver–the answer is now: lawsuits. (via Publishers Lunch)
  • Definitely worth reading: Cathy Day’s “next big thing” is Literary Citizenship.
  • Last, but by no means least (and, I believe, very much in the spirit of literary citizenship): Many of you know that I’ve been part of the Fiction Writers Review community for some time. FWR is currently undertaking a writing-focused fundraiser (“The Great Write Off”). I’m not able to participate as fully as I’d like to right now, but I *have* made a contribution to support the overall project. If you’ve ever appreciated any of the content on the FWR site, perhaps you’ll consider doing the same. Thank you!