By Marissa Dunham //
Atwood, Patchett, and Murakami. The big names in writing have been busy during the pandemic slow-down, and they all seem to be putting out new material on the craft of writing at the same time.
Below is a list of five craft books released this year and last year by influential authors in science fiction, magical realism, literary fiction, and nonfiction.
The first four books will mostly be collections of personal essays. The last book, a collection of essays by George Saunders, is a deep dive into craft from an MFA class he teaches at Syracuse University on Russian short story masters. All of these books are filled with wonderful knowledge on writing, and I am excited to share them with you this month.
Here are the five!
- Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021 (2022) by Margaret Atwood
Atwood’s third collection of essays covers almost two decades worth of her thoughts on craft, writing life, and life in general. “These are some of the burning questions I’ve been asked,” writes the author of The Blind Assassin in her Introduction to Burning Questions. Burning Questions is a good read for those seeking a nonfiction title to curl up to before bed and wanting to be stunned by the vast depths of knowledge with which Atwood has finally answered our questions. The book is lengthy at nearly 500 pages. - Novelist as a Vocation (forthcoming 2022) by Haruki Murakami and translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen
This is a forthcoming title by magical realist, Haruki Murakami. Murakami is best known for his works, Norwegian Wood and 1Q84, among countless others. In his roughly 224-page new book on what it means to be a novelist, Murakami talks about the sparks for his creativity, thoughts about the profession, and the origins of his surreal settings and unique voice. The book is set to release in November 2022 and is highly anticipated. - Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021) by Joan Didion
Prior to Didion’s passing from Parkinson’s disease, she released this book of essays about craft and life. The essays cover her thoughts on what makes a writer and why and how she picked up the profession. This native of California revolutionized the essay and is best known for her award-winning book, The Year of Magical Thinking. And if you’re looking for an excerpt from Let Me Tell You What I mean, checkout “Joan Didion: Why I Write” for a sneak peek. The book of essays is about 192 pages. - These Precious Days: Essays (2021) by Ann Patchett
Patchett discusses her professional and personal life in this collection of essays. The essays are both dark and hopeful. Her thoughts on not having children and Eudora Welty and how she got her start as a writer compel the reader to ask for more. Why do we write and how do we get there? The book by the author of works like Bel Canto is about 320 pages and an interesting read. - A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life (2021) by George Sanders
A version of Sanders MFA class at Syracuse University on Russian literature, this New York Times bestseller caters to the advanced writer. The seven essays in this book follow four Russian short story masters: Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol. The book is about 432 pages and asks the big questions about art, truth, and life from writers from a different time. Saunders enjoys a long, prestigious career in writing and is best known for works like Pastoralia, The Braindead Megaphone, and “The End of FIRPO in the World.”
Marissa’s Take Practice Exercise: See, A Fire
A lot of these essays revolve around the author spark and influence. Pick a writer who inspired you during your beginning as a writer and write two paragraphs in their style.
Challenge: Pick a writer who is the opposite to how you write now and write two paragraphs in their style. Or, write a personal essay on why you write and title it “Why I Write.”
MARISSA DUNHAM is a writer and freelance editor. She spent the early part of her career in educational publishing, but now spends most of her time editing literary fiction, magical realism, and middle grade fiction. She lives in Southern California, where she enjoys bringing new life into the world by planting tomatoes and flowers in the garden.