We're a brain trust of independent editors bringing decades of cumulative in-house experience to the rapidly shifting landscape of publishing. 5E provides a source for informed discussion while helping authors, agents and publishers create their best work; each member operates independently, but we meet, network, and offer speaking engagements as a group. Please contact us via either our 5eeditors.com website, individual websites or a private FB message with brief, specific details regarding your project.
If you're a mystery writer, check this out. I really like Soho Press, they publish some terrific writers including Colin Cotterill, Cara Black, and Kwei Quartey. (Judy)
To celebrate Peter Lovesey's incredible career and its unusual beginnings, Soho Crime is proud to present the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest, in which one debut crime author will be awarded a publication contract with Soho Crime.
Now is the time to apply for next year's NYC Emerging Writers Fellowship at the Center for Fiction! The deadline is Jan 31, 2020. Click below for details. Applicants need to live in the five boroughs. It's a fantastic program. (Judy)
The Center for Fiction NYC Emerging Writer Fellowship offers grants, editorial mentorship, and other opportunities to early-career New York City-based practitioners who are at a critical moment in their development as fiction writers
Groups like this can be a big help to writers looking for constructive feedback. And they don't have to be geared to any one genre or type of writing, in any particular location. It's all about a comfort level for a critique from peers (Pat).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/books/writers-groups.html?searchResultPosition=1
Long after their days in workshops and graduate seminars have ended, some authors still find support and inspiration in writing groups.
A lively and highly informative new blog post by Leslie Wells about the perils of accepting editorial feedback from your nearest and dearest (Pat).
https://5eeditors.com/5e-blog/2019/12/16/rely-on-friends-and-familybut-not-for-manuscript-critique
It can be so rewarding to hand over your manuscript to a close friend or family member, and later to get their positive responses. However, if you are looking for an honest, unbiased critique, these close relations may not be the best source of help for improving your work.
This woman has so much intellect but also such profound sympathy. (Pat). https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2018/tokarczuk/104871-lecture-english/
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2018 was awarded to Olga Tokarczuk "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".
The newest edition of The Washington Post's Ron Charles' newsletter (scroll down) includes some suggestions for Giving Tuesday donations to literary-related nonprofits. And of course, support your local library! We need libraries more than ever.
Happy holidays to all friends of 5E! We look forward to lots of great reading in the year ahead. Yes, there's that thing called The Election: what better time to get lost in the pages of a good book, while also doing our civic duty? (Pat).
https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?e=cm9uLmNoYXJsZXNAd2FzaHBvc3QuY29t&s=5de12ef0fe1ff62e5b01ee40&linknum=4&linktot=76
Check out this roundup by Diane Patrick, a friend of 5E; it features the delightful Diane Richards and the Harlem Writers Guild, along with some other notable African American lit orgs. (Judy)
From student workshops and academic conferences to literary awards and book clubs, African American literary organizations work to support writers and readers.
Hooray for audiobooks. Perfect for long walks, car trips, household chores...And yes, casting really matters. (Judy)
Contemporary recordings breathe new life into such books as “To the Lighthouse,” “Jane Eyre” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Soon we'll be flooded by year-end "best of" lists. This one is generous in scope and seems right on the mark to me with most of the selections (Pat).
https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2019/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=entertainment_books&linkId=77059183
Introducing this year’s best fiction, nonfiction and poetry
Happy NaNoWriMo! (Judy & the rest of 5E)
Embrace your messy first draft and commit to NaNoWriMo’s boot-camp vibe.
Judy posted an Olive story a while back and now I can't resist a follow-up, this lovely piece about the return of our favorite anti-heroine. I love the part at the end about the women who gather to discuss their "Olive moments" that week. What a renewed life for a fictional character! (Pat).
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/19/elizabeth-trout-interview-emma-brockes?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3cSTFcDJNPvGa_qEBeHtXYx51-ubgeRpDIX_vcDzVWjayqgbl-ZMGR3l8
Olive Kitteridge sold a million copies and won a Pulitzer. Can a follow-up recapture its magic? Elizabeth Strout talks about surprise success in her sixth decade
Recently I wrote a blog post about how much I enjoy working with young writers. See www./5eeditors.com/5e-blog/2019/9/17/mulcahy-the-thrill-of-the-new.
Now I have to update it! Another one of the Fellows I worked with at the Center for Fiction just sold her book this week! It's a really engrossing and elegantly composed literary treasure hunt.
Fiction: Debut
Center For Fiction Emerging Writers Fellow and former fiction editor of Ecotone Nicola DeRobertis-Theye's THE VIETRI PROJECT, about a young bookseller who travels to Rome in the hopes of tracking down a customer who has placed mysterious orders over the years, only to find that she must face the complicated history of her family, and of Italy itself, pitched in the vein of Rachel Cusk and Sally Rooney, to Mary Gaule at Harper, at auction, for publication in 2021, by Julie Barer at The Book Group (NA).
There is nothing as beguiling as the discovery of a new voice on the page: it has the sparkle of new friendship, or even romance. Here is a story you didn’t know you needed to read, one that makes your world suddenly larger, your perspective a little sharper. In a word, you are smitten.
I just read Olga T's newest release, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to get a taste of her audacious and thought-provoking work. This one is a murder mystery of sorts with a cranky, often hilarious old-woman narrator who lives on the edge of a forest. It has the quality of a fairy tale. Now onto Flights, an earlier book (Pat).
P.S. I know Handke has very difficult political affiliations--to put it mildly--but I read A Sorrow Beyond Dreams years ago and found it very, very moving and powerful. Sigh. Another one of those conversations about problematic people with great talent....
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49976107
Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and Austria's Peter Handke win the prize, which had a year off in 2018.
I have yet to read this writer's work, but a novelist/teacher friend I respect greatly raves about Levy's book about writing, for one thing. I find Parul Sehgal to be the most astute and articulate critic on the Times staff; so this is next on my list (posted by Pat).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/books/review-man-who-saw-everything-deborah-levy.html
“The Man Who Saw Everything,” which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, looks at masculinity through the perspective of a young historian who sneers at “authoritarian old men.”
Happy News! Ricco Villanueva Siasoco's story collection, THE FOLEY ARTIST, is out this week. I was an early reader for Ricco when he was a Center for Fiction Fellow. He's terrific. If you live in NYC, maybe you'll want to attend his Manhattan book launch on Oct 4, when he'll be joined by Jessica Hagedorn and other writers. (Posted by Judy)
Join Kundiman, AAWW, and Gaudy Boy in celebrating Ricco Villanueva Siasoco ’s book launch for The Foley Artist! Readings from Ricco Villanueva Siasoco , Joseph O. Legaspi , Sarah Gambito , and Jessica Hagedorn , will be accompanied with music by Gary Gibison .
I am always looking for new voices with which to engage, for my own enjoyment/edification. Keeps the professional viewpoint sharper, as well (Pat).
https://lithub.com/the-10-best-debut-novels-of-the-decade.
Friends, it’s true: the end of the decade approaches. It’s been a difficult, anxiety-provoking, morally compromised decade, but at least it’s been populated by some fine literatur…
Interesting? Disturbing? Valid mostly for genre fiction? Discuss....(Posted by Pat).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamrowe1/2019/09/30/fiction-ghostwriting-is-bigger-than-ever/#7b3cf7914d38
The new clients are often individuals with a dream for publishing a novel – and possibly launching a multimedia franchise along with it.
What an engaging profile of Ann Patchett, her dog, her bookstore, home life, new novel...it pulls back the curtain on accomplished writers who are lucky to have peers to read their work-in-progress and offer wisdom. (Judy)
“The Dutch House,” a novel whose creation she compared to burning a cake, is coming out soon. Let’s change the subject.
Just posted: my new blog entry about the joys and satisfactions of working on first fiction! Nothing is more fun and rewarding for an editor or publisher than launching a new voice into the world....
www.5eeditors.com/5e-blog/2019/9/17/mulcahy-the-thrill-of-the-new
There is nothing as beguiling as the discovery of a new voice on the page: it has the sparkle of new friendship, or even romance. Here is a story you didn’t know you needed to read, one that makes your world suddenly larger, your perspective a little sharper. In a word, you are smitten.
I found this piece fascinating, Here is a very wealthy woman promoting books and authors in her own way. It's easy to crack wise about her $35 million dollar (yes, you read that right) apartment; but the authors quoted here seem truly grateful for her efforts. "She moves books," says an industry publicist. Amen to that! (posted by Pat).
https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/zibby-owens-moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books-profile.html#_ga=2.190106984.2120239838.1568576243-145103688.1443190315
Zibby Owens’s podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books, “moves product” like nothing else.
A special Fellowship opportunity, and a beautiful profile of Adina Talve-Goodman (posted by Judy)
Together with the Talve-Goodman Family, One Story is happy to open submissions for the Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship. This educational fellowship offers a year-long mentorship on the craft of fiction writing with One Story magazine. Our hope is to give a writer outside of the fold a significant boo...
Thanks to Molly Moylan Brown for reminding me about this terrific New Yorker piece. (Judy)
Donald Antrim, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, Rivka Galchen, and Tessa Hadley on writing likeable characters.
A fall survey full of goodies: a new Olive Kittredge for one! (Pat).
https://ew.com/books/2019/08/26/fall-books-preview-40-biggest-titles/
The New Year gets all the credit in the self-improvement space, with its resolutions and dry Januaries and general air…
John Couch's blog is filled with ideas for creative people. I'm working with him on an inventive, futuristic novel, but meanwhile, in January, he's publishing THE ART OF CREATIVE REBELLION: A Survival Guide for the Creative Rebel, a beautifully designed nonfiction guide that explores how to stay engaged and alive in the work place. https://www.john-couch.com/the-art-of-creative-rebellion (Posted by Judy)
The day ends with the TV and binge-watching before going to bed with a sense that another day has gone by. And what has been done? What has been accomplished?
Here's a NEW 5E BLOG POST on developing layered characters, in honor of my upcoming Active Storytelling workshop at the Center for Fiction, and my Slice Literary Conference breakaway session--both in Brooklyn. Thanks to Debra Ginsberg (prolific writer, editor and baker) for that stunning cake! (Posted by Judy)
https://bit.ly/30x7oao
Dear friends, I'll be back at the Center for Fiction at their beautiful new building in Brooklyn, to teach Active Storytelling on Thursday nights, starting on Sept 5. Please spread the word! (Judy)
What does a writer need to tell a compelling story? Imagination, empathy, and the courage to leap into the unknown. These same qualities are essential to the art of improvisation, and developing these active storytelling skills will strengthen your writing
Well hello there, Olive. Great to see you again! (Judy)
“Almost three years it had been since she had seen her son. This did not seem natural or right to Olive.”
So pleased to see two of the writers with whom I've worked at the Center for Fiction on the list here: the first two, Melissa Rivero and Lauren Wilkinson. Congrats to all the nominees!(Pat).
https://centerforfiction.org/grants-awards/the-first-novel-prize/2019-first-novel-prize-the-long-list/?mc_cid=8631dc2924&mc_eid=22e4ada121
I'm delighted by this piece. It has been a pleasure working with Gigi.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/80678-an-author-heads-to-the-stage.html
Posted by Jane
A writer and speaking coach turns her memoir into a performance.
Memoir writers! See below. Yes, it's a daunting list--but an invaluable resource. We'll all have favorite omissions. Where is Geoffrey Wolf's The Duke of Deception? Or Frank Conroy's Stop Time? What are yours? (Pat).
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/26/books/best-memoirs.html
The New York Times’s book critics select the most outstanding memoirs published since 1969.
There is nothing dramatically new in this piece, but it's yet another reminder of the bifurcation in the book marketplace: Amazon controls half of the it, and clever indies the rest. The success of book festivals also points to the desire for reader engagement and outreach with authors and ideas (Pat).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/business/independent-bookstores.html
Big chains once posed a threat, but independents are thriving by hosting events, adding nonbook merchandise and becoming community hubs.
As some of you know, I'm thrilled about Mamta Chaudhry and her debut novel, Haunting Paris (Nan Talese/Doubleday, agent Marly Rusoff). Her launch was at Books and Books in Miami and Edwidge Danticat and Debra Dean were there, in support--along with a full house. This clip gives you a sense of Mamta and her magic. I hope you'll take a look at this beautiful book. I worked with Mamta on early drafts and was captivated each time.-- Judy
Mamta Chaudhry, a Coral Gables resident, launched her first published novel “Haunting Paris” at Books and Books.
An insightful look at the study of writing today by the author of an essential text on the subject (Pat).
https://lithub.com/what-its-like-to-teach-writing-when-everyones-a-writer/
Writing Fiction came about by a fluke. In 1972, I left England and Sussex University, where I had been teaching such things as Chaucer, Romantic Poetry, and Tragedy, and came to Florida State, wher…
Anything by the great La Ferrante must be shared! (Pat).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/opinion/elena-ferrante-on-women-power.html
Power is a story told by women. For centuries, men have colonized storytelling. That era is over.
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