I'm going to apologise in advance because this will be short, and much of it is based on this post from Pete Hautman, which is an incredibly interesting account of another author being 'uninvited' from a teen literary festival, and how Pete Hautman himself withdrew in solidarity. It isn't just the post that's interesting but the comment thread (I love it when a comment thread is smart and fascinating instead of just abusive).
The reason this is rushed and half-stolen (bear with me while I explain my tortuous train of thought) is because I've just arrived at the Edinburgh Book Festival, which is just as fabulous as always. Anyway, my new book FIREBRAND was published just in time to be on the shelves, and will be launched here at an event on the 27th, so I took the chance to vandalise some copies with a signature or ten. As I was doing this, along came a curious 9-year-old, who wanted to know if she could read the book. And since I won't let my own 9-year-olds read it, I said I didn't think that was a good idea. (Which wasn't that virtuous, actually. I sold one to her older brother and said she could read his copy in a few years.) But the point is that my (many would say underdeveloped) sense of responsibility did actually overcome my commercial instincts. I think all YA/teen authors would say the same. Wouldn't we?
This brings me back to Pete Hautman's post. I was uninvited once. I'd been asked to speak to primary pupils - just about the business of writing, and what was involved in doing it for a living, and how I went about it. I'd already explained that my work wasn't suitable for younger children, and they'd understood that, and agreed I'd simply talk about being a writer, and the invitation stood. But then they panicked. What would the parents say if they googled me? So the invitation was withdrawn at the last minute.
I'm still not sure how I feel about that, and I'd love to know what anyone else's perspective would be. I sympathise with the nervousness about a pack of angry parents; but I can't help feeling they were confusing me and the writing profession with my characters and storylines. Are we simply not trusted if we address certain issues in our work? Should organisers capitulate to a vocal minority (or even the prospect of them?)
Answers on a postcard, or possibly the comment box. And now I had better get this posted...
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Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: OUPblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: “poor”, Politics, Al Gore, American History, A-Featured, Obama, thomas, populist, firebrand, John Kerry, harvey, elvin, Elvin Lim, "John Adams", harvey kaye, paine, kaye, agrarian, Add a tag
Welcome back to the Politics & Paine series. Harvey Kaye and Elvin Lim are corresponding about Thomas Paine, American politics, and beyond. Read the first post here, and the second post here.
Kaye is the author of the award-winning book, Thomas Paine: Firebrand of Revolution, as well as Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. He is the Ben & Joyce Rosenberg Professor of Social Change & Development and Director, Center for History and Social Change at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. Lim is author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, and a regular contributor to OUPBlog.
Hi Harvey,
There is little in your reply I would object to. Indeed I would add to your argument that Paine was no anarchist by pointing to his ideas in Agrarian Justice, where he proposed an estate tax, universal old-age pensions and made the very modern argument that the concepts of “rich” and “poor” were man-made distinctions to which man and government can undo.
It is indeed telling that modern conservatives want to trace their genealogy to both John Adams and Thomas Paine, who held rather opposite views especially regarding their faith in democracy. Perhaps this contradiction could be somewhat (though not entirely) reconciled if we think of conservatives as inheritors of Paine’s style and parts of Adams’ philosophy.
Modern liberals – John Kerry and Al Gore the most prominent among them – have indeed been rather slow to invoke democracy for their causes. Even Barack Obama, the Great Democratic Communicator has faltered. I wonder if there might be a structural cause associated with the degree of fit between a populist stance and an anti-government philosophy, namely, that it is easier to be populist and anti-government than populist and pro-government in America.
Best,
Elvin
Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: historical fiction, Tudors, Firebrand, Bernard Cornwell, Uhtred Ragnarsson, Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel, Add a tag
However, although I’m ill-prepared, my bad timing did at least let me hear Hilary Mantel talking on Radio 4 this morning about Wolf Hall, the Man Booker favourite. So she’s saying (and I paraphrase, so I apologise an advance if I get this wrong) that she doesn’t write historical fiction, but contemporary fiction set in the past, and with a contemporary sensibility.
This made me wonder about a few things.
Is Hilary Mantel apologising for writing historical fiction, and if so, why? This year’s shortlist is
We can do exactly the same in contemporary fiction, though, so I’m not clear where the difference lies. (I’m not being sarcastic. I would genuinely like to know where critics of historical fiction are coming from, because I’m interested.) For every Hollywood movie that explores the United States’ famous discovery of the Enigma machine, there’s a book that gets it right. Surely the only thing to do is roll one’s eyes and move on, rather than disparage an entire genre?
I was also curious about Hilary Mantel’s remark that she was writing contemporary fiction in a historical setting. Now, in ‘real life’ (see those inverted commas?) I’m very wary of imposing modern mores on our ancestors. The past is another country where they do things differently, and all that.
But does it have to be that way in fiction? It drives me nuts when I find characters in historical novels who talk like the Guardian’s comment pages. But then I’ll discover someone like Uhtred Ragnarsson, in Bernard Cornwell’s Alfred series, who has some fairly modern attitudes to women despite being a violent creature of his times. And that doesn’t annoy me, it intrigues me and makes me like him.
I’ve chickened out of this dilemma in my fantasy historical ‘Firebrand’ (Strident 2010, plug plug). I haven’t chickened out deliberately; it’s just the convenient way the story worked out. My hero can look back on his life from centuries ahead, and I know (mostly) when he’s being an unreliable narrator because of the change in his perspective – which is not the same as historical inaccuracy. But how would he have been if I’d let him live a normal human lifespan, and see his adventures solely from the perspective of his own times? Frankly I don’t know. I didn’t write that character.
I’m not making any assertions here. I really am curious, and I’d love to know how writers of children’s ‘straight’ historical fiction do it. And I apologise, again, in advance, if I’ve misrepresented what Hilary Mantel said this morning.
Anyway, back to that photo at the top. I need to go shopping. The kids were so caught up in Strictly Come Dancing on Friday night, we forgot to watch the last episode of The Tudors. So I owe my husband a DVD set. Because that’s one series that’s notoriously flexible with the facts.
Blog: pambachorz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Astounding exciting gratifying news. My lovely and amazing agent, Elana Roth at Firebrand Literary, has sold CANDOR to Regina Griffin at Egmont USA. It's a two-book deal and CANDOR will hopefully be on the debut Fall 2009 list.
CANDOR, a dystopian YA, will be my first pubbed novel. It is the third novel I wrote (and the other two shall stay forever dustbinned).
For those who like the gory details on the sale:
It all started with bad luck. I grabbed my toothbrush late one Thursday night--but it fell, and landed on my hand mirror. The glass shattered. Curse you, heavy Sonicare. I looked at the clock.
12:05 AM. It was officially Friday the 13th.
To satisfy both my Irish and Gypsy ancestors, I immediately walked counter-clockwise three times. Just for safety's sake, I threw in a tribute to my husband's grandmother Bea and muttered "poo poo poo bad luck" the whole time (her answer to any bad luck or bad thought). I know it sounds crazy. But a girl has to cover her bases. And give me some credit for not dashing downstairs to get salt.
Still, I was nervous. "That's it," I told my husband. "Seven years of bad luck. Or maybe more, since it's Friday the 13th."
That afternoon, Elana called. Egmont loves the book, she said. They want to publish it. She didn't have any other details--they would need a few more days to negotiate--but she wanted me to know. "You're going to be a published author," she said.
I spent the next week in frothy, delirious denial. Was it real? Had CANDOR really found a home? Today I got the go-ahead from Elana: I can tell the world.
So, world, here it is: CANDOR is on its way to being flesh and bone (or, paper and binding)! The next step will be receiving edits from Regina, and then I'll be aiming to get the final edited manuscript to her by September. Summer promises to be busy.
Maybe Friday the 13th is now my lucky day. My sister says it figures. I never do things the normal way.
At the risk of sounding all Sally Fields, I want to thank everyone who ever encouraged me, or read some/all of CANDOR. My journey to this point proves that critique groups, SCBWI conferences, family support, and good writing friends make a huge, huge difference. As does a fabulous agent! I wouldn't have gotten to this point without all of them.
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Coordinates: 15 47 S 47 55 W
Population: 3,341,00 (2006 est.)
It will be another 27 months until this modern metropolis can truly celebrate its golden anniversary, but 2007 did give the Brazilian capital two reasons to celebrate nonetheless. First, the famed construction of Lúcia Côsta’s Plano Piloto began here on the plateaus of Goiás state fifty years ago, although work on the airport and the presidential palace had already started in 1956. (more…)
Well I will pounce right in and comment here because long ago, in another lifetime, I was briefly a librarian at a primary school. One of the new books on the shelves, chosen by the previous librarian, was "The Dolphin Crossing" (Jill Paton-Walsh). It has a death in it - and, back then, that death was considered confronting and unacceptable. I was told (not asked) by a parent to withdraw the book from the library. She was backed by several other parents. I refused. The matter went to the School Council and the minority view of these parents prevailed although I argued for a 'parental permission to read' status for the book.
I was only there in a very temporary capacity and left before the issue was fully resolved but I often wonder what I would eventually have done. Of course since then there have been books written about even more confronting issues!
Seems a shame to me, I think the kids could have received an invaluable experience speaking to a novelist about the art of writing. The classroom tends to teach children more about elements of style for narrative and what is considered wrong. From a novelist they could learn to write freely and understand that a lot of producing a novel happens in the editing stage. As a teacher, I love to see kids exposed to different sources of knowledge, and I think this would have been great for them.
I can see this from both sides - I don't think it was an issue of trust regarding you, I think it was probably a case of the school knowing what some of its parents are like. In this instant I think the benefits of having you there were unquantifiable. They couldn't really measure the positive influence your visit could have made BUT they could well know from experience the negative influence of a few stupid, ill informed parents. Sorry if I sound biased been there, done that.
The terrible thing the school failed to do was to research you and assess the situation properly in the first place - they should never have booked you if they were nervous of their parents. I hope they paid up and grovelled.
The Firebrand issue is another thing entirely. I think you've done mightily good work here: The brother will know he holds something precious and mature and intended for him, the sister will long to be old enough to read it - and both of them will remember the author as some one who treated them with respect. Top marks all round.
Yep, no doubt about it, the kids were the losers in that particular deal. It's this implicit assumption that you are only what you write that's so insulting.
It's quite a common mistake to assume authors are like their characters/work. Some are, but to me one of the best things about being an author is being able to "role play" as somebody completely different. After my last novel, I expect some people think I have four hooves and a tail and a massive willy... oops, better not invite me to a primary school!
And now I'm REALLY looking forward to reading Firebrand... there was a problem with supply when I ordered it, but apparently it is now on its way to me... yipee!
Congratulations on Firebrand, Gillian!
I am going to post a little event announcement about Sassies at Edinburgh. Where and when exactly is your event?
Thanks for the comments everybody! Cat, your story is awful - must have been horrible.
Oh gosh Katherine, hope you enjoy the book! And thanks, Michelle! - my event's on the 27th but it's a schools programme one - I missed your post but I'll put a comment up. xx
Bleh, how do I always manage to hit the button twice...
Oh, I didn't miss your post, you mentioned my event! Thanks Michelle. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone who'll be there.
I think Kathryn makes a good point when she talks about the unquantifiable benefits versus the specific chances of a few misguided parents complaining. So, yes, a HUGE shame, and in most important ways wrong, but in practical risk-assessed (YUCK!) terms, a decision I understand, though dislike. I like to think I would have made the opposite decision and given a hard-hitting message about the importance of teenagers being able to explore dangerous ideas in the safe setting of a book, though...
Gillian - I think you should give yourself a big pat on the back for your advice to the 9-year-old to wait a while before reading Firebrand, if you felt it wasn't right for him. I have read it and think it's a brilliant book, and I don't think there's really anything in it to worry about for young readers - I think they'll stop if they feel uncomfortable - but I think he will enjoy it MORE later. And an average 9-year-old is very different from an average 12/13 year-old.
Pat on back!