Oblivion: An Auto-Autobiography
June 2022
"Oblivion is a deeply intelligent and strikingly honest exploration of what ultimately drives a writer to write, and the cold loneliness of the journey, and how literary success in one’s lifetime is, at best, a fickle proposition. I will tell every writer I know, struggling or successful, to read this book."—Kaylie Jones, author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me: A Memoir
When Rock and rollers die, it's often said they go to that "great rock band in the sky." But what about writers? In Robin Hemley's poignant and wildly humorous new book, Oblivion: An After Autobiography, writers go to The Cafe of Minor Authors (the writers who aren;t famous at least). A tale of literary ambition that survives death, Oblivion follows the afterlife of one hapless author searching for a way out of oblivion, who, in the process, encounters old literary friends and enemies, Prague of 1911, the Yiddish theater, Franz Kafka and his close friend, Max Brod, and dybbuks. Like Andrew Sean Greer's Less, but with dead people.
The Art and Craft of Asian Stories: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology
September 2021
"Everyone knows that the domination of Western storytelling is a problem, but what to do about it? The Art and Craft of Asian Stories offers practical and thought-provoking advice. And you don't have to be an Asian storyteller, by the way, to be enriched and inspired by these pages." —Gish Jen, Author of Thank you, Mr. Nixon
An all-in-one craft guide and anthology, this is the first creative writing book to find inspiration and guidance in the diverse literary traditions of Asia. Including exemplary stories by leading writers from Japan, China, India, Singapore and beyond as well as those from Asian diasporas in Europe and America, The Art and Craft of Asian Stories offers an exciting take on the traditional how-to writing guide by drawing from a rich new trove of short stories beyond the western canon which readers may never have encountered before. While still taking stock of the traditional elements of story such as character, viewpoint and setting, Xu and Hemley let these compelling stories speak for themselves to offer readers new ideas and approaches which could enrich their own creative work. Structured around the themes encountered in the stories, such as race and identity, history and power, family and aspirations, this text is a vital companion for writers at all levels keen to develop and find new perspectives on key elements of their craft.
Latest news
The audio version of Oblivion: An After Autobiography will be published by Blackstone Publishing.
Robin’s forthcoming book, Oblivion: An After Autobiography, will be released in June 2022. You can pre-order a copy here.
Robin and Xu Xi have released their book, The Art and Craft of Asian Stories: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology. You can read a review of it here.
