Dear Jeff, Congratulations on your recent purchase of Goodreads The Washington Post All Creation. You already owned the world’s biggest marketplace for ebooks, and let’s give you credit for having the vision to make the Kindle happen. Now you own the biggest community of readers in the world, and those 16 million super-readers, and their influenceContinue reading “An open letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Is the death of the bookshop a sign of progress?
High street bookshops maye soon be a distant memory. Should we take this as a sign of progress, or the regression of society to a pre-literate state? Today the last big bookshop in Leicester, the city where I reside, closed its doors. The out of town Borders went three years ago. Waterstones on Market StreetContinue reading “Is the death of the bookshop a sign of progress?”
Can you teach writing?
Is the wrong question. What we should ask is, can you learn writing? To which the answer is an unequivocal YES! All writers teach themselves, through an intense and lifelong process of reading, writing, critiquing, editing, rewriting and rereading. This is how we learn. In this process, a good teacher can save you immense timeContinue reading “Can you teach writing?”
Walk with me through Weird London
UPDATE : Joining me on my walk through Weird London will be Tom Pollock, author of The City’s Son, Geraldine Beskin, owner of the Atlantis bookshop, and none other than M John Harrison, arguably among greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy literature of all time. On Thursday 16th May I’m taking a psycho-geographical tourContinue reading “Walk with me through Weird London”
The wisdom of technology
Wisdom 2.0 has grown very fast in only four years. From its first panel discussion in May 2010, between Google VP Bradley Horowitz and zen teacher Joan Halifax, the conference has stayed focused on its signature blend of technology and spirituality. In February 2013 Wisdom 2.0 filled the Concourse Exhibition Centre in San Francisco withContinue reading “The wisdom of technology”
Big Brother, big data and the creator culture
News of secret courts being introduced in the world’s oldest democracy should scare any rational human. The right to a public trial has survived feudalism, Henry VIII and the industrial revolution, but couldn’t stand up to the forces of global capitalism. Secret courts could be an idea from Alan Moore’s polemic on Thatcher’s Britain, VContinue reading “Big Brother, big data and the creator culture”
Could you go one week without the internet?
A guest post in a series form students on the BA Creative and Professional Writing at Nottingham University. A friend texts me an invite for coffee, but spends the next two hours continuously checking her phone. She isn’t receiving calls or emails from work – she’s refreshing her Facebook live feed. I ask her whyContinue reading “Could you go one week without the internet?”
Not knitting but blogging
Are older generation writers missing out on the power of social media to further their work? GUEST POST : Carolyn Doudge is a late-comer to fiction writing. She is currently studying for a degree in Creative and Professional Writing at Nottingham University. You would think that upwards of half a life-time hanging out on theContinue reading “Not knitting but blogging”
Social media users – beware, the psychiatrist is watching you
Is Internet Use Disorder a 21st century mental illness? GUEST POST : Helen Durham is a part-time undergraduate of the University of Nottingham’s BA in Creative and Professional Writing, trying to learn Mindfulness to alleviate the stress of assignment deadlines piling up http://peaceinafranticworld.wordpress.com/ The fifth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersContinue reading “Social media users – beware, the psychiatrist is watching you”
How the ‘Poetry Engine’ gives museum visits a whole new meaning
GUEST POST : Elaine is a Doctoral student in Education and also nearing the end of her BA in Creative and Professional Writing at the University of Nottingham. She runs Strange Alliances, a blog exploring different ways of creating narratives through different forms of media and can be found on Twitter @EMAldred. Next time youContinue reading “How the ‘Poetry Engine’ gives museum visits a whole new meaning”
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every writer wants to be famous
In this ever-increasing self-publishing explosion, how can you get yourself noticed? GUEST POST : Angela Foxwood is a budding author, singer, poet, part time student at University of Nottingham and mum of one. It is a truth universally acknowledged that every writer wants the world to know how brilliant they are. This used to involveContinue reading “It is a truth universally acknowledged that every writer wants to be famous”
Can’t print and digital media all just get along?
The debate over ebooks and their printed ancestors rages on. I see no reason for them to be at war with each other. GUEST POST : Emily Cooper (rusticwriter) is a freelance writer, typesetter and editor. She is a soon-to-be-graduate of ‘Creative and Professional Writing’ at Nottingham University and enjoys capturing the strangely beautiful andContinue reading “Can’t print and digital media all just get along?”
Damien Walter 