The Curious Diary of Mr Jam

Counting the cash

How much money do you get from one book released at a single location?

Meet famous authors this week!

 
Pop in on Wednesday morning and say hello to book industry people: it’s free

Typhoon hits the big march

 
But we just kept walking

Authors on the loose

 
Just got back from the children’s bookfest in Singapore. Here are the pix

REVEALED: Lift Lurker in the flesh

 
Mr Jam’s mysterious correspondent speaks out

Man prize shock for authors

Man Asian prize has lost the Man

How to write a story

Just some thoughts on writing

What was missed about this year’s Booker

The press failed to notice something

Will you help me buy lunch?

These kids won my heart

Jeet’s amazing story

 
Bumped into Jeet Thayil last night: a guy who is “living the dream”.

Lift Lurker’s identity to be revealed

 

At last we’ll see his face

There are 129 million books in the world

 
And that’s if you only count each title once

Two buddies make the big time

 
Asian authors roar past the establishment graybeards

Books return to their roots

Reader Joshua Samuel Brown this morning sent this picture of Astrid’s book tree, an innovative giveaway system in Portland, Oregon. “On the finest books are allowed to hang,” he said, noting the presence of one of this author’s novels.  Thanks Josh and Astrid. I always knew my writings would be hung up, but I assumed it would be in a toilet.

Sneak peek: how to get published

The final stage before printing is “Blueprint”. On my desk today you see the cover and each individual chunk of pages (in the old days they used blue ink for this stage). There’s no time for corrections: one just checks the pages are vaguely in the right order and none are upside down. Then the printer gets the green light and presses the red button.

Shock horror at the book fest

A pot that needed to be stirred

20 Writers Wanted: pass it on!

I’m looking for people who want to get published or write movies

Scientists find real magic rock!

 
Icon from children’s literature actually works

I meet a real President

And five tips about how to behave when meeting powerful people

How to deal with rejection

  
Don’t get mad, don’t get even, just be stupidly grateful: it works for me