The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of House and the editor of Atlantic Monthly share stories from their literary friendship and respective careers, offering insight into writing principles and mechanics that they have identified as elementary to quality prose.

"An indispensable guide." Richard Lederer, author of The Write Way, Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay, and Comma Sense --

Don’t let simple mistakes ruin your book’s chances! If you’re not getting published, you may suffer from foggy writing—writing that’s full of unnecessary, misused, and overused words. Foggy writing drives editors crazy, and it’s the number one reason most manuscripts are rejected on first glance. Let veteran editor Don McNair show you how to clear up your foggy writing and produce sparkling copy that will attract agents, editors, readers, and sales. Editor-Proof Your Writing will show you how to avoid fatal writing mistakes by eliminating unnecessary words—and in the process you’ll strengthen your book’s action, invigorate your dialogue, and make your writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A must-have addition to every writer’s toolkit, Editor-Proof Your Writing won’t just make your writing clearer; it will make you a better writer — more expressive, more entertaining, and more likely to sell.

In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and tricks of the masters to discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humour and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart – to take pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; to look to John le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue and to Flannery O’ Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail; to be inspired by Emily Brontë ’ s structural nuance and Charles Dickens’ s deceptively simple narrative techniques. Most importantly, Prose cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all literature is crafted, and reminds us that good writing comes out of good reading.

Offering aspiring authors dependable skills beyond the high school classroom, this reference covers the essentials of composing superior prose. Clear instructions on all aspects are featured, including approaching a topic, penning a solid introduction, bringing a story together, and editing for precision. Guaranteed to make every word count and maintain an appropriate energy level, this expert handbook is also filled with real-world examples of published writing—both good and bad—providing quick and humorous advice for all writers looking to showcase their work in speeches, broadcasting, or on the internet.

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times

"Style" is considered one of the greatest guides to writing well. Legendary among writers and critics, but lost for almost 40 years, "Style" is now back in a beautiful new edition, and remains as entertaining and informative as ever.