![]() ![]() The House of Fiction, Henry James assured us, has many windows and many doors. But we who are left survive in that which is immortal-the art of fiction itself-while interesting subjects, such as war, love, and crime, and trends, such as the epic, the naturalistic, and the psychological novel, come and go in reader interest. They are dead, as are many who were once my contemporaries. As a young writer, I had my heroes, and, at 67, I revere them still: James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, Katherine Anne Porter, Carson McCullers, Wright Morris. If that is true, is that sad? I can’t bring myself to think so. A detailed chronology of the novel reveals, in every era, not only its liveliness, but its well-earned right to the term “novel.” On the contemporary scene, however, it can perhaps be said that there are no master novelists, male or female, and no masterpieces. And while we are at it, shouldn’t we also take the pulse of the reader, in the corporate sense-“the reader is dead” being the latest variation on the notion of the death of the novel? Like “God is dead,” “the novel is dead” was, on its inception, a lame-brained metaphor. If in the new millennium, rumors persist that the novel is no longer new-that it is old and as good as dead-perhaps, just to be certain, we ought to take its pulse now as a precaution against premature burial. ![]() The Death of the Novel and the Death of Reading From the beginning, its health has been in doubt, and rumors of its death have dogged its history. The universal definition has been, more or less, that it brings a piece of news about places, people, and ideas. PREFACE Beginning at the beginning, “novel” means, obviously, a new thing. James Press is an imprint of Gale Group Gale Group and Design is a trademark used herein under license 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1ĬONTENTS PREFACE EDITORS’ NOTE BOARD OF ADVISERS CONTRIBUTORS LIST OF ENTRANTS CONTEMPORARY NOVELISTS NOTES ON ADVISERS AND CONTRIBUTORS NATIONALITY INDEX TITLE INDEX Printed in the United States of America St. Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535 All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. ![]() All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. The authors and editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the following: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classification of the information. This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. Errors brought to the attention of the publisher and verified to the satisfaction of the publisher will be corrected in future editions. James Press accepts no payment for listing and inclusion of any organization, agency, institution, publication, service, or individual does not imply endorsement of the editors or publisher. James Press does not guarantee the accuracy of the data contained herein. While every effort has been made to ensure the reliability of the information presented in this publication, St. James Press Mary Beth Trimper, Manager, Composition and Electronic Prepress Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition Purchasing and Electronic Prepress Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager Rhonda Williams, Buyer Kenn Zorn, Product Design Manager Mike Logusz, Graphic Artist Schwartz, Christine Tomassini, Michael J. Kryhoski, Margaret Mazurkiewicz, Carol A. Elert, Miranda Ferrara, Jamie FitzGerald, Melissa Hill, Laura S. Kristin Hart, Project Coordinator Michelle Banks, Erin Bealmear, Laura Standley Berger, Joann Cerrito, Jim Craddock, Steve Cusack, Nicolet V. Contemporary Dramatists Contemporary Literary Critics Contemporary Novelists (including short story writers) Contemporary Poets Contemporary Popular Writers Contemporary Southern Writers Contemporary Women Poets Contemporary World Writers ![]()
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