In Conversation: Lorna Fergusson
“Editing is about viewing your work in a different way, with a kind of distance and as dispassionate an eye as possible. Revision makes you realise how often you repeat yourself, how you have favourite items of vocabulary which you return to over and over again.” Lorna Fergusson: novelist, award-winning short story writer, editor, speaker and writing coach.
In Conversation: Anne Wheaton
Anne Wheaton is a champion of kindness. She cares passionately about rescuing pets and helping fellow humans. After 17 years as a hairdresser, she decided to focus all her time on her true passions. The Woolf’s Susan Platt crossed the digital divide to talk to the author and rescue animal advocate about books, pigs, pugs, cats, dogs and Comic Con.
In the Right Place: Meet November’s WriteCon Tutors
On Saturday 10 November, two exceptional women visit Zürich to lead workshops at WriteCon 2018. Say hello to Alison Baverstock and Louise O’Neill and learn how they found where they belong.
What if your book is the child of two genres?
“What happens when a book is the child of two different genres? Three? How do the authors of this cross-genre fiction get their books into our hot little hands when shelf placement becomes anything but straightforward?” Jim Rushing asks a selection of writers.
In Conversation: Crazy Maple Studio
“We often get emails from people who tell us that they really do not enjoy reading, but playing the game made them want to read the actual book. So, the app helps people discover or rediscover their love of the written word.” Susan Platt met the San Francisco-based Crazy Maple team to talk about how a raw story is turned into an interactive experience.
Writers Resist: Because we need to
“That night […] as some of ‘our’ refugees were coming to the Austrian border, we heard that Germany was closing the border to Austria. This was the beginning of the end of Schengen, Europe and everything we had hoped for as young students studying European law. What have we achieved since that night? What has split the world into two camps of supporters and opponents? What triggered all that hate? And why did I close my heart again after it had been ripped open so badly?” —Angie Weinberger
Happy Birthday, Helvetica!
“Miedinger got to work. Following his brief, he designed a sans serif font entitled ‘Neue Haas Grotesk’. It worked. Understated, functional, compact and neutral, it was the essence of Swiss modernity.” Sixty years on, J.J. Marsh celebrates Helvetica font.
Small Presses Making Waves
“I can’t imagine creating any other way. More eyes and hearts in what we’re making are always better.” We talk to Sean Platt, Sam Jordison, Joanna Penn and Nichola Smalley, who are making waves in different ways, with their imprints.
Explorations in a parallel cultural universe
In Explorations in a Parallel Cultural Universe, Berlin-based Chris Corbett digs down into the after-dark, dying art of book touring to promote his first novel.
SWAGLit
Jo Furniss, member of our writerly pack, is leaving prints of her own all over Singapore, as she co-founds SWAGLit, Singapore’s newest litmag for writers.
Author Day: The Numbers
The Woolf‘s very own Jill J. Marsh unearths treasure chests of writerly goings-on at FutureBook’s very recent Author Day in London.
Why authors collaborate with book publicists
Independent book publicist Helen Lewis talks about PR and marketing, and gives authors her top tips for working with a publicist.
In Conversation: Andrew Crofts
“Is this person interesting enough for me to want to spend several months inside their head?” Andrew Crofts talks about Ghostwriting, and the strange symbiosis of writing someone else’s story.
Creativity in Tandem: How I Became a Co-author
Creativity in Tandem: Pete Morin and Susanne O’Leary are co-authors who’ve never met.
In Conversation: Philippe Perreaux
Switzerland’s Creative Commons representative, Phillippe Perreaux, on piracy and obscurity, copyright and the public domain.
Plunder: Remix or Robbery?
JJ Marsh gives an overview of those grey areas between borrowing and theft (and some words of wisdom for writers).
In Conversation: Sarah Wilson
“…Some of the big bombastic milestones were achieved during a time in which I felt very much out of alignment and so I almost dismiss them. When I do something and I feel in alignment, then I feel I’ve succeeded.” Bestselling Australian author, journalist, TV presenter, blogger and media consultant Sarah Wilson talks to The Woolf about the online gift economy, independent and partner publishing, and her writerly habits.
15 Years of The English Bookshop
The Woolf talks to The English Bookshop’s manager Sabine Haarmann and Nick Schorp about the history of this Zürich institution, how it has weathered the storms of publishing, and what’s on the horizon.
In Conversation: Chantal Panozzo
“Identity crisis. Check! Laundry lessons in two languages, neither of which I understood. Check! Phone phobia. Check!” Chantal Panozzo on being an American in Switzerland and her new book, Swiss Life.
The Next Big Thing? Germany
In 2009-2010, Germany’s sales of ebooks were around 1.5 million, representing 0.8% of the German book market. Around two years behind the trends in the US, the market began to expand, at first slowly, then it mushroomed. Industry experts predict that for the year 2014-2015, ebook sales will reach over 60 and will account for 25% of all book sales in Germany. The Woolf talks to editor Susanne Weigand and independent author, blogger and journalist Matthias Matting.
Writing 4 Young People
What happens when 35 writers for young people, a children’s agent, and an editor gather in the centre of Zurich? You get a room that’s buzzing with hope, aspiration and imagination. HS Norup and Sherida Deeprose give a round-up from February’s workshop. On Saturday 25 January, Nuance Words presented Writing 4 Young People, a workshop featuring literary agent Julia Churchill (A. M. Heath) and editor Sara O’Connor (Hot Key Books)....
In Conversation: Eric Huang
“Just because the technology allows for a function doesn’t mean you should add it to your app.” Eric Huang, Development Director at Made In Me, talks to The Woolf about interactive narratives, gamification and collaboration.
In Conversation: Bernie Slater
“I don’t think of there being a line between the art and activism, more of an overlap.” Bernie Slater, visual artist, talks to The Woolf about the power of multiples, and the notion of printmaking as a democratic and accessible medium with the power to engender social change.
Engaging with Story
Jill Marsh, Nicola Hodges “The basic substance of imaginative literature … is not reason but emotion, which is expressed not by the denotations of words, nor the grammar of the sentences but in connotations and colorations of the words as employed by the author’s style … it exists not as words written in books but as images with feelings attached.” —Jane Smiley, 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel The reader/writer...
In Conversation: Julia Churchill
Julia joined A.M.Heath in 2013 as Children’s Agent, after four years building up the UK side of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, and six years at the Darley Anderson Agency where she started the children’s book side of the list. She is always on the treasure hunt for new writing talent and considers the slushpile to be the greatest place on earth.
A sense of place: Charlotte Otter’s lens
“The elements of location have to be sprinkled through the story with a light hand, serving to shine a light on the narrative and not distracting from it. Huge chunks of location, just like huge chunks of ill-disguised research, serve to pull the reader out of the story and that’s the last thing a writer wants.” The Woolf talks to novelist Charlotte Otter.
Making Tracks
Goings-on in Zürich and beyond Writing for Young People – Zürich Workshop – BOOK NOW! With literary agent Julia Churchill (AM Heath) and Sarah O’Connor (Hot Key Books) Sat Jan 25, Volkshaus Zürich, 09.00-17.00 Earlybird Rate: 150 Fr. (until 1 October) Regular price: 200 Fr. Bookclub at the Bookshop The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman Thurs 14 Nov, 20.15, The English Bookshop Free entry Kaufleuten Events:...
In Conversation: Orna Ross
“I’d been a writer for 22 years when I self-published my first ebook and, from the off, I just loved it. Not just because the books sold more than they had before but mainly for the way it restored to me something I’d lost by working within corporate structures.” The Woolf talks to Orna Ross, writer, poet, and founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
Meet the Editors
“I often find myself making suggestions on word-choice and smoothing sentences off a little, but large scale structure, characterization and narrative arc are not my areas. I’m the guy who polishes what Stephen King would call your little red wagon before you drive it home.” The Woolf talks to the pros of prose: editors.
Switzerland, ISBNs and Authors
“An ISBN identifies your book, like a fingerprint. If you’re based in Switzerland, you need to apply for Swiss ISBNs.” Jill J. Marsh (Switzerland’s representative for the Alliance of Independent Authors) gives a round-up of the advice she gave at the Independent Publishing Event in Zürich.
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