Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Review by Kate Jackson for The Writer’s Workshop “Do you believe in the human heart?…….Do you think there is such a thing? Something that makes each of us special and individual?” These profound …
Book Review of Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Read More »
Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West By Lauren Redniss Reviewed by Kate Jackson This is a stunning visual nonfiction book written by an award-winning author with the eye of an artist and the voice of …
By Kate Jackson Two fathers, two daughters, Israeli and Palestinian, woven together by two tragedies: this is the substance of Colum McCann’s latest novel. Published in February 2020, the characters and events are based on actual people and events. …
A View from Two Sides: Review of Apeirogon by Colum McCann Read More »
By Nicholas O’Connell Talk about prescient. Lawrence Wright’s new novel, The End of October, appeared in April, 2020, right as COVID-19 exploded across the U.S. and world. A medical thriller, the novel tells the story of a fictional pandemic …
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Author Lawrence Wright interviewed by Nicholas O’Connell of The Writer’s Workshop about his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Looming Tower, (2006) about the events leading up to 9/11, the novel, The End of October, (2020) about a fictional plague, and recently, …
Video interview with Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright Read More »
Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system.
“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”
First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!
“One false word, one extra word, and somebody's thinking about how they have to buy paper towels at the store.”
Patricia Marx
Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.
Barbara Kingsolver
