Posts from — May 2008

Is your brain fried? Do you need a little break or maybe some journalistic inspiration from the good ol’ days of yore? Take a gander at TimesMachine, the New York Times’ virtual archive of every issue, all the way back to Volume 1, Number 1 from September 18, 1851.

The real bonus is that each issue is laid out in its original formatting so you can view everything just like they did in the olden days…well, besides the fact you’re using one of those new-fangled computing-thing-a-ma-jiggies. Kids these days…

Maurice Sendak’s much-beloved children’s book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE has been adapted in various forms since its 1963 publication, but no treatment of the boy-and-his-monsters tale has garnered so much attention as the upcoming live-action movie, written by Dave Eggers and directed by Spike Jonze. But even with all these mega-talents, the movie’s release date keeps getting pushed back. Boldtype asks, “Why?”

Read the whole article on Boldtype.

Do you have a children’s book you’d like to see on the big screen someday? Why not send a query letter or book proposal to a publisher like Barefoot Books to see what kind of (lucrative) mischief your wild things can stir up. Use WordHustler to make sure your submission gets there on time and on the money.

 
According to the LA Times’ Web Scout, “last Friday morning the opening line of ‘The Waste Land,’ T.S. Eliot’s most famous poem, became one of most explosively Googled phrases in America.” Google’s Hot Trends, an online glimpse at what people are most ardently searching the Internet for at any given time, didn’t explain exactly why the phrase “April is the Cruelest Month” spiked in popularity. So the Times’ Web Scout had to dig deep…and you may be surprised at what he discovered.

Read the whole article at LA Times. 

Are you a poet like T.S. Eliot? Why not enter the Writer’s Digest Poetry Contest? But poets, hark: the deadline is June 2nd so hurry up or June will be the cruelest month too! Go, WordHustler, go! 

In 2007, Penguin Books launched a project to write a community book authored by 1,500 people. Yes, that’s right. Over a thousand writers. And one book. The result? Um…..why don’t you just read the article on Gawker.

Click HERE to read the article on Gawker.

Have you co-authored a book with yourself? Well, you should write a query letter on WordHustler.com and send it out to obtain some stellar representation. Try sending your letter and a few sample chapters to Max & Co, A Literary Agency. Hustler on, Hustler!

A generation ago, Americans genuinely knew their sports heroes: Joe Namath’s likes, Mickey Mantle’s dislikes, Babe Ruth’s favorite drink. But today reporters have a hard time even getting an interview. Slate’s Pat Jordan says the chasm between journalists and professional athletes is only deepened by managers, agents, publicists, and plain old distrust. But why?

Read the whole article on Slate.

Tired of trying to break through the elusive professional athlete facade? Why not interview some female athletes? The ladies of Her Sports Magazine would love to hear from you. Send them a query letter through WordHustler today!

The New York Times book review asks the gripping question: “What do Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein have in common?” Besides being geniuses, they both would look pretty good sprinting down a fiery hallway in slow motion. Okay, maybe not. But in a Dan Brown-esque move, author Mark Alpert has crafted a novel putting an Einstein scholar in the middle of a life and death equation.

Read more on Books of The Times.

Do you have a historical murder-mystery you want to get published? Well the first step is to get a killer agent. Why don’t you send a query letter to the good folks at Folio Literary Management? WordHustler wants to help you write a query letter that will slay ‘em.