Jane Smiley Interview from Author Magazine

JE: As I’ve mentioned before (see interviews with Chris Cleave and Andre Dubus Jr.), friend of the blog and creator of Author Magazine, Bill Kenower, shoots an excellent series of author interviews at Third Place Books in Seattle. Bill’s a novelist himself, and I think he does a great job getting other writers to open up on camera, which is a real talent. I should point out that not only is Bill providing us all with great content, but he’s building himself a hell of a platform, and an amazing network. Think of the potential blurbers he’ll be able to approach when his next book is ready. Every young writer needs to be paving these inroads if he/she wants to grow a successful career–trust me, it’s cold out there. And the best way to build a great network is by helping others (in Bill’s case, by providing them with great coverage). I know a lot of writers find the PR element of the job distasteful, and all I can say to them is that they’d better start acquiring a taste unless they wanna’ starve, or unless they’re Richard Ford. Yes, there’s something noble about starving, something poetic, but for me the novelty wore off right around my thirty-eight birthday. So, anyway, big ups to BK for conceiving this interview series on all levels.

Recently, Bill interviewed Jane Smiley regarding The Georges and the Jewels among other things, and BK has been so kind as to let us run the footage here at Three Guys. If you enjoy this interview, go to Author Mag and check out Bill’s archives—pretty amazing cross-section of interviews, covering all genres.

Andre Dubus III Interview on Author Magazine JE: My friend Bill Kenower of Author Magazine does an excellent series of interviews with touring writers in conjunction with Third Place Books in Seattle, one of the great indie...
Chris Cleave with Bill Kenower JE: My friend Bill Kenower of Author Magazine does an excellent series of interviews with touring writers in conjunction with Third Place Books in Seattle, one of the great indie...
A Conversation on Interviews and Networking DH: Reading is a solitary activity but I wouldn’t call it lonely. You do need to isolate yourself…keep family and friends, co-workers or surrounding strangers at bay. I’d say...
Knock Magazine Online Sale Starts Today Jonathan Evison guest editor, with fiction from Keith Dixon, Matthew Comito, James P. Othmer and Jason Rice, and many others. Interviews with David Liss and Cris Mazza, and a lot...
Emerging Writers Network Reviews JR You are invited to check out the review of Jason Rice’s short story Friends on the very strong Emerging Writers Network…one of the best sites on which to keep up...