I Am Excited About: April 2008

2-May-08

John Burnside's The Devil's Footprints: on the John Tait Black Novel shortlist

The Rise of the Bestseller Lists: not dissimilar to recent discussions about Nielsen Bookscan

One Great Dame: Muriel Spark

Jonathan Franzen and James Wood: were at an event together

1-May-08

Nam Le's 'Tehran Calling' (from forthcoming The Boat) in Five Chapters

Granta eds talking about Granta, with a snazzy new look

Conjunctions magazine: Rick Moody

Jen Statsky - funny - at McSweeney's

30-May-08

The new Curtis Sittenfeld looks interesting

Guardian blog: Should writers be readers?

'All the practice you get makes you better. Whatever stops you from practicing makes you worse.' Salon: Writing is in my blood, but how do I know if I'm any good?

29-April-08

New Yorker: Twilight of the Books

New York Times: You're an Author? Me Too!

Guardian: On Virago

28-April-08

Guardian blog: the Nabokov decision has been made

Guardian blog: A brief survey of the short story

The Georgia Review

Two of my favourite writers: Victoria Wood and Dawn French in conversation

Perfect images: Sticklebacks and Snowglobes by BA Goodjohn

24-April-08

The Ten-Year Nap: could be good, in the line of Edna O'Brien or Mary McCarthy, but could be bad - if you've read it, let me know

David Hajdu's The Ten-Cent Plague

Nathaniel Rich's The Mayor's Tongue

The Elegant Variation's Mark Sarvas's debut, Harry, Revised

Margaret Atwood on Anne of Green Gables

Omnivoracious: Book-Beer Pairings

New York Times: The decline of the book party

23-April-08

'Just because they're imaginary, it doesn't mean they're not real': South Park

New York Times: Isabel Fonseca's novel

New York Magazine: five first novels that sound interesting

March music news roundup: Open by Rob

'When faced with booksellers telling me they couldn't sell my book to boys because of the flowery cover, I confronted my publishers who said that given a choice, they'll always go for female readers, even if it means losing male.' Meg Rosoff commenting on Pink doesn't stink: Guardian blog

MUP's Louise Adler on literary prizes

21-April-08

'Coming Into the Country was his first best-seller. That was very exciting. That's probably the peak of excitement on a certain scale - when a company has published twelve books and the thirteenth becomes a best-seller. And then all the books thereafter sell better.' Q&A with editor Pat Strachan

18-April-08

It's time: Steven Carroll - Miles Franklin

Paper Cuts: My Generation

Time Out: Shelf Esteem

Sophie Cunningham: Meanjin covers from way back

Telegraph's 110 Best Books

Siri Hustvedt on the RN Book Show

17-April-08

Blood on paper: at the V&A

Narrative magazine

I-am-you-are etc: 'The United States and Australia are the only two countries in the industrialised world that don't have paid statutory maternity leave': Bringing in baby