Toni Morrison’s generous rejection letters (This week in books)

This week! Books!

First off, Melina Moe at Los Angeles Review of Books has a really fascinating look at the rejection letters Toni Morrison sent during her stint as an editor at Random House. Aside from pointing to industry realities of the time (and some realities seem eternal, like publishers not knowing how to sell short story collections), what really struck me was her immense generosity. She didn’t have to go the lengths she did with her letters, but it’s clear she put a great deal of care into them.

Ambrose Bierce is one of the most fascinating authors in American history, all the way down to his still-unsolved death. Anthony Aycock has an interesting close look at some of Bierce’s most important stories and how they prefigured modern literature.

It’s rare these days for more literary (i.e. non-James Patterson) authors to publish books as often as the Nabokovs and Le Guins of yore, and once every three-five years seems to be the new sweet spot. Lincoln Michel delves into why this may be.

In Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet newsletter, which I highly recommend subscribing to in order to stay abreast of industry news, editor Sangheeta Mehta dove into New Adult, which was launched as essentially “older YA” for 18-22/23/25 year olds (it depends on who you ask) by St. Martin’s Press about 15 years ago. She finds that after being nearly wiped away as “a thing” as it was often folded into other genres, it’s enjoying a bit of a renaissance as self-published authors and Zoomers on TikTok have pointed the industry to the salience of the market.

And any time someone compares writing and books to trains, I’m all over it. The latest to make this comparison is John Holten.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. The Women by Kristin Hannah
2. The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen
3. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
4. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
5. James by Percival Everett

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Get it Together by Jesse Watters
2. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
3. The Wager by David Grann
4. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
5. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Young adult hardcover:

1. Powerless by Lauren Roberts
2. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
3. The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black
4. Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
5. Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Heroes by Alan Gratz
2. The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
3. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
4. Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
5. The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• What I’ve learned about writing from my spin class
• What’s the soundtrack to your work in progress?
• Give anticipation room to breathe (page critique)

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, via Brandy Jensen’s excellent newsletter, I found Lillian Fishman’s meditation on inequality and love as it relates to Proust and Norman Rush pretty thought-provoking.

Have a great weekend!

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