Article Archive

In Absolution, the surprise fourth volume of the Southern Reach series of literary speculative novels, Jeff VanderMeer continues to provoke critics and eschew labels while plunging readers into the unpredictable wilds of Area X.

“Never let the pursuit of perfection be the enemy of the good.” —Steve Wasserman, author of Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie: A Memoir in Essays

“Trust yourself enough to know that you don’t need to do backflips for your readers on the page. Just walk straight ahead.” —Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America

“Take a year, pursue it, and see what happens.” —Afabwaje Kurian, author of Before the Mango Ripens

“There is no point in learning how to sculpt if you don’t know where to get the clay.” —Devika Rege, author of Quarterlife.

“Now, though, years have passed, and I do have more peace about my past and my process. From afar, I can finally see what I was doing, and why.” —Jay Baron Nicorvo, author of Best Copy Available: A True Crime Memoir 

A novelist based in rural Maine shares how she creates community—by reading her literary ancestors, engaging with living writers all over the state, and hosting an online writers studio—all while dispensing with the archetype of the lonely writer.