Thursday, February 12, 2009

Is there anything you'd like to ask me?

Or, to put it another way: next Wednesday my virtual book tour goes to the blog of short story writer Vanessa Gebbie, and she's given me carte blanche as to what we should discuss about Balancing. And it occurred to me, since I've got this chance, and so as not to go and overlook anything, maybe I should ask my blog readers if there is anything you'd like her to ask me...

6 comments:

TOM VOWLER said...

I've not yet read 'Balancing...' but I have it on good authority it's likely to adorn my huge pile of birthday presents next week. So my question would be more generic: We hear about a (mini) resurgence in short fiction, but is this translating into more collections being published, especially by new writers? And how would you advise short story writers who have collection length, prize-winning pieces to find a publisher?

Elizabeth Baines said...

Hi Tom,
First of all, congratulations on being longlisted for the Willesden Herald competition (which I learnt from your blog - I don't think they published the long list, did they, which is a shame).

Thanks very much for this suggestion. Actually, Vanessa and I have sorted out now what she'll ask me, but I'm going to be asked about publishing on one of my other stops, so I'll include this then.(Briefly my answer is yes, there have been far more collections published - chiefly by the small independent publishers which have popped up in recent years as an antidote to the increasing commercialization of mainstream publishing. I've also written an article about this for the next issue of the Writers' Guild newsletter which is due out any moment.)

TOM VOWLER said...

Thanks, Elizabeth. No, they didn't publish the 'long' list of 15! Will look out for your interviews and the newsletter. Enjoy the rest of your tour.

Elizabeth Baines said...

Thanks, Tom. And I do hope you enjoy the book if it is among your presents!
Also Happy Birthday for next week!

annie clarkson said...

I'd like to know whether your experience of writing for radio has impacted on your short fiction writing...

Elizabeth Baines said...

Annie, thanks for that. Debi Alper is going to ask me about the difference between writing prose and writing drama,so I could perhaps talk about it then. It is a separate issue, though, so I'll suggest to a couple of the other hosts.