Inspiration

The Art of Rejection:

• Kathryn Stockett’s tale of persistence
• Famous authors’ rejection letters surface (via NPR)

Jack Kerouac, George Orwell and Sylvia Plath are just a few of the authors whose books were turned down by the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house. Researchers going through the Knopf archives have come across their rejection letters, as well as a few others.

Finding Your Subject:

• “Nurturing Weird Families in Tennessee.” Kevin Wilson mines family narrative in The Family Fang

Beginnings:

• First Books: Stories of How Writers Got Started, via Meg Waite Clayton

Craft:

• The Noun’s the Thing: What Writers Can Learn from Late, Great Music Man John Carter