From the author of Margaret the First and SPRAWL comes a prose collection like no other, where different styles of writing and different spaces of experience create a collage of the depths and strangeness of contemporary life. Danielle Dutton's endlessly inventive books have been praised as "strikingly smart and daringly feminist" (Jenny Offill), "brilliantly odd" (The Irish Independent), and "beguiling" (The Wall Street Journal).

In Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other, four distinct sections operate like Joseph Cornell boxes, each offering its own vibrant proposal for what contemporary writing might be. "Prairie" is a cycle of stories set in the Midwest, a surreal landscape of wildflowers, ominous rivers, violence, virtual reality, art, fear, and loss. The conceptual work in "Dresses" reconsiders the canon through the lens of its garb, like a wild literary closet. "Art" turns to essay, examining how works of visual art and fiction relate to one another, a theme central to the whole book. The final section, "Other," collects pieces in irregular ("other") forms, stories-as-essays or essays-as-stories that defy category and are hilarious or heartbreaking for reasons as inexplicable as the abiding beauty and strangeness of all of Dutton's work.

An account of the emergence of creative nonfiction, written by the "godfather" of the genre. In the 1970s, Lee Gutkind, a leather-clad hippie motorcyclist and former public relations writer, fought his way into the academy. Then he took on his colleagues. His goal: to make creative nonfiction an accepted academic discipline, one as vital as poetry, drama, and fiction.

In this book, Gutkind tells the true story of how creative nonfiction became a leading genre for both readers and writers. Creative nonfiction--true stories enriched by relevant ideas, insights, and intimacies--offered liberation to writers, allowing them to push their work in freewheeling directions. The genre also opened doors to outsiders--doctors, lawyers, construction workers--who felt they had stories to tell about their lives and experiences.

Gutkind documents the evolution of the genre, discussing the lives and work of such practitioners as Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Rachel Carson, Upton Sinclair, Janet Malcolm, and Vivian Gornick. Gutkind also highlights the ethics of writing creative nonfiction, including how writers handle the distinctions between fact and fiction. Gutkind's book narrates the story not just of a genre but of the person who brought it to the forefront of the literary and journalistic world.

Inspired by Jami Attenberg's wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this writer's guide features encouraging essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado.

In 2018, novelist Jami Attenberg, faced with a looming deadline, needed writing inspiration. Using a bootcamp model, she and a friend set out to write one thousand words daily for two weeks straight. They opened this practice to Attenberg's online community and soon hundreds then thousands of people started using the #1000WordsofSummer hashtag to track their work and support one another. What began as a simple challenge between two friends has become a literary movement—write 1,000 words per day without judgment, or bias, or concerns about writer's block, and see what comes of it.

1000 Words is the book-length extension of this movement. It is about becoming—and staying—motivated, discovering yourself and your creative desires, and approaching your craft from a new direction. It features advice from more than fifty well-known writers, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and stars of the literary world. Framing these letters are words of wisdom and encouragement, plus specific strategies, from Attenberg on how to carve out a creative path for yourself all year round. Paired with vibrant word art illustrations, 1000 Words is an accessible and motivational craft book that allows you to open any page and get a quick and fulfilling hit of inspiration.

How to Stay Married is a shockingly candid, hilarious, voyeuristic, and inspiring account of one man's personal journey through hell and back when his wife's infidelity threatens their marriage. Written by Harrison Scott Key, winner of the 2016 Thurber Prize for American Humor, this memoir dives into the complexities of love and the challenges of maintaining a marriage.

Yellowface has been described as 'A riot' by PANDORA SYKES, 'Razor-sharp' by TIME, 'A wild ride' by STYLIST, 'Darkly comic' by GQ, and 'Satirical and humorous' by COSMOPOLITAN. It introduces us to Athena Liu, a literary darling, and June Hayward, literally nobody.

When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song. With a blend of dark humour, as evidence threatens June's stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves, leading to deadly consequences. What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault.

Enseñar a Hablar a un Monstruo es una indagación literaria sobre el gran misterio que nos hace humanos: el lenguaje. Es el primer libro de no ficción del novelista, traductor y profesor de linguística José C. Vales. Este ensayo narrativo y literario nos propone un viaje al origen del lenguaje, la evolución de las lenguas y el milagro de la escritura.

Armado con múltiples preguntas y reflexiones, el autor plantea las diferentes teorías que explican por qué estamos dotados de lenguaje, cómo evoluciona y de qué manera empieza a transcribirse. El texto es una lectura deliciosa, amena, interesante y sugerente respecto a un tema universal, explicado con afán didáctico y libre de tecnicismos.

Con el estilo que caracteriza a José C. Vales, repleto de lucidez, sabiduría y siempre con su toque irónico pero amable, descubriremos el fascinante mundo de la comunicación humana.

Secretly Yours is a steamy romantic comedy that brings together a starchy professor and his bubbly neighbor, creating sparks at every encounter. Hallie Welch has been infatuated with Julian Vos since she was fourteen, following an almost-kiss in the vineyards of his family's winery. Years later, Julian, now a handsome enigma, returns to their hometown, and Hallie is tasked with revamping the gardens on the Vos estate, reigniting her teenage crush and the hope for that long-awaited kiss.

However, Julian is not the teenager she once knew. His formal demeanor contrasts sharply with Hallie's free spirit, leading to fiery clashes. After a night of wine and whimsy, Hallie frets over a reckless act—a secret admirer letter penned in a drunken blur. Julian, on sabbatical to write a novel, finds himself distracted by Hallie's vibrant energy and presence, which disrupts his structured life. As he uncovers the anonymous letter, Julian is drawn irresistibly into Hallie's colorful world, challenging his orderly existence and making him question everything he thought he knew about love and life.

Stay True is a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken—with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity—is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to.

The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet.

Determined to hold on to all that was left off one of his closest friends—his memories—Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he's been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

Nora's life is about to get a rewrite...

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it's her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage's collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home.

When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne'er-do-well husband, Nora's life will never be the same. The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it's the need in his eyes that makes her say yes.

For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.

Trust is a sweeping puzzle of a novel about power, greed, love and a search for the truth that begins in 1920s New York. Can one person change the course of history? A Wall Street tycoon takes a young woman as his wife. Together, they rise to the top in an age of excess and speculation. Now a novelist is threatening to reveal the secrets behind their marriage. Who will have the final word in their story of greed, love and betrayal?

Composed of four competing versions of this deliciously deceptive tale, Trust by Hernan Diaz brings us on a quest for truth while confronting the lies that often live buried in the human heart.

An unparalleled novel about money, power, intimacy, and perception.

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources.

Kara Sullivan's life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential Bookstagrammer, she's fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.

But right now? Not only is Kara's best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn't written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party.

But Ryan's unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there's only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve.

But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?

Beach Read is a witty and heartfelt story that explores the unlikely relationship between two writers, each struggling with their own creative block. January Andrews is a bestselling romance novelist who has lost faith in love, while Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction known for his tragic endings. Despite their stark differences, they find themselves neighbors for the summer, both financially broke and unable to write.

Their worlds collide one evening, leading to an unconventional pact: Augustus agrees to try his hand at writing a story with a happy ending, and January decides to tackle the challenge of penning the next great American novel. January's mission to give Augustus a taste of romance includes field trips straight out of a romantic comedy montage, and Augustus takes January on a journey to interview survivors of a mysterious death cult. They agree to help each other break through their writer's block with the understanding that no romantic entanglements will ensue—or so they think.

Set against the backdrop of a sun-soaked summer, Beach Read is a delightful exploration of life, literature, and the unexpected ways love can rewrite our stories.

The Idiot, a novel by Elif Batuman, is a portrait of the artist as a young woman, exploring the themes of self-discovery and inventing oneself. Set in the year 1995, when email was a new phenomenon, we follow Selin, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, as she begins her freshman year at Harvard. Without any preconceived plans, she enrolls in classes on unfamiliar subjects, forges a friendship with the charismatic and worldly Serbian classmate Svetlana, and, almost by chance, starts corresponding with Ivan, a Hungarian mathematics student.

Despite their limited face-to-face interactions, Selin and Ivan develop a complex relationship through their email exchanges, with each message adding new and mysterious layers to the act of writing. As the school year concludes, Ivan departs for Budapest, and Selin embarks on a teaching assignment in the Hungarian countryside, a position arranged by one of Ivan's friends. Her journey also includes a two-week sojourn in Paris with Svetlana.

Unlike the typical narratives of American college students abroad, Selin's experiences in Europe lead her on an introspective journey. She confronts the bewildering and exhilarating turmoil of first love and comes to an important realization: she is destined to become a writer. The Idiot is a candid reflection on the complexities of becoming an adult, filled with exquisite emotional and intellectual sensitivity, mordant wit, and a writing style that captures the unpredictable nature of memory itself.

An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator, and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction.

Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Insightful, incisive, witty, and wise, The View from the Cheap Seats explores the issues and subjects that matter most to Neil Gaiman—offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved, and influential artists of our time.

Paul Sheldon, a bestselling novelist, finds himself in a precarious situation when his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes, rescues him from a car accident. What seems like a stroke of luck turns into a nightmare as Paul realizes that Annie is not just a devoted reader, but also his nurse—and now his captor. Trapped in her isolated house, Paul is forced to confront the reality that Annie will do anything to keep him under her control.

As Annie's obsession grows, so does Paul's desperation. The situation takes a dark turn when Annie discovers that Paul has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, in his latest book. Refusing to accept this, Annie demands that Paul write a new book—one that revives Misery and satisfies her fanatical demands. With no escape in sight, Paul is thrust into a harrowing ordeal that tests the limits of his will to survive.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is more than just a crime story. It has been described as a big, fat, intelligent thriller that has captivated readers and critics alike.

On August 30, 1975, the small town of Somerset, New Hampshire, was shaken by the disappearance of a young girl, marking the day it lost its innocence. That fateful summer, Harry Quebert, an author struggling with his craft, fell in love with fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan. Decades later, Nola's body is unearthed in Quebert's garden, along with a manuscript of the novel that skyrocketed him to fame. Quebert becomes the prime suspect in a case that captures the nation's attention.

Marcus Goldman, Quebert's most talented student, seeks to exonerate his mentor while overcoming his own writer's block. As he delves into the mystery, his efforts to write a new bestseller become intertwined with the case, and the story he's writing starts to reflect real-life events in eerie ways. The country is enthralled by the enigma of 'The Girl Who Touched the Heart of America', but as with Nola's enigmatic life, in death, things are not as they seem.

This novel promises to be a thrilling journey that questions the boundaries between truth and fiction, love and memory, and ultimately, innocence and guilt.

John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry. His students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script.

Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach to building an effective, multifaceted narrative. Truby's method for constructing a story focuses on the hero's moral and emotional growth, encouraging writers to dig deep within and explore their own values and worldviews to create an effective story.

Writers will come away with a precise set of tools to work with—specific, useful techniques to make the audience care about their characters, and that make their characters grow in meaningful ways. They will construct a surprising plot that is unique to their particular concept, and they will learn how to express a moral vision that can genuinely move an audience. The foundations of story that Truby lays out are fundamental and essential to all writers, from novelists and short-story writers to journalists, memoirists, and writers of narrative non-fiction.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a novel by the French professor of philosophy, Muriel Barbery. Set within an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, the story revolves around two main characters: Renée, the concierge, who is typically short, plump, middle-aged, and inconspicuous, with an unexpected passion for art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture; and Paloma, a twelve-year-old resident of the building, who is talented, precocious, and has decided to end her own life on her thirteenth birthday unless she can find something worth living for.

The narrative follows Renée who, despite her position, conceals a world of intellectual wealth and refined tastes beneath a veneer of simplicity. Similarly, Paloma hides her exceptional intelligence behind the facade of a mediocre pre-teen. When a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives at the building, their lives begin to change as they discover kindred spirits in each other.

Humorous and full of biting wit, the story exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous and explores rich secret lives hidden beneath conventional exteriors, evoking a sense of kinship and understanding of human complexities.

In 1993, Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture with the acclaimed international hit Understanding Comics, a massive comic book that explored the inner workings of the world's most misunderstood art form. Now, McCloud takes comics to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are created, read, and perceived today, and how they're poised to conquer the new millennium.

Part One of this fascinating and in-depth book includes:

• The life of comics as an art form and as literature
• The battle for creators' rights
• Reinventing the business of comics
• The volatile and shifting public perceptions of comics
• Sexual and ethnic representation in comics

Then in Part Two, McCloud paints a breathtaking picture of comics' digital revolutions, including:

• The intricacies of digital production
• The exploding world of online delivery
• The ultimate challenges of the infinite digital canvas

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud is an innovative comic book that provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. It traces the 3,000-year history of storytelling through pictures and discusses the language and images used in the unique medium of comics.

This work is celebrated throughout the cartoon industry and is essential reading for anyone interested in the intricate and fascinating world of comics.

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

With this basic instruction always in mind, Anne Lamott returns to offer us a new gift: a step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. From "Getting Started," with "Short Assignments," through "Shitty First Drafts," "Character," "Plot," "Dialogue." all the way from "False Starts" to "How Do You Know When You're Done?" Lamott encourages, instructs, and inspires. She discusses "Writers Block," "Writing Groups," and "Publication." Bracingly honest, she is also one of the funniest people alive.

If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a writer, what it means to be a writer, what the contents of your school lunches said about what your parents were really like, this book is for you. From faith, love, and grace to pain, jealousy, and fear, Lamott insists that you keep your eyes open, and then shows you how to survive. And always, from the life of the artist she turns to the art of life.

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.

El libro de los abrazos es una síntesis perfecta del imaginario más inspirado de su autor. Celebraciones, sucedidos, profecías, crónicas, sueños, memorias y desmemorias, deliciosos relatos breves en los que hasta las paredes hablan.

Un libro ilustrado por partida doble: a la mirada luminosa de Galeano se suman sus grabados.

“Lea una historia por día y será usted feliz la mitad del año. Lea una historia por día y estará usted triste la otra mitad. Cada página es tan hermosa como el libro.” (Koos Hageraats, HP/De Tijd, Holanda.)

En 1928 a Virginia Woolf le propusieron dar una serie de charlas sobre el tema de la mujer y la novela. Lejos de cualquier dogmatismo o presunción, planteó la cuestión desde un punto de vista realista, valiente y muy particular. Una pregunta: ¿qué necesitan las mujeres para escribir buenas novelas? Una sola respuesta: independencia económica y personal, es decir, Una habitación propia. Sólo hacía nueve años que se le había concedido el voto a la mujer y aún quedaba mucho camino por recorrer.

Son muchos los repliegues psicológicos y sociales implicados en este ensayo de tan inteligente exposición; fascinantes los matices históricos que hacen que el tema de la condición femenina y la enajenación de la mujer en la sociedad no haya perdido ni un ápice de actualidad.

Partiendo de un tratamiento directo y empleando un lenguaje afilado, irónico e incisivo, Virginia Woolf narra una parábola cautivadora para ilustrar sus opiniones. Un relato de lectura apasionante, la contribución de una exquisita narradora al siempre polémico asunto del feminismo desde una perspectiva inevitablemente literaria.

Louisa May Alcott's classic tale of four sisters.

Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. The four March sisters couldn't be more different. But with their father away at war, and their mother working to support the family, they have to rely on one another. Whether they're putting on a play, forming a secret society, or celebrating Christmas, there's one thing they can't help wondering: Will Father return home safely?

It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the freethinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with "woman’s work,” including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the "girl’s book” her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.