Nick Martell: On Flawed Characters in Fantasy Fiction
Author Nick Martell discusses the process of writing his new fantasy fiction novel, The Voyage of the Forgotten. Nick Martell was born in Ontario, Canada, before moving to the United States at age 7. He started writing novels regularly in fifth grade, and his debut novel, The Kingdom of Liars , sold when he was […]
Claire Alexander: On Finally Writing “The End”
Claire Alexander lives on the west coast of Scotland with her three children and two dogs. She has written for The Washington Post , The Independent , The Huffington Post, and Glamour . In 2019, one of her essays was published in the award-winning literary anthology We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, […]
Columbia School of the Arts Launches New Film Concentration: Writing for Film & Television
Columbia University School of the Arts is proud to announce a new addition to the Film MFA Program: the Writing for Film & Television concentration . This three-year program is designed specifically for students whose main focus is writing. “Columbia is known around the world as ‘the story school.’ We believe storytelling should underpin every […]
New YA Books Perfect for Winter Holiday Reading
Make the harrowing journey home with Queen Bitterblue’s sister and spy, in the fifth novel in the bestselling Graceling Realm series. Hava sails across the sea toward Monsea with her sister, the royal entourage, and the world’s only copies of the formulas for the zilfium weapon she saved at the end of Winterkeep. And while […]
A Marriage as Bleak as a Beach Town in Winter
“The Cape” from The Islands by Dionne Irving, recommended by CJ Hauser Introduction by CJ Hauser I think I have been confused about the nature of limbo. I once thought of it as the place I would go, as a heathen. Which is not to say I’ve done an inadequate amount of lovely things or […]
Berkeley teachers say they need compensation for ‘extra duty’ of writing college rec letters
College students study outside the Bancroft Library on the UC Berkeley campus. File photo: Kelly Sullivan Every fall, as hundreds of Berkeley High seniors rush to apply to college, one of the key steps is acquiring a letter of recommendation, or maybe two. Teachers almost always say yes, writing from 10 to 60 letters each […]
The Sex is Not Frivolous
Rasheed Newson’s debut novel follows a Black gay teenager during the early days of the AIDS crisis Photo by Alexander Gray via Unsplash I have long been fascinated by books about the early years of the AIDS crisis. Paul Monette’s Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir from 1988 remains a cherished work; last year’s Let the […]
6 Writing Techniques That Helped Me Shift From Fiction to Memoir
Acclaimed author Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop knew the best way to tell the story of her parents lives was through memoir—a genre she’d never tried. Here, she shares six writing techniques that helped her shift from fiction to memoir. When I first thought of telling the story of my parents’ love affair in London during World […]
Verses & lyrics (temporarily) replace bluebooks & footnotes
From left: Danny Little, Emmanuel Agyemang-Dua L’22, Choum Prak L’24, and Sydney T. Kofi Ladans L’23. Elon Law’s 4th Annual High Rhymes & Misdemeanors Poetry Slam in downtown Greensboro celebrated the rhythm of the written word on October 20, 2022, in a program that commemorated the National Day on Writing. A fall tradition returned to […]
Alan Garner’s Treacle Walker and writing outside the constraints of time
Robert Gilhooly / Alamy Anna Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. When the 2022 Booker shortlist was announced in September, 87-year-old Alan Garner was highlighted as the oldest-ever […]