Legends of Literature: The Best Articles, Interviews and Essays from the Archives of Writers Digest Magazine

by Phillip Sexton (Editor)

Contemporary readers are exposed to long lost reflections and opinions on writing through this collection of the most fascinating of the essays, interviews, profiles, and articles featured in Writer's Digest Magazine over the course of more than eight decades. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Writing, Literature, Essays, Nonfiction

325 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology of articles that previously appeared in Writer’s Digest takes us back to a time when professional writing was considered a man’s game, mostly a white man’s, when you could make a living selling short stories to magazines, when there was no Internet, when all publication was on paper, and rejection slips came in the mail. Ranging from the 1920s to 1980s, the essays include many famous names: Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Kurt Vonnegut, H.G. Wells, Hugh Hefner, and George Bernard Shaw. Some offer instruction while others offer their views on writing and the writing business. Some of the writers are surprisingly arrogant, Shaw in particular. Can we apply much of what’s written here to today? Some. The essence of writing has not changed, but what, where and how one publishes is a whole other story. I’m glad I read this, and I will keep it as a remembrance of days gone by.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven mix of useful and dated articles chosen most likely for the fame/notoriety of the authors (either when published or after publication of such articles or letters to Writer's Digest). Still, some good materials mixed across a few too many pages (in my opinion).

[Nickky Faustine de Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read for professional writers, budding writers, and wanna-be writers.