At least four articles credit the AI tool as a co-author, as publishers scramble to regulate its use. Read more
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Category: Authors
A Writer Collapsed. As He Recovers, His Dispatches Captivate Readers.
Hanif Kureishi lost use of his arms and legs. In tweets dictated to family members, he narrates the drama, and muses about writing and art, love and patience. He’s also quite funny. Read more
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Romance Writer Accused of Faking Her Own Suicide
Now the romance writers who mourned Meachen and self-published an anti-bullying anthology that they dedicated to her are outraged — and not just because they were apparently fooled into thinking she was dead. They say they also raised money to help pay for Meachen’s funeral. Read more
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First Major Saul Bellow Documentary Comes to PBS
American Masters: The Adventures of Saul Bellow illuminates how Bellow transformed modern literature and navigated through the issues of his time, including race, gender and the Jewish immigrant experience, through rare archival footage and interviews with Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and many others. Watch trailer
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The Struggle to Unearth the World’s First Author
Decades ago, archeologists discovered the work of Enheduanna, an ancient priestess who seemed to alter the story of literature. Why hasn’t her claim been affirmed? Read more
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Where to Start with Marcel Proust
A new translation commemorating a century since the monumental masterpiece was first published in English–and since Proust died–Swann in Love is a sublimely witty and poignant story of the illusions of love and desire. Full of the rich social satire and penetrating insight that distinguish Proust’s style, it is the perfect introduction to one of the world’s great novelists. Read more
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Anti-Mafia Author Saviano on Trial for Calling Italy PM a ‘Bastard’
Meloni sued Saviano following a December 2020 TV interview in which he lambasted her and fellow right-wing leader Matteo Salvini over their attacks on migrant rescue NGOs. Read more
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Kurt Vonnegut Would Have Turned 100 Today — His War Novels are Relevant as Ever
Vonnegut, who died in 2007 at the age of 84, would have turned 100 today. He was born in Indianapolis on Nov. 11, 1922, Armistice Day. The late author wrote satirical and darkly humorous novels that won him a cult-like following with the youth culture of the 1960s — but his work remains relevant today. Read more
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Joan Didion’s Life in Objects
Hundreds of the writer’s furnishings and personal items will be sold at auction next month, offering fans the opportunity to acquire a piece of her legacy. Read more
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The Essential Philip K. Dick
Perhaps you’ve nurtured a suspicion that you have the makings of a Dick fan. The writer’s influence is everywhere, though mainstream acknowledgment of his talents arrived belatedly. (His obituary in this newspaper is under 200 words and lists his age of death incorrectly. He was 53, not 54.) The question is where to start. Dick’s published output — at least 35 novels and countless short stories — ranges from sublime to inscrutable, which is partly a result of volume. His book advances were skimpy and there was a family to support, so he wrote quickly, often fueled by amphetamine tablets. (Dick’s typing speed: 120 words per minute.) If you’re a stickler for prose style and hold a zero-tolerance policy toward the word “boobies,” this is not your fellow. Read more
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