John Baker’s Blog

Here are some portraits of writers by the late Fay Godwin. The photographer’s archive, acquired by the British Library contains over 11,000 photographs and letters. The selection here includes this delightful study of Jean Rhys, as well as the young Salman Rushdie, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Doris Lessing, Tom Stoppard, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble, Saul [...]

This piece by geoff on Metaxu Cafe, reports on the PEN World Voices Festival: The Secret Lives of Cities panel, which brought together authors whose work has focussed on a particular city: Juan de Recacoechea on La Paz, Yousef Al-Mohaimeed on Riyadh, Francisco Goldman on Guatemala City, and Joshua Furst on Minneapolis.
One of Goldman’s riffs [...]

Kirsten Ogden at The Kenyon Review has taken all the advice. But what about putting it into practice?
I started off well, but I guess morning writing wasn’t my thing. Neither was afternoon writing, it turns out. (Neither was writing at night!) Go figure. Sitting in that chair is hard. Plus, its been 4 months of [...]

Ben Hoyle, Arts Reporter at Times Online, reports on the concerns of the Society of Authors that their members are worried about the publishing industry failing to adapt to the digital age. Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring who is the current chair of the organisation, feels the internet is awash [...]