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Herman Melville

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

June 19, 2020 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: #BlackLivesMatter, Adam Serwer, Ashley Dennis, Bookshop, Bookstores, Brent Staples, Camryn Garrett, Cheryl I. Harris, Herman Melville, J.K. Rowling, Jamelle Bouie, James Baldwin, Jelani Cobb, Jessica Faust, Juneteenth, Kellie Carter Jackson, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Mary Helen Fein, NBCC, Poetry Foundation, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanessa Hua

How to create a great villain

September 23, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

Bleak painting of two old men

Bill Sikes. Lady MacBeth. Captain Ahab. Voldemort. The Wormwoods. 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? Here are some tips on how to craft a memorable villain. […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, J.K. Rowling, J.M. Barrie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shakespeare

6 ways to build intimacy between characters

September 16, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 4 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: Angie Thomas, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, Jane Austen, John Green, M.T. Anderson, Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi

Man Booker longlist released (This week in books)

July 26, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Amazon, Dean Koontz, Faber and Faber, Herman Melville, Man Booker, Mike Shatzkin, T.S. Eliot, Tavi Gevinson

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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How to Write A Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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