books & writing

literature, genre, fan-fic, blogging, graphic novels, web-comics etc etc

Pottermore!

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J K Rowling has announced on YouTube more details about her plans for the Pottermore website – “a unique online reading experience”

Vale Bob Gould, Bookseller Extraordinaire

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If you imagine the stereotypical, small, dusty secondhand bookshop, enlarge it substantially and then imbue this cavern with many of the bigger-on-the-inside properties of the TARDIS as if designed by Escher you might start to get a feel for how those shops worked.

A Prize of One’s Own

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A group of Australian women writers and publishers are working to set up an equivalent of the Orange prize in their country, to combat what they describe as “the systemic exclusion of women writers over several decades” from the country’s major literary awards.

The Conversation: Guest Post by Laughingrat

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Joanna Russ died today; I didn’t know her.

This is how the conversation goes: a professor, a pal or two, mention a book by Joanna Russ called How to Suppress Women’s Writing. I see it referenced online sometimes; I find an image, occasionally, of the cover, with the phrases “She didn’t write it,” “She wrote it, but she had help,” etc., naming and de-normalizing bad ideas that are always sneaking into my subconscious.

Hugo Awards

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The Hugo nominations are out! The full list is below.

Any favourites? Any surprises? Any rejoicing at the rather marvellous gender balance? (Is this the first time with this many women? Has anyone done the maths? And check out that Best Novel category!) Any unrejoicing about the lack of racial balance (I think, and project from past experience; for many of these authors, I don’t know how they identify when it comes to race.) Other comments? What category are you watching the closest?