The New Republic

Round-Down: Young or Old, Why Do We Write?

One essential question rises out of the hullabaloo of conflicting opinions broadcast in Cynthia Ozick’s philosophical essay in the New York Times on old vs. new writers and The New Republic’s Phoebe Maltz Bovy’s prickly response: Why do we write? Both essays are well written, thoughtful, and make excellent points worth considering for writers of…

The Ploughshares Round-Down: Publishing Isn’t Dead

The Ploughshares Round-Down: Publishing Isn’t Dead

There’s an old joke in publishing about consultants, though it’s probably rooted in truth. A new executive hires a prestigious firm to spend months on an expensive deep dive, and they come back, excited, with one key insight: “You should publish more bestsellers, and fewer books that aren’t bestsellers.” Why didn’t we think of that?…