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A Great List

By Arjun Basu | Published: February 29, 2012

About work. I love this website – basically a list a day. Kind of List of the Day Club. And this list, Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments to himself, his rules for writing, is an awesome list that is still relevant today. Not just for writers, though it is great advice for writers, but for anyone […]

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The President’s Campaign Staff Has Too Much Time On Its Hands (apparently)

By Arjun Basu | Published: February 13, 2012

Now here’s the odd thing. I’m not even American. I do hope I can provide some entertainment. But if Obama loses, it’s not my fault. I do not have that kind of power. (now I have to figure out if this thing is even legit… or run by the Romney people. Pretty sure the Santorum […]

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Don’t Cry for the Publishers (though you are free to shake your head)

By Arjun Basu | Published: February 11, 2012

Not that you are. The Wild Westness trampling over the publishing industry right now is kind of fun to watch. Fun in the sense that anticipation is fun. As a hockey fan, I decry the shootout as an idiotic way to win a game but watching it is the definition of fun. You have fun […]

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Books Vs Words

By Arjun Basu | Published: January 30, 2012

Jonathan Franzen has weighed in on the rise of e-readers. He doesn’t like them (predictably) and he fears the loss of permanence in our lives. (You can read the story here). Franzen seems to get himself in trouble every time he opens his mouth, or at least to annoy people and I think it has […]

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The Male (Writer) Conundrum

By Arjun Basu | Published: January 20, 2012

Perhaps not conundrum. But last week my agent sent me an email that contained these lines: I wonder if this one might be better off with a male editor, or someone with a slightly different sensibility? This from an editor at a major publishing house. And this wasn’t the first time he’s received a response […]

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From Small Publishing House to Multinational

By Arjun Basu | Published: January 11, 2012

My first job was with Tundra Books. By first job, I mean first job that didn’t involve serving people food, cleaning pools, delivering something or counting the hours until the shift was done. I was just out of university and I applied to some publishing houses in Montreal and Tundra called and I got the […]

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Some Insignificant Thoughts As 2011 Comes To A Merciful Close

By Arjun Basu | Published: December 28, 2011

Random thoughts during the holiday season: 2011 was interesting for all the wrong reasons. If it’s going to be winter, let it be winter. Drawn out autumn-ish weather stinks. The rink across the street from my house isn’t done yet because of the weather. If we’re going to live in Canada, snow is part of […]

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The First Novel as Constipation

By Arjun Basu | Published: December 13, 2011

Every year around this time I find myself tired for no reason, as if my mind somehow feels the weight of the year and decides to shut down. Either that or I’m getting ready for winter by wanting to hibernate. It’s also a birthday thing. My birthday, which normally I don’t care much about (no […]

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The Year of the Short Story?

By Arjun Basu | Published: December 1, 2011

It was the Year of the Short Story? In 2011? Like, regionally somewhere, perhaps in a hamlet, or internationally? How did I miss this? Marketing is only good when the people who can make a difference know they need to help you market something. Right? Or is ignorance bliss? After all, I was only 4 […]

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Useless? Or Process?

By Arjun Basu | Published: November 29, 2011

I wrote about 4,000 words last weekend. Mostly on Sunday. I had the house to myself and got to work. I’ve been working on a short story off and on for the last month or so and the story keeps changing and I keep writing more words. Soon this thing is going to have to […]

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