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Ed has an article about the difficulties collecting payment for freelance writing. In this case, it looks like it might work out well in the end. But the experience is still infuriating. The difficult economic times are putting a toll on everyone. But freelancers getting stiffed isn’t a recent phenomenon. Even during the good times, [...]

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I spent the last several days in a hole of depression caused by my failure to mount a successful write-in campaign for Barry Hannah to become president. But then I saw this news item that brightened my mood a bit. I love it when Hannah says he’s going to use the grant money “to live.”

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TJ Sullivan has a nice piece on rejection. “This is the writer’s life, and I’ve no intention of doing anything else but continuing to write books,” writes Sullivan. [via Literary Rejections on Display]

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I have to admit that I don’t read a great deal of horror, but to celebrate Halloween this year, I picked up Poe’s Children: The New Horror: An Anthology edited by Peter Straub. This collection has work by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Carroll, Stephen King, Elizabeth Hand, and others. So tonight, after an evening of tricking, [...]

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The signed copy of Daniel Maurer’s Brocabulary: The New Man-i-festo of Dude Talk is going to a creative reader in Illinois. Thanks for playing!

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Galley Cat is reporting that former Guns ‘n Roses drummer Steven Adler is sending out a proposal today for a memoir entitled My Appetite for Destruction. The book deals with his drug addictions and efforts to hold onto sobriety. Undoubtedly, it will also contain his perspective on the excesses of the Guns as well as [...]

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Sports fans have probably become accustomed to the term escapability over the years. Primarily used in reference to football quarterbacks who have the ability to scramble and avoid the rush, the word is freqeuently bandied about in pregame shows. For example, Mark Kelso, color commentator for Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts, told ESPN that “You can [...]

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The Chicago Tribune has a cute article as John Hodgman, author of More Information than You Require goes through his Wikipedia page and evaluates the accuracy of the details. The best part is when he talks about his past experiences as a literary agent.

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Yesterday, I had a free signed copy of Daniel Maurer’s Brocabulary: The New Man-i-festo of Dude Talk up for grabs to the first person who emailed me. A lucky reader in Minnesota claimed that prize. I’ve got another copy to give away today, but you’ll have to work a bit harder. Send me an email [...]

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I’ve got a couple of free, signed copies of Brocabulary: The New Man-i-festo of Dude Talk to give away. Today, we’ll start off easy. The first person to email me gets it. Send me an email and put Brocab as your subject line. Be sure to include your full name and mailing address. If you [...]

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Labelled a “manthropologist,” Daniel Maurer gets plenty of opportunities to observe his subjects in the field. He’s the editor of New York magazine’s food and nightlife blog, Grub Street and his writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, the New York Times, and Nerve.com. He’s covered swingers in Argentina, taxidermy-decorated bars in New York City, and hillbilly [...]

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If you’re in the Washington, DC area tomorrow, be sure to stop by Politics & Prose to see Matt Bondurant read from his new novel, The Wettest County in the World. The full details for the event are: Date: Saturday, October 25 Time: 1pm Location: Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20008 [...]

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The LA Times has a nice, fairly lengthy article about Annie Proulx. It seems the writer who has become so associated with Wyoming is planning on moving. It also seems that she lives in one helluva cool house. I also find it interesting how some writers prefer total isolation while others have to be surrounded [...]

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Normally, I’m not a fan of Michiko Kakutani’s reviews for the New York Times. But damn, her buzzsaw today through Diane Johnson’s Lulu in Marrakech is a riot. The bloodletting begins in the second paragraph when Kakutani introduces the book as a “ridiculous new novel.” The critic then goes on to examine the main character’s [...]

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