Author Notes #11 (August 2024)

Best book lists, authors doing bold things, authors doing horrible things, a publisher tribute, and legislation that doesn't really help creatives (so we'll just have to help ourselves!)

In my monthly Author Notes I highlight key stories about writing and publishing over the last month, both from Substack authors and traditional media outlets.

1.

There’s been a flurry of ‘Best Books of the Century So Far’ lists this month, initiated by the NYT recently releasing their top 100. Noting the lack of Australian authors, The Conversation interviewed 50 academics and came up with its own list. Both contain some amazing books, but these lists skew heavily towards literary fiction and it’s unclear what ‘best’ refers to. While I admire the incredible authors of the literary canon, who are able to spin their words into the finest of narrative silks, I don’t for one second undervalue popular and genre fiction novels, whose authors are also heavy-hitters in terms of their finessed, precise language and enduring cultural, emotional and dramatic impact. That being said, shouldn’t we see more books like The Hunger Games, The Dry and Big Little Lies on such lists? And wouldn’t it be great if more genre lists were featured in such esteemed publications. I’d also love to see lists from different Australian authors, and others compiled from readers who are avid fans of specific genres. It would make for a better representation of all the writing sectors and give everyone the opportunity to venture beyond our reading enclaves and find the best in all areas of fiction. (I know people are already responding to these lists, so if you’ve seen one you’d like to share, please let me know in the comments.)

2.

I loved reading about the smart and bold move by British fantasy author Samantha Shannon, who’s released a rewritten edition of her smash-hit The Bone Season. Shannon felt she could deliver a better version than the one originally published, having been very young when she scored her first book deal, and she was able to get Bloomsbury onside thanks to BookTok’s interest in her series. I’m cheering Shannon’s investment in her stories as well as the way she’s articulating her creative growth.

3.

In the last 48 hours the Bookseller reported that a fifth woman has come forward to accuse Neil Gaiman of sexual assault. A comment from

Emily Gale

on her Substack

Voracious

got me listening to the podcast by The Slow Newscast about Neil Gaiman’s disturbing behaviour towards women. I’m so grateful to the journalists who expose the power imbalance between the men who initiate these horrible encounters, and the women on the receiving end who have only limited, distressing choices. I had my own experience of a much older male author trying to groom me in my early twenties, in my very first job in publishing, and it took me a good while to understand what had happened. It’s really important that our industry continues to make sure that the people in positions of immense privilege are morally accountable, and that this kind of behaviour becomes a thing of the past.

I highly recommend this article in thefederal.com by Kartik Chauhan, which powerfully articulates the uncomfortable cultural truths around these topics. And I recently wrote a piece about Alice Munro, which touches on similar themes.

4.

I hadn’t heard of Betty A. Prashker before coming across her recent obituary, but she sounds like someone we need to remember and pay tribute to in our industry, especially in her role as a pioneer for women in publishing:

“She was determined that she was going to elevate as many women as she could,” said Rachel Kahan, a vice president and executive editor at William Morrow, whom Ms. Prashker took under her wing when Ms. Kahan was an industry newcomer. Ms. Prashker unapologetically championed popular fiction by and for women that was looked down upon by critics, like the eyeglass-steaming works of Ms. Krantz, the author of sex-and-shopping novels like “Princess Daisy” (1980), and of Ms. Auel, whose “Clan of the Cave Bear” series was about a matriarchal, sex-positive society.

Vale Betty, and thank you.

5.

In Australia, recent legislation has come in to try to stop bosses taking advantage of workers outside regular working hours. I may write more on this at some point, because it once again made me think of how impossible it is to put these kinds of regulations on our creative industries, and how important it is to find our own work-life balance. It’s something I’ve had to work hard on over the years, and this is a good reminder for us all to take stock! If you need further persuasion, National Geographic took a sobering look at the hidden health impacts of long work hours - and I recognise some of these all too well. So I’m definitely off for my beach walk today!

SHORT NOTES AND SHOUT-OUTS

• It’s been great to see more Western Australian authors arriving here on Substack. New this month are

  Holden Sheppard
  with
  Loose Units
  and
  Rachael Johns
  with
  PINK INK | Author Rachael Johns
  . Welcome to the best writer sandbox on the internet, my friends!

• My favourite Substack this month has been

  Jeffrey Yamaguchi
  ’s really comprehensive look at the importance of pre-order campaigns for new books - something I need to think about right now. Check out Jeffrey’s Substack
  Book Publishing Brick By Brick
  . Thanks Jeffrey!

• I’ve struggled to do any notes/socials posting or reading this month thanks to 1) a final comprehensive edit of When She Was Gone and 2) transforming my house into Hogwarts for an 11 -year-old’s birthday party. Some of my finest achievements were the Howler pastries (looked fab - completely inedible) and making a version of the cake Hagrid gives to Harry in the first movie (which, while asked for, did go against the grain as for anyone who doesn’t get the movie reference, it looks like I can’t spell!). Both missions were accomplished - and I’ll add photo proof in a Note!

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ICYMI IN AUGUST ON MY SUBSTACK (FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS):

Notes from the editing trenches

The best part of book publishing is self-promotion (said no author, ever!)

ICYMI IN AUGUST ON MY SUBSTACK (FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS):

To kiss or not to kiss: the evolution of the female action heroine

UNLOCKED POST THIS MONTH FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS:

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Thanks for reading Author Notes! Next week I’ll be celebrating one year on Substack, so if you’re a paid subscriber you’ll get two posts from me!

Have a great weekend.