writing

Nueva Qwerty makes language a little simpler.

"Optimism means better than reality; pessimism means worse than reality," 'The Handmaid's Tale' author Margaret Atwood said. "I'm a realist."

New York Public Library, Billy Rose Theater Collection // Public Domain

The mid-century masterpiece has been called his most autobiographical play.

Whitby as seen from the top of the 199 Steps

How a seaside vacation in 1890 gave rise to Bram Stoker's terrifying tale.

Accused by his countrymen of collaborating with the Nazis, the once-beloved British author fled in 1947 and never looked back.

William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying on an overturned wheelbarrow.

Since its release in 1930, 'As I Lay Dying' has become regarded as an American classic—and a bit of an endurance test for some readers.

By MOSCOT - moscot.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rock stars. Writers. Royals. Truman Capote wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought of his fellow celebrities.

Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel was met with a poor critical reception. Decades later, critics finally understood what Hurston had accomplished.

“Write drunk, edit sober” may sound like a sage piece of advice, but it didn't come from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In addition to being one of the world's most successful and prolific writers, Stephen King is also the toast of Hollywood with a seemingly never-ending stream of adaptations being made of his work.

If you are so much as a leisurely fan of American fiction, you likely already know the story of how Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road' came into the world, but there are many stories about the book's history that might just surprise you.

Photo illustration by Lucy Quintanilla // Alamy (Holman); iStock (background)

By his death at 70 in 1857, Holman had walked, climbed, ridden, hiked, and sailed a total distance equal to traveling to the moon. So why haven't you heard of him?

One key to being a good writer is to always keep reading—and that doesn't change after you've been published.

For eight years, King's pseudonym went undiscovered. Then a bookstore clerk took a walk to the Library of Congress.

Dickens wrote, “I have the perfect conviction that I could magnetize a Frying-Pan.”

Courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Researchers working on a book about the poet stumbled on two of her unpublished poems hidden in a notebook.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the better players on team.

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For readers young and old.

You can thank us later for creating your reading list for the next five years.

Whether they were stolen, destroyed, or locked in a time capsule, you won’t see these books on the shelves.

Traditional script isn't disappearing anytime soon.

By Mathew Brady - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The 165-year-old novel is "like seeing the workshop of a great writer,” according to one scholar. “We’re discovering the process of Whitman’s own discovery.”

Despite how beloved Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' is, there have been plenty of people who hated it.

Designer Reimagines the Spanish Alphabet With Only 19 Letters

15 Powerful Quotes From Margaret Atwood

15 Facts About Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie

The Charming English Fishing Village That Inspired Dracula

P.G. Wodehouse's Exile from England

7 Facts About William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

16 of Truman Capote's Fiercest Insults

7 Things You Might Not Know About Their Eyes Were Watching God

11 Popular Quotes Commonly Misattributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald

10 Terrific Facts About Stephen King

The Fact and Fiction of Jack Kerouac's On the Road

The Blind Traveler: How James Holman Felt His Way Around the World to Become History's Most Prolific Explorer

26 Famous Authors' Favorite Books

Known Alias: How Stephen King Was Outed as Richard Bachman

Charles Dickens, Part-Time Mesmerist

New Poetry by Sylvia Plath Discovered in Her Archives

J.M. Barrie’s Literary All-Star Cricket Team

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50 Essential Children's Books

50 of Our Favorite Books by Women

The Unpublished Manuscripts of 7 Famous Authors

Cursive Is Regaining Popularity in U.S. Schools

Lost Walt Whitman Novel Offers an Early Glimpse Into Leaves of Grass

7 People Who Hated Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice