Lit Hub Daily October 12, 2021
TODAY: In 1921, Alex Haley, the author of Roots, is born.
“No, Fluffy hasn’t crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Fluffy died.” Susan Orlean talks to Ann Leary about her latest book, On Animals. | Lit Hub
On the legal issues at the heart of Dorland v. Lawson. | Lit Hub
Donald Antrim on world-building, Lord of the Rings, and writing his new memoir with a sense of mission. | Lit Hub Questionnaire
“It was like looking for WebMD symptoms, but instead of a fatal illness, I was watching for complete and universal devastation.” Bethany Ball on getting over her preoccupation with apocalypse. | Lit Hub
On fatherhood and Coltrane: Joshua Bennett recounts early morning hours with his son. | Lit Hub Freeman’s
In praise of lichen: Melissa Matthewson considers how writers can counter “the urge to produce at real or imagined external timelines.” | Lit Hub Craft
Who gets to survive climate disasters? Parag Khanna considers the migration patterns of the privileged. | Lit Hub Climate Change
This month’s 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers features Venita Blackburn, Eugene Lim, Bradley Sides, Tamara Shopsin, and Vanessa Veselka. | Lit Hub
Beloved, The Power Broker, To Kill a Mockingbird, and more rapid-fire book recs from Wil Haygood. | Book Marks
WATCH: Jennifer Higgie on the forgotten perspective of women in art • Kyle Harper on the global history of infectious disease • Paul Bradley Carr on a modern murder mystery in Silicon Valley. | Lit Hub Virtual Book Channel 
Claire Fuller invites readers into her writing space. | Women’s Prize for Fiction
In solidarity with the BDS movement, Sally Rooney has declined to publish her latest novel with the Israeli publisher of her two previous books. | The Guardian
“This is, in my opinion, the best use of the Nobel Prize: as a way of highlighting neglected but worthy writers.” Alex Shephard considers Abdulrazak Gurnah’s unexpected Nobel Prize win. | The New Republic
Was the first great internet novel… Mrs Dalloway? | The Atlantic
“It takes more than nostalgia to give a series staying power for generations of readers.” Kelly Jensen celebrates the The Baby-Sitters Club’s legacy. | Book Riot
Casey Plett discusses her newest story collection and offers some writing advice. | Lambda Literary
On attempting to cook the dishes featured in the works of Amparo Dávila. | The Paris Review
“We must take care not to devalue the seriousness of writing for children.” An argument in favor of taking children’s books seriously. | The Guardian
NEW ON LIT HUB RADIO
Lit Century asks, is The Great Gatsby actually profound? * On Micro, listen to readings by Caroljean Gavin, Justin Phillip Reed, and Robert Olen Butler. * Annie Murphy Paul on thinking outside the brain, on First Draft. * The History of Literature considers Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. * William Sites on Sun Ra’s proto-Afrofuturism, on Big Table. * Julie Poole on losing a parent during childhood, on Otherppl. * Alexandra Kleeman talks superstitions and the symbolism of water, on So Many Damn Books.
ALSO ON LITERARY HUB
THE CONTRADICTIONS OF WHITENESS, REVOLUTION, AND FREEDOM
Tyler Stovall looks at the “Red Years” after WWII. |
