Showing all posts tagged: writers
That time Douglas Adams unofficially signed copies of his books in Sydney, Australia
22 July 2024
If you enjoyed the novels of late British author Douglas Adams, you may enjoy this in-depth article about his later life, by Jimmy Maher.
Adams, it seems, did not restrict his particular brand of humour to the written word. A regular customer at a coffee shop I used to go to, told me about an encounter (of a sort) with Adams, in Sydney, Australia, sometime in the late 1990’s. My friend at the coffee shop once worked at a large bookshop in Sydney’s CBD.
He told of the day that Adams — who was presumably in Australia promoting his latest work — arrived at the shop unannounced, and made his way to the sci-fi section. Apparently, his most recent book, plus a selection of others, were on display in a promotional cardboard gondola, similar to what you see on this webpage.
Adams, without saying a word to anyone, pulled a pen from his pocket, and proceeded to sign random copies of his books. Before turning to leave, he scrawled his name across the top of the gondola, and walked out of the shop, again, without saying a word to anyone.
My friend told me how a huddle of bewildered bookshop staff quickly gathered at the gondola, trying to make sense of what had just happened. “Was that him?” was a phrase uttered numerous times apparently. Signed copies of Adams’ novels must have been a windfall for those who bought them…
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authors, books, Douglas Adams, literature, novels, science fiction, writers
Screenwriters strike win seen as victory over generative AI
28 September 2023
The recent long running strike by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in the United States, has ended. But the settlement secured by the WGA not only means fairer pay and conditions for screenwriters, it is also seen as a victory over Generative AI technologies, which were being used as a form of leverage against the striking writers.
At a moment when the prospect of executives and managers using software automation to undermine work in professions everywhere loomed large, the strike became something of a proxy battle of humans vs. AI. It was a battle that most of the public was eager to see the writers win.
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artificial intelligence, current affairs, writers
Four hundred Australian authors back Voice to Parliament
23 August 2023
Four hundred Australian authors have thrown their support behind the campaign that seeks to amend the Australian constitution to include an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
Katherine Brabon, Shankari Chandran (winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin literary award), Mick Cummins, Sophie Cunningham, Peter FitzSimons, Robert Lukins, Andrew Pippos, Christos Tsiolkas, Pip Williams, Tim Winton, and Charlotte Wood, are among authors who have put their name to the Writers for the Voice website:
We, Writers for the Voice, accept the generous, modest invitation of First Nations Peoples in the Uluru Statement from the Heart to walk with them towards a better Australia.
We support their call for recognition via a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament because we believe passionately that this major reform, the product of broad grassroots consultation and supported by the great majority of First Nations Peoples, will lead to better outcomes for First Nations Peoples. It’s only fair.
What a simple, straightforward, to the point, statement. Contrast that with the scare campaign that some people who are opposed to the idea of the voice, are orchestrating.
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Australia, Indigenous culture, politics, writers
2023 Emmy Awards postponed until January 2024
28 July 2023
Organisers of the annual Emmy Awards have postponed the 2023 ceremony, originally scheduled for Monday 18 September, until January 2024, citing the on-going WGA and SAG-AFTRA screenwriters’ strikes, according to a Variety report:
Vendors for the 75th Primetime Emmys have been told that the ceremony will not air on September 18 — the first time that there has been official word that the date has been pushed, Variety has learned exclusively.
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The Literature Map, find an author’s literary neighbours
14 June 2023
The Literature Map charts the literary connection between writers. The closer writers are in literary style, the more likely a reader will have read the work of other authors in a writer’s “neighbourhood”. For instance, literary neighbours of Irish author Sally Rooney include Margaret Atwood, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elena Ferrante, and Dolly Alderton. These are all writers whose books I have read.
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books, literature, Sally Rooney, writers
Australian Writers’ Guild stands by Writers Guild of America
3 May 2023
The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) has issued a statement of support for the strike action presently being taken by Writers Guild of America (WGA) members. The AWG has asked its members to refrain from having any involvement with active projects within the WGA’s jurisdiction:
With strike action now in force, the AWG advises members not to work on active projects within the jurisdiction of the WGA, to pitch new projects designed for production within the jurisdiction of the WGA, or to cross picket lines, actual or virtual, for the duration of the strike.
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Do you share your birthday with a famous author?
30 April 2023
Australian writer and book reviewer Sheree Strange has put together a list of the birthdays of well-known authors. If you’re stuck for a birthday gift idea for a friend or relative, maybe you could get them a book written by the writer who they share their birthday with.
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Salman Rushdie struggles to write in aftermath of attack
8 February 2023
American based Indian author Salman Rushdie says he is struggling to write again, following a violent attack in August 2022, in a New Yorker article by David Remnick:
At this meeting and in subsequent conversations, I sensed conflicting instincts in Rushdie when he replied to questions about his health: there was the instinct to move on — to talk about literary matters, his book, anything but the decades-long fatwa and now the attack — and the instinct to be absolutely frank. “There is such a thing as P.T.S.D., you know,” he said after a while. “I’ve found it very, very difficult to write. I sit down to write, and nothing happens. I write, but it’s a combination of blankness and junk, stuff that I write and that I delete the next day. I’m not out of that forest yet, really.”
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authors, Salman Rushdie, writers
Authors are the most likely people to feature on banknotes
22 April 2022
It seems ironic that while they may not earn a great deal of money, authors are the most likely people to feature on banknotes, ahead of even political leaders.
Some notable figures in this category include Colombia’s first Nobel Prize of Literature winner Gabriel García Márquez, the pioneer of Japanese modern literature Ichiyo Higuchi and Turkish writer Fatma Aliye Topuz, who is known as the first female author in the Islamic world. Writers can give voice to a place, time, and culture in a way that can resonate and instill a sense of shared identity among citizens, perhaps making them such a popular choice to feature on banknotes.
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