For this installment of “Developing Stories,” a series from Work in Progress, author Carlos Fonseca presents a series of visual pieces that guided him while writing his novel, Natural History. "Every novel is an archive or at least refers back to one. Storytelling has...
“The Irishman is great art . . . but it is not, as we know, great history . . . For some of the real story, and for a great American tale in itself, you want to go to Jack Goldsmith’s book, In Hoffa’s Shadow.” —Peggy...
At one of the first public conversations I had about What Is Missing, my novel, a young member of the audience asked me how crucial setting was to finding my way into a book. It was a little disconcerting, because I felt so...
In his later years, when he had lost nearly everything, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa would descend alone every morning into the roar of Palermo, clutching a small black bag containing a volume of Dickens, a notebook, and a blue biro pen. He would walk...
"Developing Stories," a series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer’s hometown. This week we journey to suburbia with Tupelo Hassman, author of
This summer ran long, and winter came early, but there were maybe a couple weeks in there when Chicago got a real fall. Around then I took these pictures, which span the course of a week or so. The week felt full, yet ordinary....
“Developing Stories,” a series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer’s hometown. This week we live a few days in the life of Akil...
“Developing Stories,” a series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer’s hometown. This week we live a few days in the life of Nicola...
You can’t go home again? With apologies to Mr. Wolfe, yes you can. I can and I do, several times a year, to the house, street, and neighborhood—Laurel Canyon—where I was born and grew up, and where the central figures of my memoir The...
They gave me a little plastic and cardboard camera. They said go home. Report back. It was Easter weekend in Southern New Mexico. I took the thing around and wound it up and pointed it at different potential epiphanies. But the little plastic box...
Developing Stories, a photography series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer's hometown. Liska Jacobs, author of Catalina, showcased moments with family in...
Developing Stories, a new series from Work in Progress, invites authors to take photos capturing the world around them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of their hometown. This week we glimpse the rugged life of Bruce Holbert, author of the forthcoming...
Developing Stories, a new series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer’s hometown. Jac Jemc, author of the acclaimed horror novel The Grip...
Developing Stories, a new series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer’s hometown. This week we live a few days in the life of...
Developing Stories, a new series from Work in Progress, invites authors to carry a disposable camera and document whatever compels them—a reading, a walk in the woods, a tour of the writer's hometown. As Samantha Hunt says in the first installment of Developing Stories,...
This week, America's national parks celebrated their 100th anniversary, and this summer, Terry Tempest Williams traveled to nine national parks as part of her book tour. Her book, The Hour of Land, is as much a celebration of the parks as a memoir,...
Carl Van Vechten was a polymath unparalleled in the history of American arts. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1880, he was, at various times, the nation’s most incisive and far-seeing arts critic who promoted names as diverse as Gertrude Stein and Bessie Smith long before it was popular to do so; a notorious socialite who held legendary parties; a de facto publicist for great forgotten names including Herman Melville; a best-selling author of scandalous novels; and one of the most important champions of African-American literature, vital in advancing the careers of Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen, and Chester Himes.
FSG has published Isaac Bashevis Singer's works for over fifty years, including The Magician of Lublin, Gimpel the Fool, and his Collected Stories. As you can imagine, there's a wealth of interesting material from his archives. Here's just a brief selection. You'll notice our print advertising is nothing if not consistent: the notice for In My Father's Court isn't terribly different from its modern-day counterparts.
Around the hardcover publication for Michael Cunningham's By Nightfall, I was fortunate enough to produce a short video series with him and his student, the polymath James Franco. Cunningham generously allowed us to shoot in his New York apartment, which I noted had a beautiful library set into his bathroom walls. Fast forward a year and a half to this past week, when Cunningham once again opened up his home to a small film crew—this time to capture his incredible library.
John Jeremiah Sullivan's essay collection Pulphead ranges across America, from Christian rock festivals to Axl Rose, from unheralded blues musicians to the WB show "One Tree Hill." (TIME's Lev Grossman calls Sullivan the next Tom Wolfe: "JJS, as I have come to think of him, may be the best essayist of his generation.") Sullivan's book tour is taking him across the United States, during which he's posting photos on Tumblr. A few highlights: