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Tag: novel

  • Toni Morisson’s New Novel ‘God Help The Child’ Arrives In April

    It’s going to be a long six-month wait for fans of the prolific author Toni Morrison. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced last Tuesday that Morrison’s new book “God Help the Child,” will be released next year on April 30.

    The Nobel-prize winning author’s new book was described as a “searing tale about the way childhood trauma shapes and misshapes the life of the adult.” The latest novel centers on Bride, a bold and confident woman whose successes in life stems from her beauty. Along the way, Bride encounters Rain, a mysterious white child who forms a strong bond with the book’s protagonist.

    Knopf-Doubleday Chairman Sonny Mehta described the book as a “compact, fierce work,” that’s sure to keep fans compulsively reading until they reach the final pages of the novel.

    Morrison, an 83-year old native of Ohio gained prominence after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the American Book Award back in 1987 for Beloved, which was adapted into a feature film starring Oprah Winfrey. She’s mostly known for her richly detailed characters that are grounded in reality. Some of her papers can be found as part of Princeton University’s permanent collection.

    The 83-year-old author shows no sign of stopping as she releases her 11th book next year. The award-winning author tackles the struggles related to race and history in her fictional books. She’s one of the best known authors in the historical fiction genre with novels like The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Jazz, all featuring stories that are set in different periods of American History.

    Aside from countless accolades and awards for her novels, Morrison also won a Grammy in 2008 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. She has also written three children’s books with her younger son, artist Slade Morrison who passed away in 2010.

  • Joe McGinniss: Author of ‘Fatal Vision’ Passes Away at 71

    Author Joe McGinniss passed away Monday afternoon after a two-year battle with prostate cancer.

    His attorney Dennis Holahan confirmed that he died while being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was 71 years old.

    McGinniss has written 12 books in all, mostly well-known for their politically-related storytelling.

    One of those books is based on the 1968 campaign and victorious win of presidential candidate Richard Nixon. The Selling of the President 1968 became one of his first bestsellers in 1969.

    The Last Brother, published in 1993, was based on the experiences Senator Edward M. Kennedy dealt with within his career and family. The Miami Herald‘s review stated how “McGinniss makes thoughtful ventures into the soul of the Kennedys and how they created a legend that so beguiled the public.”

    In 2010 he published The Rogue, a book based on former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. McGinniss made headlines after moving next door to the politician in Wasilla, Alaska, which almost landed him a lawsuit.

    An interview with McGinniss on the Today show:

    However, McGinnis became notorious for his 1983 book titled Fatal Vision, which recounts the murder case of a former military physician.

    Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted in the stabbing and murder of his pregnant wife and two daughters at their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home. The doctor initially hired McGinniss to write his version of the case, but the novelist decided to write a completely different story about the MacDonald case from a prosecuting standpoint. Towards the end of the book he concluded that the former Green Beret doctor, who he claims was addicted to prescribed drugs, committed the crimes.

    Fatal Vision was so controversial that MacDonald supporters even accused McGinniss of betrayal in 2012. Yet, MacDonald continues to maintain his innocence, despite the details presented by the novel.

    Additionally, McGinniss has written other family murder trilogies including, Blind Faith (1989), Cruel Doubt (1991), and Never Enough (2007).

    His most recent work, 15 Gothic Street, has yet to be published, but a summary is provided on his blog.

    McGinniss leaves behind his wife Nancy Doherty, five children, and seven grandchildren. His son Joe McGinniss Jr. is also an author.

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  • Mark Helprin’s Novel Is Now A Colin Farrell Film

    “If it weren’t for music, I would think that love is mortal.”

    This prosaic musing about music might seem like words written by a romance novelist. Indeed, it’s a quote from one of Mark Helprin’s novels. However, the 66-year-old author has created far more than mere love stories and his work covers various subjects. As he has jumped across genres and breathed life into everything from periodicals and short story collections to animated fantasy narratives, his style is best described by another quote on his own website – that he “belongs to no literary school, movement, tendency, or trend” and “lights his own way”.

    Such an eclectic collection of creations makes perfect sense for someone with Mark Helprin’s history and experiences. An author with his academic training, military service, decades of journalism, and involvement in politics and statesmanship likely has a great deal from which to draw and share in written form. Some of his popular works include “A Soldier of the Great War,” ”Refiner’s Fire”, and the aforementioned “Winter’s Tale” – a romantic historical fantasy. In fact, the latter of those three has been recently adapted into a Hollywood film which will be released this coming Valentine’s Day.

    The movie version of “Winter’s Tale” stars a noteworthy cast including Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, and other celebrated actors.

    Yet, like any writer driven by genuine passion (and an understanding that one is only as good as their latest work), Helprin isn’t resting on his current success. In fact, by spring of 2015, he’ll have ready a new literary world into which his fans can escape via his current project, “Avocado”. The novel (which will be released through the John Macrae Books imprint) is described by the publisher as being a “lyrical, romantic and madcap novel set in post-World War I that follows a married couple in search of success from Brooklyn to the California avocado groves and then to Hollywood at the twilight of the silent film era.”

    There’s no way of knowing yet whether this upcoming novel will also make it to the silver screen; but as it already has a Hollywood theme to it, perhaps such is Mark’s intention and inspiration as he constructs it.

    If “Avocado” were adapted to film, which A-listers might you cast for a 1920’s couple making a cross country road trip?

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  • Leighton Meester Is Set To Debut On Broadway In 2014

    Leighton Meester, the former teen star, is set to make her debut appearance on Broadway next year. She will join a cast that already has a couple of stars attached to the project, in a revival of Steinbeck’s classic, Of Mice And Men.

    Meester is the former star of the popular teen drama, Gossip Girl, and is looking to get more serious with her next role, hoping to make a name for herself as a more well-known actress. She will be starring in the Broadway production along with James Franco and Chris O’Dowd.

    It is another big role for James Franco as well, who seems to be making headlines every time you turn around during the 2013 year. His most recent stunt occurred when he and his friend and fellow comedy actor Seth Rogen decided to spoof a recent music video of Kanye West’s.

    In case anyone avoided reading the classic novel in high school, Of Mice and Men centers on George and Lenny, who is mentally challenged, and an unlikely friendship forms between the two characters who are bothmigrant workers. It takes place in California during the Great Depression.

    In the production, Leighton Meester will play the wife of a rancher, who becomes a fascination for Lennie. As a result, she becomes something of a temptress, and becomes dangerous for the fates of George and Lenny during the plot.

    In addition to her role in Gossip Girl, Meester has been seen in Country Strong, and is in production with the film God Only Knows, set to be released next year. She is also set to appear in the upcoming film Life Partners with her new fiancee Adam Brody, after their engagement was just announced less than a month ago.

    A Broadway production of the novel has not been done in over 40 years, and the last time that it was seen on film was in 1992, with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise in the two main roles. Anna D. Shapiro, a Tony Award-winner, will be directing the production. Performances of the Broadway play will start in March at the Longacre Theater.

    The upcoming role is a big step for Leighton Meester, as she is stepping up from her teen gossip role to a classic piece of literature that everyone is familiar with.

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  • Victor Rasuk: New Actor Added To 50 Shades Of Grey

    Victor Rasuk is the latest actor to be added to the anticipated adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey. Whether or not someone is a fan of the books and looking forward to the film or not, it has been hard to avoid all of the controversy going around about the film.

    The big story for a long time was about who would be play the character of Christian Grey, a role that finally went to Jamie Dornan after Sons Of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam was forced to back out of the role.

    After all the delay in casting the main character, Rasuk has now been cast to play Grey’s rival, in his quest for his love Anastasia Steele.

    Rasuk had his breakthrough role in Raising Victor Vargas, and later starred in Lords of Dogtown. He also appeared in Jobs, the Steve Jobs biopic, earlier this year. He is perhaps most well-known for his role on How To Make It In America, a show that lasted only 16 episodes on HBO.

    In the film Victor Rasuk will play Jose Rodriguez, an aspiring photographer and classmate with Steele. His close friendship with the girl leads him to rival Grey, as he quickly wants more than just a friendship with the young beauty, played by Dakota Johnson.

    50 Shades of Grey is based on the novel by E.L. James, and is being directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The best selling novel is filled with sex and romance, and was a big favorite for many women in recent years.

    The casting for such a film is always a difficult task, but it seems to be finally coming together with Victor Rasuk being added as one of the final main characters to the story. Jennifer Ehle has also been added to the cast as Steele’s mother.

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  • James Franco’s Book Is Out Now: Actors Anonymous

    James Franco has become the ultimate celebrity, changing what it means to have celebrity status. His latest project is a novel called Actors Anonymous, which he loosely based off of the format of Alcoholics Anonymous’ twelve step program. This book is the follow up to his 2010 collection of short stories called Palo Alto, which was his first published written work.

    The year 2013 also seems to be his year, and he has been at work constantly with his projects including novel writing, acting, directing, and producing. He is also working on adapting multiple novels as a director and screenwriter, including two by William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying and The Sound And The Fury. In addition to those two, he is working on adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Child Of God.

    The new book, which was released on Tuesday, October 15, is about fictional actors and the stories that they have to tell. While it is written as a novel, it is told in a wide variety of styles, from lyric essays and disarming testimonials to hilariously rambling text messages and ghostly footnotes, according to the summary on Goodreads. It is also described as a wild ride into the dark heart of celebrity.

    In an interview with NBC News, Franco described the novel as being about “how we interact with others, how we interact with life through performance and through the lens of a recovery book.” He also mentioned in the interview that he will be working on yet another film that most fans are probably not aware of yet, a comedy with his friend Seth Rogen called The Interview.

    Franco and a few fellow actors also released a video that went viral recently in order to promote the new book, containing excerpts from the novel.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnd_Omui9Xo

    James Franco’s new book also relates to Alcoholics Anonymous due to the fact that members of an actor’s support group continually describe outrageous confessions from the trenches of their profession during each of the chapters. Franco seems to be aiming at a satire of Hollywood with the book, and a sense of impending doom is used to propel each story forward.

    As the actor continues to keep himself at work, doing everything possible in order to gain attention, it certainly seems to be working. The Los Angeles Times describes his recent career moves when saying “James Franco is going to do whatever James Franco wants whenever James Franco wants it.”

    He even got some praise from his younger brother on the book.

    For those that are interested in the book, NBC has released the preface for people to take a look at online.

    It seems as if it is almost too hard to keep up with the actor’s busy career lately. James Franco has been one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, and with multiple movies as an actor, screenwriter and director and now another book, how will fans be able to keep with his wildly active career?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZv5E7ScX0g

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  • Man Booker Prize: Eleanor Catton Wins The Award

    The Man Booker Prize of 2013 was awarded to Eleanor Catton. Catton is a lives in New Zealand, and only 28 years old. She was born in Canada, but moved to New Zealand at the age of 6. This makes her the youngest author to ever win the award, which is the highest literary honor to receive in Great Britain. In addition to being the youngest author to be awarded the prize, the book also sets a record of being the longest book to win the award, at 832 pages.

    Each year, a different author’s work is awarded for their work in fiction, and this year the award went to The Luminaries, Catton’s latest book, which was published in September of 2013. She was awarded the prize today, and it was presented to her by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. She has previously written one other novel, The Rehearsal.

    The Luminaries is set during New Zealand’s gold rush, and is described as a layered murder mystery, centered around a group of men with intertwined fates. Other nominees for this year’s award included A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, Harvest by Jim Crace, The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahir, The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, and We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo.

    Last year’s prize went to Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel. The winner is selected each by the judging panel on the day of the ceremony. This year’s ceremony was a momentous occasion because it marks the last year before the award is opened to entries from the United States and beyond. Just a month ago, it was announced that the Booker Prize Foundation would be open to all novels written in English and published in Britain, regardless of the author’s nationality, finally letting Americans in on the glory as well.

    There is only one other author from New Zealand to win the award, Keri Hulme, who won in 1985 for her novel The Bone People. During her speech when she accepted the award, Eleanor Catton thanked her publishers for executing the “elegant balance between making art and making money.” She was stunned at the announcement that she won, calling her lengthy and complex novel, a “publisher’s nightmare.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iUMQUfEe_o

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  • Charlie Hunnam Backs Out Of Fifty Shades Of Grey

    Charlie Hunnam was set to play the lead role of Christian Grey in the upcoming film, Fifty Shades of Grey, but has since backed out. He made the announcement today that he would not follow through with the role, citing his busy television schedule as the main conflict of interest. Hunnam is currently the star of the FX series, Sons of Anarchy, which would cause complications with the filming of the new movie.

    Sons of Anarchy is currently in its sixth season and will be shooting the season finale beginning on October 11, one day before the announcement from the studios came. The studios behind the film, Universal Pictures and Focus Features, made a statement regarding Hunnam’s casting when saying “The filmmakers of Fifty Shades of Grey and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immerse TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.”

    According to US Weekly, Hunnam has never been a favorite for the role, and a petition was even drawn up after the casting occurred, as fans quickly demanded that Matt Bomer replace him. Dakota Johnson has been cast as the female lead in the film.

    Fifty Shades of Grey was also a very popular book, and the casting of Charlie Hunnam originally puzzled many people. Women all over went crazy for the book, and it seemed to be almost as big as Twilight at one point. They seemed to want an actor who they were more familiar with, or someone thought of as more traditionally sexy. The film is based on E.L. James’ erotic novel about an inexperienced college student named Anastasia Steele, who is given a bit of a sexual education from billionaire Christian Grey.

    He admitted to knowing that he would not have been the popular choice for the role in a recent cover story in Entertainment Weekly when he said “There are so many fans of that book and I know that on the surface, I’m probably not what everybody imagined.”

    So what do others think about the decision? Any idea who should replace Hunnam? Weigh in with your opinions in the comments below.

    Charlie Hunnam has been a fan favorite on the hit show Sons of Anarchy, but way before that he played the charming Lloyd on Judd Apatow’s short-lived series Undeclared. He has also been seen in several films including Children of Men and Pacific Rim. With Hunnam out, fans of the book will certainly have a fun time speculating on his replacement. Let’s just hope for their sake, that they get a better choice the next time around. The film will be released on August 1st, 2014.

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