Neil Gaiman presents lifetime achievement award to Ursula K. Le Guin at 2014 National Book Awards

For more than forty years, Le Guin has defied conventions of narrative, language, character, and genre, as well as transcended the boundaries between fantasy and realism, to forge new paths for literary fiction. Among the nation’s most revered writers of science fiction and fantasy, Le Guin’s fully imagined worlds challenge readers to consider profound philosophical and existential questions about gender, race, the environment, and society. Her boldly experimental and critically acclaimed novels, short stories, and children’s books, written in elegant prose, are popular with millions of readers around the world.

In recognition of her transformative impact on American literature, Ursula K. Le Guin is the 2014 recipient of the Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the Foundation’s twenty-seventh award recipient.
 

Kurt Vonnegut on how to write a short story

Advice from Vonnegut, because today everything is storytelling. 

How Headlines Change The Way We Think

Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker:

Psychologists have long known that first impressions really do matter—what we see, hear, feel, or experience in our first encounter with something colors how we process the rest of it. Articles are no exception. And just as people can manage the impression that they make through their choice of attire, so, too, can the crafting of the headline subtly shift the perception of the text that follows. By drawing attention to certain details or facts, a headline can affect what existing knowledge is activated in your head. By its choice of phrasing, a headline can influence your mindset as you read so that you later recall details that coincide with what you were expecting. For instance, the headline of this article I wrote—”A Gene That Makes You Need Less Sleep?”—is not inaccurate in any way. But it does likely prompt a focus on one specific part of the piece. If I had instead called it “Why We Need Eight Hours of Sleep,” people would remember it differently.

Steven Pinker On Bad And Good Writing

The Economist in conversation with psychologist and word-usage expert Steven Pinker. He has produced a new style guide with cognitive sensibilities called "The Sense of Style".

Is Technology Making Us Better Storytellers?

Technology has changed way we tell stories, but has it changed the quality of storytelling? At this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, a group of writers, artists, and producers weighed in. "We're revisiting the same explorations of the soul that have been going on for hundreds of generations," says House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon. Other panelists include Michael Eisner, Catherine Burns, Jay Allison, Paula Kerger, Jon Lovett, Yoni Bloch, Pete McBride, and Hari Kondabolu.