Category Archives: Writing

What’s So Funny ?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Started in 1997, the Thurber Prize for American Humor is the only recognition of the art of humor writing in the United States. A panel of national judges selects the three finalists from a selection of seven or eight semi-finalists. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

Bukowski Turns 90

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

  Poet, novelist, postman and celebrated drunk, Charles Bukowsi would be turning 90 on August 16th, except he died in 1994. Still, the Poet laureate of Skid Row will be fêted from coast to coast. The birthday events celebrating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Do You Need Better Book Titles?

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Do you ever think that a book could be improved by a more descriptive, or honest, title? In that case, Dan Wilbur’s terrific new website , Better Book Titles, is for you.  “This blog is for people who do not … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | Leave a comment

Zero History is Here (almost)

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

In his new book trailer, novelist William Gibson reads a passage from his upcoming novel, Zero History. The book arrives on September 7th, finishing the cycle of novels that includes Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. Instead of reenactments, the trailer mixes imagery … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Suspense Is Over

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

  The NPR audience nominated some 600 novels to the “Killer Thrillers” poll and cast more than 17,000 ballots. The final roster of winners is a diverse one to say the least, ranging in style and period from Dracula to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Do You Wordle ?

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Thanks to Jonathan Feinberg:   Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Writing | 1 Comment

Your Summer Reading List…Top Ten

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

A totally unscientific reader poll has produced the following Top Ten Summer Reading List : The Magicians — Lev Grossman The Girl Who Played With Fire — Stieg Larsson Her Fearful Symetry — Audrey Niffennegger The Strain — Guillermo del … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | 1 Comment

The Philosophy of Timing &…

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

The following post is by Meg Pier and is from her site View From The Pier. Meg is an award-winning travel writer, photographer, regular contributor to The Boston Globe travel section, and the author of A Vision for Today. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing, Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

What’s on Your Summer Reading List ?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Summer vacation time is here again, and this year, as very other year the chattering classes and book reviewers have told us what they expect you to pack for the beaches and the mountains. This year on the fiction front, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

Would You Crowdfund Your Book ?

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

 The following post is by Alison Flood: From novelists to poets and playwrights, would-be French authors are signing- up to take part in France’s first venture into crowdfunded literature. Launched this spring by publisher Éditions du Public, the initiative – … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Writing | Leave a comment