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Revisionaries

What We Can Learn from the Lost, Unfinished, and Just Plain Bad Work of Great Writers
By Kristopher Jansma
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Brief Description
Find creative inspiration in this fascinating rummage through the wastebaskets, secret diaries, and abandoned files of 20 literary superstars. "A pocket-size book of wonders. . . . Both astute and empathetic." - Wall Street Journal In Revisionaries, a writing expert takes you on an engrossing tour... Read More
Format: Hardback
$4500
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Find creative inspiration in this fascinating rummage through the wastebaskets, secret diaries, and abandoned files of 20 literary superstars.

“A pocket-size book of wonders. . . . Both astute and empathetic.”—Wall Street Journal

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Find creative inspiration in this fascinating rummage through the wastebaskets, secret diaries, and abandoned files of 20 literary superstars.

"A pocket-size book of wonders. . . . Both astute and empathetic." - Wall Street Journal

In Revisionaries, a writing expert takes you on an engrossing tour through the discarded drafts, false starts, and abandoned projects of influential writers. In the process, he dismantles some of our most deeply held—and most suffocating—ideas about what it takes to produce great creative work. You'll learn that:

  • Franz Kafka lacked confidence
  • Octavia Butler had writer's block
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote bad drafts
  • Ralph Ellison got overwhelmed
  • Louisa May Alcott got off to a bad start
  • And more deep, dark secrets about the authors you most admire

Written by an award-winning novelist and creative-writing professor, Revisionaries is a compelling peek behind the scenes of genius for writers and readers alike.

"Aspiring novelists will be heartened." - Publishers Weekly

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781683693734

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 October 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Quirk Books

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 139.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 515g

Pages: 320

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Kristopher Jansma Non-Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Kristopher Jansma is the author of the novels Our Narrow Hiding Places, Why We Came to the City, and The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards. He is the winner of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the recipient of an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award. His short fiction, distinguished in The Best American Short Stories 2016, has been published in The Sun, Alaska Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Story, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere. Kristopher is an associate professor of English and director of the creative writing program at SUNY New Paltz College.

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