Why Fiction Matters: An interview with George Saunders
“For me, the process of writing is always to move away from the abstract and toward the embodied. The fiction writer’s job, as I see it, is to make a vivid representation of life as he’s known it.”
Kevin Spinale, America

‘This Did Something Powerful to Me’: Authors’ Favorite First Lines of Books
Jonathan Franzen, Margaret Atwood, David Gilbert, Roxane Gay, and other writers share their thoughts on what makes an inviting and memorable opening sentence.
Joe Fassler, The Atlantic

‘Camp Grounded,’ ‘Digital Detox,’ and the Age of Techno-Anxiety
“Which effects are *caused by* the technologies and which are *enabled by* the technologies and which just happen to *occur through* the technologies?”
Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic

Saving Italy, by Robert M. Edsel – a review
Two responses to art in wartime: the knife and the kiss.
Andro Linklater, The Spectator

Drinks With David Sedaris
Sedaris, on his creative process: “Oh gosh. I just get up right in the morning and go right to my desk first thing. And I keep a notebook. I’ve been on this tour since April 2. A different city every day.”
Timshel Matheny, Paste