Author Masterclasses

'Certain rhythms, certain cores of sentences, come to you like dreams'

Nicholas Dames' masterclass on prose style Part II; a candidate for the best-written first book of the century; and the best from this year's John…

Mar 20 •

Picking the best-written books

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'How much elation I got out of savage and precise wit!'

Nicholas Dames' masterclass on prose style; the best-written NBCC novel of the century; and the best from this year's shortlist

Mar 17 •

Picking the best-written books

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'In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed algorithm is king.'

Ryan O'Connor's in-depth guide to prose style

Jan 29 •

Ryan O’Connor

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'Writers who don’t obsessively polish their writing must be made to walk the plank.'

Rob Doyle's masterclass on prose style

Jan 22 •

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Picking the best-written books

Multi-award-winning speculative fiction author Nicola Griffith's guide to prose style

Plus the opening pages of Griffith's novel Spear

Dec 15, 2023 •

Nicola Griffith

A masterclass on prose style, by Anna Della Subin

The author of 2023's best-written history book discusses stylistic issues in nonfiction

Dec 11, 2023 •

Picking the best-written books

'It’s about Adolf Hitler. As a private detective.'

Part 2 of Lavie Tidhar's in-depth masterclass on prose style

Dec 7, 2023 •

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Picking the best-written books

A masterclass on prose style from the multi-award–winning Lavie Tidhar

Part 1 of our in-depth piece from the author of The Circumference of the World

Dec 6, 2023 •

Picking the best-written books

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Part 2 of Eskor David Johnson's masterclass on prose style

Including: the best modern stylists; Echelon writing; stylistic pet peeves.

Dec 4, 2023 •

Eskor David Johnson

Masterclass on prose style from Eskor David Johnson, shortlisted for the First Novel Prize

Part 1 of our in-depth piece from the author of Pay As You Go

Dec 3, 2023 •

Eskor David Johnson

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Picking the best-written books

Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch's unique Auraist interview on the language of fascist horror

'Literary style should be a way of knowing how the world is met in its unfolding.'

Nov 27, 2023 •

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Picking the best-written books

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