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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Pulitzer prize, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 14 of 14
1. How do you pronounce “Pulitzer?”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize, the annual prize in journalism and letters established by the estate of Joseph Pulitzer in 1916 and run by the Columbia School of Journalism (also established by Pulitzer’s estate). The first Pulitzer Prizes in reporting were given in 1917 to Herbert Bayard Swope of New York World for a series of articles titled “Inside the German Empire” and to the New York Tribune for its editorial on the first anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.

The post How do you pronounce “Pulitzer?” appeared first on OUPblog.

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2. What book did you start with in 2016?

Happy new year, rgz! Sending our love and wishes for many great books to fall into your hands.

I started 2016 off with:



How about you?

LorieAnncard2010small.jpg image by readergirlz

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3. All the Light We Cannot See Wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

pulitzerprizeThe 2015 Pulitzer Prize winners were revealed at a ceremony in New York today.

“All the Light We Cannot See” (Scribner) by Anthony Doerr has won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History” (Henry Holt) by Elizabeth Kolbert won the prize for General Nonfiction.

“Between Riverside and Crazy” by Stephen Adly Guirgis took the award for Drama. “Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People” (Hill and Wang) by Elizabeth A. Fenn won the Pulitzer for History.

“The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe” (Random House) by David I. Kertzer won the Biography award. “Digest” (Four Way Books) by Gregory Pardlo won the Poetry award.

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4. Christmas haul containing 4 classic novels

As I pack away my Christmas tree for another year, I took stock today of my Christmas haul of books. I’m planning on reading more classics in 2015 and was fortunate enough to receive a few beautiful clothbound editions for Christmas. I hope you too were lucky enough to receive a book or two at Christmas time, […]

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5. Alice Walker Publishes eBooks with Open Road Integrated Media

Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, has cut a deal with Open Road Integrated Media to publish eBook editions of some of her most beloved work. Today they released eBook editions of The Color Purple (1982), The Temple of My Familiar (1989) and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992).

In the video embedded above, Walker talks about her life’s work.  According to the Associated Press, eight more books (not-yet-named) will follow on November 22nd.

Here’s more from the article: “The e-books will include author interviews, photographs and personal documents…Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which originally published The Color Purple and the other works being issued electronically by Open Road, did not immediately return phone and email requests for comment Monday.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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6. HBO To Adapt Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer Egan‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad will be adapted into a TV series by HBO.

International Creative Management negotiated the deal. Michael London and Jocelyn Hays Simpson will act as co-executive producers.

Fans of A Visit from the Goon Squad can look forward to this adaptation and Egan’s current project. In a Bookmunch interview, Egan revealed: “I’m actually working on a new piece now that involves a character from Goon Squad.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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7. Congratulations, Zhou Long!



Please join us in congratulating composer Zhou Long, as he has been awarded with the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Madame White Snake. The opera (written by Cerise Lim Jacobs) premiered on February 26, 2010 at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theatre. Drawing on a Chinese folk tale, this opera blends musical traditions from the East and the West to tell the story of a powerful white snake demon who longs to become human so she can experience love – but she meets with deceit, doubt and distrust.

The Birth of Madame White Snake

Click here to view the embedded video.

(c) Boston Opera, BostonOperaChannel

Watch Madame White Snake “…the final step…”

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8. Friday Speak Out!: Earth Shaking News, Guest Post by Connie Hebert

Earth Shaking News


by Connie Hebert

Did you feel that?

I'm certain the Earth shook last April 12, 2010, when Mark Fiore received his Pulitzer Prize.

Who's Mark Fiore and what makes his award Earth shaking?

A political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Fiore received the prestigious award for his "self-syndicated, online" animated editorials.

Most of us have opinions, one way or another, about self-publishing/self-syndicating as well as online publications. Some excellent works have been introduced in this venue, but are writers (and readers) prejudiced against "vanity press," as they used to be called?

In awarding Fiore his prize, the Pulitzer Board clearly sanctioned online and independent publications. That's earth shaking. But is it a fluke?

I don't think so. Here's why.

One Spring day in the late 1980's, the Administration at the Veteran's Hospital in New Orleans made a fateful announcement: All future documentation will be done on computers.

Ironically, the announcement came via dinosaur--the paper printed office memo.

The hospital provided one computer per department. In Social Work, ours sat on a small desk about two feet away from the Chief. This is a fluke, I thought. Soon we'll be back to communicating on something we can hold in hand.

Eventually this did come true, but the hand-held device is called an iPod. Electronic mail (email) also made its advent on the techno-scene not long after. Another idea which will never stick, I thought.

Several months later, I was eating lunch with two young men in the hospital cafeteria. Before long our conversation turned to computers.

"I think they're here to stay," one said looking toward me with a "what-do-you-think-look" in his eyes. Believe it or not, the jury was still out regarding the clunky grey monsters.

I heard myself answer as though in a tunnel, "Oh, yeah. Definitely."

In that seminal moment, I realized I'd made a revolutionary shift which gave me pause. Wasn't it just a few months ago I swore on my backstage pass to the N.O. Jazz Fest that computers would "crash (pun intended) and burn?"

Last April Mark Fiore accepted his prize and a precedent was set. I, for one, am slow to bet against the staying power of this new trend. Let's not forget the humble hand-written letter (requiring a stamp), the roll-a-dex, and, yes, the antiquated paper memo.

What might the future hold? A Pulitzer for a self-published book? A Nobel Peace Prize for an online grassroots movement? Who knows? One thing we can always count on, though, the times, they are always a-changin.


* * *

Connie Hebert, MSW, is the owner and author of her "True Inklings" website. Retired from a successful career in psychotherapy, education, and seminar training on human behavior, she now writes full-time. Her current work in progress is a nonfiction novel with the working title of "Converting the Maiden; a Memoir of Surrender." She's also published short pieces in trade magazines and in "The Shine Journal," an online publication.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
W

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9. Junot Díaz First Latino Elected to Pulitzer Prize Board


Today is a day to celebrate for Latino Literature in the United States.  Latino voices in mainstream US publishing have largely been ignored for the past century.  Things are slowly changing, as we see today by the election of Dominican author and Pulitzer Prize winner, Junot Díaz to Columbia University's Pulitzer Prize Board.

Díaz is the first author of Dominican heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize for his first novel, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.

According to Prize officials, Junot Díaz will be the first Latino to serve on the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Co-chairman David Kennedy describes Diaz's prose as a mixture of Dominican Spanish and American English, and says the board is looking forward to bringing that voice to the Board's deliberations as well.  Kennedy adds:

"Someone who is sensitive to and immersed in parts of our culture that haven't received the appreciation … they probably deserve."

2 Comments on Junot Díaz First Latino Elected to Pulitzer Prize Board, last added: 5/22/2010
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10. Scarlet Whisper’s Publishing Predictions


Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of posts written about the future of publishing. This weekend I also watched The Planet of the Apes and howled at the trailer for the 1980 crap-tastique movie The Apple, a dystopian pastische about the year 1994 (Watch out, this one will burn your eyes out!)

I’m not sure if it was the post-apocalyptic cinema or the glue I was sniffing, but I had an epiphany, a profound vision. Move over Nostradamus, Scarlet Whisper has seven predictions about the death (and resurrection) of print:

1. In 2012 (of course), a Malaysian scientist discovers Bibi, an orangutan capable of writing paranormal romances and techno-thrillers.

2  In 2014, after the Rand Corporation analyzes Bibi’s manuscripts against the slush pile, major publishing houses around the world begin to outsource selected projects to primates.

3. When Oprah’s book club pick, A Million Opposable Thumbs, a poignant memoir written by a red leaf monkey, skyrockets to the top of the NYT bestseller list, publishers begin to bypass agents and work directly with zookeepers in filling their lists.

4. Even as primates take over the industry, Sony capitalizes on the continued rise of e-books. Their banana shaped e-reader dominates the market. Each device comes preloaded with Stephen King’s Cell and Bibi’s first book, A Confederacy of Buttons.

5. In 2016, rabid neo-Luddites hack into Sony’s system and dump a virus into the big banana’s server. The conspiracy backfires when the virus causes banana readers to fall into a catatonic stupor after visually scanning the title page of any e-book. Biblio-zombies outnumber the uninfected within six months.

6. A death blow to publishing is struck when writer Joan Didion’s suffers a fatal heart attack after her book is passed over for the Pulitzer.  Bibi’s latest opus steals literature’s top prize.  The orangutan’s novel is comprised of one single word typset in Comic Sans: Meep.

6. By the fall of 2017, a ragtag cadre of librarians moves underground and operates small lending institutions. A handful of self-published authors are the only remaining uninfected human writers. These scribblers hide in bunkers and  study the simian  books. They learn to write.

7. In 2020, Optimus Primate, a silver Gibbon from Brooklyn, deactivates the virus by hurtling his body into Sony’s supercharged mainframe.  After the brain numbing banana readers are neutralized, publishing rises from the ashes. Although Optimus Primate’s heroics proved fatal, he is immortalized in an award winning, 666,000 word novel. Written by Scarlet Whisper.

Hungry for More?

Try my moist and delicious Kona Inn Banana Bread.

1 cup sugar
1 stick real butter
3 bananas, ripe and mashed
2 well beaten eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream together butter and sugar, then add bananas and eggs. Stir in dry ingredients, but don’t overmix. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350° for 45 minutes.
Binge!
Posted in 2.0, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged: books, Future of Publishing, Kona Inn Banana Bread, Planet of the Apes, primates, publishing, Pulitzer Prize, The Apple 7 Comments on Scarlet Whisper’s Publishing Predictions, last added: 1/15/2010
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11. The Book Review Club - Summerland

This month for the Book Review Club, I curled up with Michael Chabon's, Summerland. I chose the piece because I'd never read anything by Chabon. Simple as that. I didn't know he'd won the Pulitzer Prize before choosing the book. I also (guilty cough) didn't know how good-looking he is. Wow. A good-looking man who can write? Compelling.

As is Summerland.

The story is about 12 year-old Ethan Feld, whose mother has died. His father, an engineer, wants to build dirigibles for a living, but as balloons that people can use individually. He moves Ethan and himself from Colorado to a small island, Clam Island, off of the coast of Washington to fulfill his dream.

His father also has another passion, baseball. Ethan doesn't share that passion, at least not at the beginning of the book. He's horrible at baseball, but plays for his father, winning himself the nickname Dog Boy because he stands at the plate waiting and trying to get a walk - like a dog - rather than trying to hit the ball.

Games on Clam Island take place on a narrow section of the island that, unlike the rest of it, is constantly sunny. Oddly sunny. Out of the ordinary sunny. Ethan soon learns why. The section of land is pleached - co-joined - with an alternate universe, The Summerlands.

The Summerlands is inhabited by ferishers - fairies - giants, sasquatsches, and the stuff of legends and old adventures. What's more, everybody in the Summerlands plays baseball. EVERYBODY. Much to Ethan's surprise, he's recruited by a strange old scout to play baseball for the Summerlands, and learns, when he journeys between his world and theirs, that it's for more than a world cup, it's for the world as we know it.

Wily old Coyote - the book is full of a rich mixture of various legends and folklore, this one being American Indian - is trying to bring about the end of the world. Ethan must somehow stop him. Coyote, however, gets a hold of Ethan's father and tricks Mr. Feld into reproducing the picofiber material that he created for his dirigibles for Coyote's end-of-the-world plans.

In the meantime, Ethan races across the Summerlands to stop Coyote. The trickster is planning on poisoning the Lodgepole, the tree, the brancehs of which both hold up and connect the Summerlands, the Middling (where we live) and the Winterlands (wher Coyote and his band of tricketers like to hang out), and the Gleaming (where spirits reside) - the alternate universes.

The tree is fed by a well, and Coyote wants to poison the well by using Mr. Feld's picofibers to transfer Nothingness down to the very roots of the tree. To get to the well, Ethan - like an hero - has to go through a series of adventures, most of them involving some form of baseball, which test his character and help him find his true strength and courage.

If it sounds rich and complex, it is. Chabon deftly uses 500 pages to introduce and bring to life this intricate and moving tale. While perhaps the greatest criticism I've both experienced and read about the piece is its slower pacing, the longer I've thought about it, the less inclined I am to mark it up as a fault of the book. Ethan's dad, Mr. Feld, says more than once that "a baseball game is nothing but a great slow contraption for getting you to pay attention to the cadence of a summer day." Chabon creates and weaves into the story steady, relaxed, even pacing, I think, to get the reader herself to slow down, to chew on the gristle of the story, and to perhaps, if one can slow down enough, relax into and get lost in the journey, rather than race pell-mell through its adventures and mishaps toward that all-encompassing climax. Of course, the book does have a climax - one that will you make smile and remember fondly your own hours spent in a game up pick up baseball - but I'd venture to say, after having traveled through Summerland at a leisurely pace, this read is a lot more about the journey being the goal, as much as the climax of the story.

So if you're up for a relaxed adventure rich with tongue and cheek as well as a smattering of the world's collection of mesmerizing folklore, that will leave you yearning for the Summerlands as much as Ethan, pick up Chabon's bases loaded, sunny day, just you and your bat against the tomfoolery of the world's oldest trickster Summerland.

Go on, pick it up....you know you want to.

For more awesome reviews, mosey on over to our fearless leader's blog, Barrie Summy, whose put up links to them all.

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12. A Reading List from Pulitzer Prize Winner Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoSome advice. Read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Ten years ago, Junot Díaz wrote a book of award-winning short stories called Drown, and then, after a long, tough time, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his very first novel. Until last week, I hadn't cracked Brief Wondrous Life--despite the fact I loved his first book of short stories.

Sitting on a tropical island last week, I couldn't stop reading this book. Read it now--it will leave you jumping up and down to finish your own work. He breaks every rule in the creative writing handbook, channeling comic books, history, Latino culture and science fiction through a first-person narrator struggling to write his own story.

Over at Omnivoracious, they have a summer reading list straight from Diaz himself, and a sneak peak at his new novel. Check it out:

"[L]uckily we have tens of thousands of cool writers to take the weight off. No matter who you're waiting for to publish I recommend a strong course of Samuel R. Delany (start with Dark Reflections and then graduate to his magnum opus Dhalgren) and my favorite crazy woman Natsuo Kirino (Grotesque)." 

 

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13. Got Poets?



NERUDA POETRY FESTIVAL

In Arizona or New Mexico
in a clear midnight

go out and see
if you can see

only one star…

Lalo Delgado, from Harmony in Diversity

The 9th Annual Neruda Poetry Festival opened on April 17 with the annual tribute to Abelardo Lalo Delgado - great poet, great man. The performers presented their own interpretations of Lalo's words, everything from a couple of his sweet children's cuentos to rousing renditions of Stupid America and the Chicano Manifesto. It was an inspiring way to kick-off this event that grows every year. Thanks to John Kuebler of El Centro Su Teatro for the following information about this weekend's events at the Festival.


Give thanks to the women, the mothers and sisters
who were there when everyone else forgot about you
Who bathed you in their baptismal waters
of sacred nurturing, hanging with the weight
you suckled raw, cracked and callused.

Sandra María Esteves, from Give Thanks


A giant of the Nuyorican literary scene and longtime associate of the famed Nuyorican Poets Café, Sandra María Esteves is also the author of six published collections of poetry, including her 1981 debut, Yerba Buena, which won the Library Journal’s Best Small Press publication that year. Sandra will be a featured guest artist and headline performer at this year's Festival.



…street-corner born,
forlorn fugitives
of the total jail.
Hail Pachuco!
raúlrsalinas from Homenaje al Pachuco (Mirrored Reflections)


The Austin press dubbed him the Chicano Allen Ginsberg, but he called himself a cockroach poet. After serving 13 years in some of the most notorious maximum security prisons in the country, raúlrsalinas turned his heart to activism and took up a new and powerful weapon: the pen. Join Su Teatro and help pay tribute to raúlrsalinas this Saturday night (8:05pm). You will also meet and hear Nuyorican luminary Sandra María Esteves, 2008 César Chávez Community Award winner Bobby LeFebre, and 2008 Barrio Slam champs.

Call (303) 296-0219 for tickets and information, and click here to see great video footage of Raúl reading his work.



Thu 4/17, 8:05pm: Tribute to Lalo Delgado
Fri 4/18 , 7pm: Barrio Slam ($500 first prize)
Sat 4/19, 4pm: Tacos and Words Literary Salon - featuring John-Michael Rivera, Sheryl Luna, Rachel Snyder, J. Michael Martínez, Gabe Gomez and Sandra María Esteves. Food and drink, too!
Sat 4/19, 8:05pm: Palabras Vivas featuring Sandra María Esteves and a special tribute to raúlrsalinas, with Yolanda Ortega, Valarie Castillo, Tony Garcia, Debra Gallegos, Bobby LeFebre, and Angel Mendez Soto.

All events at El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street,Denver.

PULITZER CHISME
Junot Díaz:

Fresh off winning the top novelist prize in America, Junot Díaz says the literary establishment “should be embarrassed” he’s only the second Latino writer to snatch it.

“Two Latinos in a hundred years? Mmmh. I don’t think the problem is with us as writers. It seems like the problem is with them as judges,” says the Dominican-born, N.J.-raised author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Read the rest of the story here.


Meanwhile, Oscar Hijuelos says:

“Don’t let that overwhelm you,” says Cuban-American novelist Oscar Hijuelos. “Remember the work and keep your feet on the ground.”

For 18 years, Hijuelos was the only Latino writer ever to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature, thanks to his saga of Cuban musicians making it in New York, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.

“It almost knocked me out,” he says of the moment when he heard the news of Díaz’s win last week for his book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Read more here.


BOOK & LOVERS' DAY

Tattered Cover Book Store April 23, 2008

Every year on April 23rd, Barcelona erupts in a celebration of chivalry and romance, Book & Lover's Day. It all began in the Middle Ages with an annual Festival of Roses to honor St. George, Patron Saint of Catalonia, who as a brave Roman soldier allegedly slew a dragon about to devour a beautiful young princess. According to legend, a rosebush sprouted from the blood of the dragon and the soldier plucked its most perfect blossoms to give to the princess as a remembrance. In 1923, the Rose Festival merged with International Book Day, established to celebrate the lives of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, both of whom died on April 23rd in 1616. Now, bookstalls and flower stands sprout up along the Rambla, a two-mile stretch connecting the city with the Mediterranean Sea. Thousands of Barcelonans crowd the streets to enjoy a festive atmosphere of readings, music, literature, and dance.

The Tattered Cover honors this springtime celebration of culture, beauty, literature, and love. On April 23, complimentary roses and commemorative bookmarks will be available with the purchase of any book; while supplies last.

Store locations, contact info, and more events, click here.

LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
The International Crime Writers Association recently listed several books as Crime Literature in Translation. Here are a few that might be of special interest to La Bloga readers (all translated from Spanish.)

The Island of Eternal Love, Daina Chaviano, translated by Andrea Labinger (Riverhead, 2008)

Nada, Carmen Laforet, translated by Edith Grossman (Random/Modern Library, 2007); originally published in Spain in 1945, this is a cult classic long regarded as a masterpiece. The publisher says: "Mario Vargas Llosa’s Introduction illuminates Laforet’s brilliant depiction of life during the early days of the Franco regime. With crystalline insight into the human condition, Carmen Laforet’s classic novel stands poised to reclaim its place as one of the great novels of twentieth-century Europe." Read more about this book here.

The Bible of Clay, Julia Navarro, translated by Andrew Hurley (Bantam, 2008)


Havana Gold, Leonardo Padura, translated by Peter Bush (Bitter Lemon, 2008)
From the publisher: "This is a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. For an author living in Cuba, Padura is remarkably outspoken about the failings of Castro’s regime. Yet this is a eulogy of Cuba, its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who elected to stay and fight for survival."

The Painter of Battles, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, translated by Margaret Sayers Paden (Random, 2008)


The Ravine, Nivaria Tejera, translated by Carol Maier (State University of New York, 2008). The publisher's blurb: "Set in the Canary Islands at the outset of the Spanish Civil War, The Ravine is the provocative, disturbing account of a child’s experience with war. Narrated by an unnamed seven-year-old girl, the story begins in the early days of the war when her father—a staunch supporter of the Republic—goes into hiding. As the girl and her family await news of his whereabouts, they learn he is taken prisoner, brought to trial, and eventually sentenced to forced labor in a concentration camp. Confused and bereft, they visit him in the camp, hoping he will be spared the firing squad and the subsequent burial in the ravine, a fate that befalls so many prisoners.

"Acclaimed since its original appearance in French in 1958, The Ravine has been published in several languages and remains the novel for which Nivaria Tejera is best known."

DINAH WAS


Regional Premiere
A Musical by Oliver Goldstick
Directed by Jeffrey Nickelson
Featuring Rene Marie

An announcement from the Shadow Theater Company: "Suppose you'd been adorned the title Queen of the Blues and you are set to headline at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, except it is 1959 and the hotel management has reserved a special trailer out back, as blacks are forbidden from staying in the hotel. Grab your belongings and head for the door, Dinah Washington is about to enter the building! Always a lady but most often a diva, Dinah Washington had a unique way of getting in and out of trouble! Join us in celebrating the matchless music of Dinah Washington whose What A Difference A Day Makes is sure to bring down the house."

Performance Dates: April 24, 25, 26 and 27th, May 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 , 18, 22, 23 and 24th
April 24th, 25th, 26th and May 17th are sold out.

Performance Times: Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday matinee at 3:00 pm

Location: 1468 Dayton Street, Aurora, CO 80010

Tickets: $25.00
To purchase tickets please call (866) 388-4TIX (4849) or order online
Box office hours: 8 am - 4 pm Mon-Sun

Later.

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14. Junot Diaz and the Pulitzer Prize: You Can't Be Worse Than Him

"Since college I started bringing that weird [immigrant] work ethic to writing. The two books I published are the only ones that worked. I've written like three other books, but they were really, really bad. I'm telling you, if any of you guys are wanna-be artists, I'm the perfect encouragement. You can't be fucking worse than me."

That's author Díaz talking about his roller-coaster career at the Google compound. Ten years ago, Díaz wrote a book of award-winning short stories called Drown, and then, after a long, tough time, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his second book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

The New York Times has the whole fancy awards story, but day-dreaming about Pulitzers won't help fledgling writers. I think that Authors@Google clip is a million times more helpful as Diaz spends 50 minutes exploring his career and answering questions.

Around 16 minutes in he talks about writing even when it feels like everything you are writing is bad. Keep that clip near your desktop and read both of Diaz's excellent books. Everybody needs that kind of encouragement sometimes...

 

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