Writer's Reader, The: Vocation, Preparation, Creation

The Writer's Reader is an anthology of essays on the art and life of writing by major writers of the past and present. It draws on the experiences and advice of many of the world's best writers, mainly from Britain and America, but also from Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

These essays offer a wealth of insights into the varied ways in which writers approach writing and represent a practical resource as well as a source of inspiration for those who are hoping to become writers or who are, perhaps, just at the beginnings of their career. They range from classic to less well-known, historical to contemporary, and include, for example, essays on the vocation of writing by Natalia Ginzburg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Flannery O'Connor, Chinua Achebe, and Julia Alvarez; thoughts on preparing for writing by, among others, Roberto Bolano, Joan Didion, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Carver, Montaigne, and Cynthia Ozick; and essays on the craft of writing by writers such as Italo Calvino, Colm Tóibin, Virginia Woolf, Philip Roth, Lydia Davis, David Foster Wallace, and Zadie Smith.

Taken together, this collection is a must-read for any student or devotee of writing.