James Wolcott on William Styron, W. G. Sebald's Writing Tips, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
1.16.13

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

With Selected Letters of William Styron out now, critic James Wolcott considers the life and work of the author of Sophie's Choice. (London Review of Books)

"A popular American belief holds that the act of writing can somehow save the writer. But having written a couple of books and countless essays, I disagree." Poet Roya Hakakian details the personal importance of the work of Iranian poet Firoozeh Papan-Matin. (NPR)

Guy Kawasaki offers ten strategies for publishers to succeed in the future. (Publishing Perspectives)

The nominees were announced—including Carolyn Parkhurst, Tayari Jones, and Julia Fierro, among others—for the Above and Beyond Award at Beyond the Margins.

A Books-a-Million is scheduled to close in Charleston, South Carolina. (Post and Courier)

A new multimedia App called Paragraph Shorts features both classic and new short fiction paired with independent music.

Author Richard Skinner's blog features W. G. Sebald's writing tips: "Writing is about discovering things hitherto unseen. Otherwise there’s no point to the process."