Posts Tagged‘Book reviewing’

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Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
9

On Saying No

I receive a lot of writing-related requests. Within the past week, for example, two authors have asked me to blurb their novels. Someone else asked me to recommend a Yiddish translator in a certain part of the country. Another person wrote to request that I check out his website and maybe recommend it to all of you. And an author asked me to recommend where to submit his just-published book for reviews (and also, for post-publication prizes).

Here’s how I responded to those requests. (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
6

Vive la France!

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Before I earned my MFA, I earned a PhD. In history. In French history.

In fact, ever since my first middle-school French class, France and its language, literature, culture, and history have been a significant part of my life. So last week was hard. It was hard on Wednesday. And as a Francophile Jew who—to be completely honest—has been a little frightened of traveling in France as reports of anti-Semitic incidents have filtered back here (mainly in the Jewish press) over the past year or two, I found Friday very hard, too.

Rather than write anything “new” on last week’s events, I’d like to highlight a few of my past France and French-related writings. (A few, at any rate, that have a presence—if not complete accessibility—on the Internet.) (more…)

Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
5

Treasure Chest
Writing-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • As I’ve mentioned elsewhere this week, Wil S. Hylton’s profile of Laura Hillenbrand for The New York Times magazine provides an excellent craft seminar in narrative nonfiction.
  • “In fact, it feels strangely simple: I have used up my material, the stuff from which I craft stories. I don’t have anything now. Maybe I will have more soon. Or not soon. Or not.” From Robin Black’s resonant (and much-cited among my Twitter connections) essay “On Being Empty: When a Writer Isn’t Writing.”
  • Terrific spotlight on poet Joan Naviyuk Kane in the latest Harvard Magazine.
  • To a considerable extent, librarian and book reviewer Deb Baker’s post “On Being ‘Discontinued'” is another installment in the ongoing “writing for free” discussion.
  • “Jill Lepore had written my book.” That’s what Noah Berlatsky discovered some months ago. Here’s what happened next.

    • Enjoy the weekend, all!