Herman Melville

How to create a great villain

September 16, 2024 by Nathan Bransford

Bill Sikes. Lady MacBeth. Captain Ahab. The Wormwoods. Long John Silver. Sauron. Iago. The best villains in literature send a shiver down our spine and make our blood pressure rise. Why do some villains have such a hold on us while others feel like weak sauce? Let me first say that not every novel needs […]

Is fiction publishing broken? (This week in books)

November 10, 2023 by Nathan Bransford

This week! Books! First up, the wonderful organization We Need Diverse Books has launched a site called Indigenous Reads Rising, which is dedicated to helping educators, librarians, and readers find books by Native authors and illustrators. As anyone who is querying, on submission, or trying to negotiate a new deal probably knows, these are not […]

Honoring Juneteenth in the book world (This week in books)

June 19, 2020 by Nathan Bransford

This week! It’s Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in Texas two full years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Here are some of the articles about Juneteenth this morning that caught my eye: Jamelle Bouie on the centrality of slaves in the struggle for emancipation and a better America. Mary Harris […]

6 ways to build intimacy between characters

September 16, 2019 by Nathan Bransford

Some relationships sizzle right off the page. Some strain belief and feel like duds. What separates the Darcy/Bennets of the literary world from all the countless unmemorable pairings? Here are some ways to build a sense of intimacy between your characters when you’re writing a novel. Validation One of the most primal human needs is […]

Man Booker longlist released (This week in books)

July 26, 2019 by Nathan Bransford

This week in books! The Man Booker prize is one of the most prestigious awards out there, and its highly anticipated longlist was released this week. One American author made the cut, Lucy Ellman, along with luminaries like Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Jeanette Winterson. The winner will be announced in September. In other awards […]

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