These 55 author interviews originally appeared in the pages of Publishers Weekly when new books were released by the writers who are profiled. Most of the interviews are from 1995 and 1996. Each piece, a mere five or so pages in length, offers a glimpse at the story behind the stories. We see how various authors (A. S. Byatt, Michael Chabon, Roddy Doyle, Ursula Hegi, Jamaica Kincaid, Bill McKibben, E. Annie Proulx, and Salman Rushdie among them) deal with the ways in which real life imposes itself upon the writing life, and vice versa. We learn about the authors' writing philosophies and work habits, and glean an understanding of the vicissitudes of dealing with agents, editors, and publishing houses (the fact that names are named makes it ever more tantalizing). While all of the profiles are too short to be wholly satisfying, the accumulation of viewpoints creates a fascinating sort of collage of the writing and publishing life.


From Library Journal
So you want to find out about a favorite author? You could check the standard reference sources. You could burrow through writing manuals. Or you could turn to the PW Interviews , featured each week in Publishers Weekly , the magazine of America's book industry. Of course, that would mean leafing through a lot of back issues. Now, however, forecast and interviews editor Steinberg has selected 90 topnotch interviews published over the last decade--an idea so terrific one wonders why no one ever thought of it before. Those interviewed, weighted heavily toward fiction writers, range from Jean Auel and Tom Clancy to Umberto Eco, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Philip Roth. The choice of interviews was based not only on the writer's literary importance and best-selling status, but on the illuminating quality of the interviews themselves--and indeed, these pieces are generally successful in capturing the subject's particular approach to writing and quirky charm. One only wishes that the date of each interview had been included. An excellent resource for most libraries--and fun reading, too.- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When 92 outstanding contemporary writers talk about the art of writing and the gritty job of publishing, only two descriptions are appropriate: encyclopedic and definitive. A summary of these interviews indicates that there is no simple path to prominence and no easy rule for creation. Every author has an individual and often idiosyncratic history to reveal. And such histories! Here are the voices of Jean Auel, Ann Beattie, Raymond Carver, Tom Clancy, Pat Conroy, Robert Coover, Don DeLillo, Annie Dillard, Umberto Eco, Toni Morrison, Tim O'Brien, Cynthia Ozick, Grace Paley, Philip Roth, Wallace Stegner, Fay Weldon, and scores more. The result is a one-of-a-kind inside look at the writing and publishing process. Every writer and reader will be fascinated by these revelations, as selected from the Publishers Weekly Interview columns.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal