Wow. That was intense. Three hours on a hard bench listening to poetry readings with no break and no refreshments. That’s a real test. Luckily it was an open-air event, on the boardwalk at Hastings (the Barbados one, not the UK one). It was easy to get up and stretch your legs occasionally, and the [...]
About Andrew Blackman
I am the author of “On the Holloway Road”, published by Legend Press in February 2009. The book has won the Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary and the Novel Beginnings First Chapter Contest, and has been shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize. I recently moved back to the UK after spending six years in New York, where I worked as a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Earl Lovelace at Bim Literary Festival
Trinidadian writer Earl Lovelace was the second attraction last night at Bim Literary Festival. For my report on the first part of the evening, with Austin Clarke, click here. Lovelace was asked about the themes of his writing and spoke about the search for selfhood, both on an individual and a societal level. He said [...]
Austin Clarke at Bim Literary Festival
After my unintended gatecrashing of a class with Derek Walcott earlier in the day, this was an event I was actually allowed to attend. It was an interview with two major Caribbean writers, Austin Clarke and Earl Lovelace, followed by readings from their latest work. First up was Austin Clarke, a Barbadian novelist and short-story [...]
Learning from Derek Walcott: Bim Literary Festival, day one
How often do you get to meet a Nobel Prize winner? That was my main rationale for going along to a Master Class with Derek Walcott yesterday – that and the prospect of seeing Earl Lovelace and Austin Clarke afterwards. The occasion was the inaugural Bim Literary Festival, a celebration of writers both from here in [...]
Great opportunity for unpublished UK writers
If you are an unpublished UK writer with a novel manuscript ready for submission, I’d strongly recommend that you check out the Luke Bitmead Bursary. Submissions for the 2012 contest are open from now until 3rd August. It’s for UK residents only. This is the contest I entered back in 2008 and, to my amazement, [...]
How to write a book review
Just saw a nice post on Read.Learn.Write which goes into the methodology of writing book reviews, using my novel On the Holloway Road as a model. I’ve never really thought about a method for writing reviews before – I tend to just give my response to the book in whatever form seems natural. That’s probably [...]
How writers generate ideas
One of the most common questions I’m asked whenever I give a talk is “How do you generate ideas?” The honest answer is: I don’t.
Oh, I’ve tried. Believe me, I have. I’ve sat at the computer all morning and willed myself to generate an idea. Sometimes, after a few hours of mental torture, if a deadline is looming, I’ve managed to squeeze out something, just one idea at least. The trouble is, I know even as I’m typing it out that it’s not very good.
The best ideas, you see, come in a completely different way.
The Sense of an Ending, explained
First, some background: last year I wrote a review of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I had a lot of comments from people who didn’t understand the ending, and since then I’ve been inundated with people searching for things like “Sense of an Ending explained”. I felt bad, because my original review [...]
How much would you pay for a short story?
Quick question for you. I’m thinking of making some of my short stories available for download from this site, but am not sure how much to charge for them. So I’ve set up a quick poll, below. I’d really appreciate your vote (oh dear, I sound like a politician). Seriously, though, it would help, and [...]
Beauty is a sleeping cat
So, a post in honour of one of my favourite book blogs. My wife and I have adopted a little kitten here in Barbados. Well, not sure if that’s the right word — she was hanging around the house, and we brought her inside and started feeding her and my wife gave her a name (Bluebell). [...]
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“The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes
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The Sense of an Ending, explained
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Introducing “A Virtual Love”, coming to a bookshop near you in Spring 2013
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Finding some inspiration
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Beauty is a sleeping cat
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Test of stamina at Bim Literary Festival, day two
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Earl Lovelace at Bim Literary Festival
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Austin Clarke at Bim Literary Festival
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Learning from Derek Walcott: Bim Literary Festival, day one
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Great opportunity for unpublished UK writers
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litlove: You did better than I would have done - three hour...
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Andrew Blackman: Ah, thanks a lot Vishy! It's interesting that you...
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