f a i l b e t t e r . c o m | news+notes

Authors, Pets, Inspiration!

So, not exactly news, but the always interesting Brain Pickings has an interesting post about the important role pets play in the life of famous authors. As a struggling writer, I am personally enjoying my dog barking loudly and with fury at our neighbor coming in to the apartment across ...

Paper Lives!

In the midst of big news that has to do with paper (like, oh, Amazon buying Goodreads) it's always fun to inject some light into the argument. While we are forever debating (and reading about) whether or not we are reading more less these days, leave it to the French to ...

Marlin Barton Talks Novellas

Who better to discuss the form than an author who has just published his last novella excerpt? Read Part 3 of "Playing War" here What’s in a Name? A Few Thoughts on the Novella / By Marlin Barton Though Katherine Anne Porter wrote three of them, “Old Mortality,” “Noon Wine,” and “Pale Horse, ...

The Bell Jar or Chick Lit?

One of these images is just as hellacious as the other: 1. The Carnival Triumph “cruise from hell’ that left passengers drifting in the Gulf of Mexico with backed up plumbing and no AC, forced to erect tent villages on the deck: 2. The 50th anniversary cover of Sylvia Plath’s ...

Quickie Q & A with failbetter Author Grant Ginder

We try to be a full service journal over here at failbetter, anticipating your wants and needs as readers before you are even wanting or needing. That's what 2 or 3 Questions is all about--and now, it's Grant Ginder's turn in the hot seat. 1) Which has been better for your ...

Happy Ho Days!

We're taking a few well-deserved weeks off at the end of the year, but already have a bunch 'O new works set to be published in the New Year. In the meantime, if you are still looking for possible gift ideas, might we suggest this...

They said what?

I attended one of my first literary award dinners this past weekend. I will not bore you with the details of which famous author’s hand I got to shake or details of the other guests at my table, aside from saying that the odd assemblage of said characters bluster was ...

An Introduction, and then some things that are funny. . .

So, it's a little strange to introduce yourself--you know, the awkwardness and limitations of the first person POV. I'll make it short and sweet: My name is Shannon O'Neill and I'm the brand spanking new social media director here at Failbetter. I'm a Taurus, I remember a world before the Internet ...

You Likes Us…You Really Like Us!

Well gee golly gosh....We just got a nice little review on New Pages. More importantly, they seem to like what Ann Tashi Slater, Noha Al-Badry and Kara Candito have to say in our latest issue. Of course, we're always happy to provide our readers with some damn good reads and ...

We’re Back!

Get ready folks! Fall is here and guess who is back? That's right failbetter fans, we're back baby! Our fall 2012 issue is unfolding as we speak. Sure, some folks might not be so excited about the news. And others still may mock the point of it all. But we're ...