Residing in (cyber)space.
I mentioned Patrick Ness’ appointment as the first ever online Writer In Residence for Booktrust. Patrick himself is writing about his residence in cyberspace, the current economic gets a mention and the constant push to be a ‘Writer of Literature’ to just being a writer over at the Guardian.
Or to put it another way, why is it that if you’re not published you’re “not really” a writer? (And it has to be a recognised publisher with press reviews, launch parties, book festivals, torrid affairs with other writer’s wives, the whole lot.)
Why, I wonder, can’t writing be like playing a musical instrument? You can play a musical instrument for pleasure at home without feeling like a failure just because you haven’t been asked to join the Berlin Philharmonic. Why don’t we treat writing as something that can be as personal and private (and vital) as singing in the shower?
In other news - the CBI Bisto Book of the Year shortlist got some media attention from the Irish Examiner and the Irish Independent.
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also got picked up in Irish Daily Mail and Metro too
VHC
Have you read David Lodge’s ‘Small World’? The cyberspace residency reminds me of the ‘holy grail’ in that book, a Chair of English Lit one can hold from anywhere in the world and which various academics are scrambling for throughout the novel.
@VHC - No Irish Times yet…?
@Claire - Haven’t read ‘Small World’ (though I will now). I have got a very battered copy of ‘Changing Places’ that is half finished… must pick it up again.