Torn Dresses, Frank Sinatra, Ghosts in the Loo: Judi Dench on a Lifetime of Playing Shakespeare
When I was at the old Vic, I had a number of walk-ons and understudy roles—one of which was in Henry VIII with Sir John Gielgud, Harry Andrews and Dame Edith Evans. That was the production when they famously all dried on the first night. All of them—John, Harry and Edith—in that long scene between […]
Searching for the Real ‘Anna O.’
The woman behind one of Freud’s most influential case studies, writes Gabriel Brownstein, was not the straightforward success story of legend. THE SECRET MIND OF BERTHA PAPPENHEIM: The Woman Who Invented Freud’s Talking Cure, by Gabriel Brownstein Bertha Pappenheim stopped eating and sleeping. She lost her language and ability to move. Her eyes crossed and […]
What you need to know about the Freydís Moon author scandal.
Another day, another literary scandal. Such is BookX in 2024. Buckle up, for today brings news of an especially strange case of dissembling, involving a fantasy author writing under a few different racial identities and a handful of pseudonyms. I’m sorry in advance if you were using your brain today for other things. The trouble […]
The PEN America Literary Awards have been cancelled.
Following months of escalating protest over the organization’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza, and the recent withdrawal of over a third of this year’s nominees, the 2024 PEN America Literary Awards have now officially been canceled. In the last hour, PEN America confirmed this cancellation in a press release published on the organization’s website: […]
Against spring cleaning: The books the Lit Hub staff just can’t let go of.
If you’ve ever deep-cleaned your bookshelves, you’ve likely faced some hard choices over what to hang onto and what to donate to the library. As much as you might want to clear space by off-loading beat-up copies, shelf redundancies, books you know you’ll never finish—some books just defy decluttering. The Lit Hub staff looked through […]
The Empty Spotlight: On Nicolette Polek’s “Bitter Water Opera”
Bitter Water Opera by Nicolette Polek IN THE PENULTIMATE scene of The Red Shoes (1948), a spotlight strikes the stage. A man presents his hand to a closed door. It opens; there is nothing inside. He spins, and the spotlight spins with him. He leaps, pirouettes, and raises his arms, the spotlight following just beyond […]
My “Friend” Keeps Sending Me Their Writing and I Need It To Stop: Am I the Literary Asshole?
Speaking philosophically, if a tree falls in the woods after too many cans of Miller Lite and there’s no one around to hear it, is it cool if the tree grabs another drink or should the tree just go to bed and sleep it off? Much to consider. I’m your host, Kristen Arnett, and I’ve […]
A Summary and Analysis of John Cheever’s ‘The Worm in the Apple’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The short stories of John Cheever (1912-82) are among the greatest American short stories of the twentieth century. His Collected Stories runs to 900 pages and contains tales which are by turns realist, borderline magic-realist, and downright strange. In Cheever’s short story ‘The Worm in the Apple’, the narrator […]
IALA announces its 2024 annual grants for creative writing and translation
The Armenian Weekly The International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA) is pleased to announce its three new annual grants for one writer and two translators whose works-in-progress show exceptional literary and creative ability. Applications open on September 1 until September 30, 2024, and winners will be announced in December 2024. The International Armenian Literary Alliance’s Creative […]
Contemporary Literary Novels Are Haunted by the Absence of Money
The following is the second of a six-part collaboration with Dirt about “The Myth of the Middle Class” writer. Check back here throughout the week for more on the increasingly difficult prospect of making a living as a full-time writer, or subscribe to Dirt to get the series in your inbox. _______________________ One of the […]