The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature is quite a
timely release: fantasy is the hottest genre in
the industry, with popular book to film box office
hits like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings,
and Shrek. The book
helps writers learn how
to craft a fantasy story, with explanations of
fantasy styles, tips, examples from fantasy novels
and information on how to submit your work for publication.
The book also features interviews with top fantasy authors,
such as John Marco,
Donna Jo Napoli, Diane Schoemperlen,
Ursula K. Le Guin, Peter S. Kemper, Terry
Pratchett. Sections in the book focus
on developing fantasy characters, creating
fantasy worlds and plotting.
The resource section includes lists of top
fantasy markets, reference books and
research websites.
The Writer's Handbook is a comprehensive
annual guide for writers from The Writer Books,
publisher of The Writer magazine. For years
the book was edited by Sylvia Burack, but
since the sale of The Writer to the
Kalmbach Publishing Company, the
book is now edited by Elfrieda Abbe, the
editor of The Writer magazine. Despite the
change in editors, the book continues to provide a vast amount of
practical information and market listings for writers.
This year's edition of the The Writer's
Handbook includes a preface from bestselling
author Frank McCourt. The first part of the book provides over 275
pages of essays about
writing from established writers, plus
interviews with well-known authors. The
second part of the book includes market
listings for periodicals, plays, greeting
cards, screenplays, syndicates and book publishers.
The market listings include contact information,
payment information and a brief description of
what types of material the market buys.
The book also includes listings for literary agents,
writing contests, writer's groups, organizations,
colonies and conferences. The Writer's
Handbook is an excellent book for both freelancers and
novelists alike: the how-to articles with the
market listings make this an indispensable guide
for both freelancers and novelists alike.
Return to the February 2002 issue of The IWJ.