LETTERS
4 Best Reasons to Abandon All Faith in Serious Writing
Bridget Harrison • Paula Froelich • Ian Spiegelman • Deborah Schoeneman
The recent preponderance of gossip columnist book deals leaves the writer of serious fiction shaking her weary head. The above named have all come out with books in the last year or so, leaving us to wonder if literature is, indeed, dead.
4 Best Reasons to Keep Faith in Serious Writing Alive
Bridget Harrison • Paula Froelich • Ian Spiegelman • Deborah Schoeneman
Wait! De-noose thy gentle neck dear scribbler, the total copies sold of all four of the aforementioned gossipists’ books, at press time, is a measly 16,500. Phew.
Best Almost Fist Fight Between Writers in at Least A Month
Time was that writers in New York, after three too many scotch and sodas, would settle their differences by rolling up their sleeves and thumping one with another with ink-stained fists and pencil-heavy manuscripts. Well, that’s not exactly what happened last month at Toby Young’s book party when, after a few too many Gewurtztraminers, gossip-columnist-turned-writer Ian Spiegelman attacked Doug Dechert and kind of/sort of flapped at him with his delicate hands in a punch-like motion worthy of a fourth grade donnybrook over Fruit Roll-Ups. Obviously, no one was hurt.
3 Best Antidotes to Book Sections Overrun with Content About Gossip Columnists
Soft Skull Press One of New York (and America’s) most interesting small presses, Soft Skull continues to print challenging and important political work alongside genre-defying literary fiction — which is a good thing.
Akashic Books Much like Soft Skull, though with perhaps more focus on fiction, Akashic has hit the small press jackpot with their brilliant Noir series, which anthologizes the best in crime writing based in various cities (Brooklyn, Manhattan, London, Dublin).
The New Press If fighting the powers that be sometimes feels like a desperate, losing battle, at least we still have the New Press to turn to for more ammunition. Their dedication to printing the best in under-the-radar, investigative writing is crucial to a healthy democracy. Recent titles include: 10 Reasons Not to Join the Military, The Body Hunters (about corporate pharmaceuticals), and Censoring Culture.
