New York Times By The Book Interview
Click here to read my New York Times By the Book Interview
I talked to The New York Times about how I wish more novelists would write about people’s jobs!
News
How Gmail Became Our Diary | New York Magazine
CLICK HERE TO READ “How Gmail Became Our Diary”
Gmail just turned 20 (?!?!) and New York Magazine asked a bunch of writers to dig back in our emails for something we’d written in 2004, and talk about it. I found an email from a very wobbly time in my life, and picked it apart. Here’s the link; you can also read entries from writers like Major Jackson, Sloane Crosley, and Paul Murray.
A Prayer for Budapest | Oprah Daily
Click here to read “A Prayer for Budapest”
For Oprah Daily, I wrote about revisiting my father’s hometown—and the capital of Hungary—to find traces of our shared past. You can read about it here!
The Novelist’s Toolkit with Rebecca Makkai: StoryStudio On Demand
Novelist Rebecca Makkai presents six online lectures on aspects of the novel, addressing the writer’s work plan, novel structure and outlining, backstage decisions, pacing, character, and editing.
There are three common places a novelist gets stuck: page zero, page thirty, and page one hundred. That first sticking point is, of course, about lacking the nerve to begin — while those stuck around page thirty have likely begun with great hope, only to realize either they’re missing the knowledge they need to structure an entire novel, or that they’re not sure what this book is even really about. Those who make it to around the hundredth page have overcome those initial hurdles but are still faced with the great impossibility that is the middle of the novel.
Maybe you’re stuck somewhere else, or maybe you’re not stuck at all — but these six online lectures will give you a novelist’s toolkit for seeing your draft through to completion and beyond.
No workshopping, reading, or other homework will be required. This class is relevant for those working in any genre of novel.
Our six classes will be:
The Work Plan
We’ll talk outlining (when, how, why), schedule, work ethic, the myth of writer’s block, and how to keep working for the long haul. We’ll also talk about realism regarding the size and scope of the project you’ve cut out for yourself, and how to know when you’re tackling too much or too little.
Structure, Momentum, Tension, Stakes
While there’s no formula for a novel’s structure (and books that tell you otherwise are going to lead you down the path of predictability and cliche), there are some core elements of story structure that transcend genre, time, and culture — ones that it’s best to know, even if only to rebel against. We’ll talk about the arc of a novel, and the momentum and tension and stakes that will keep a reader turning pages.
Backstage Decisions
There are some big, heady decisions we have to make early in the novel process — ones about point of view, framework, the point of telling, the ear of the story, the rules of telling, and the rules of the world. These are the kinds of decisions you can ignore for a little while, until your novel runs smack into its own impossibility. We’ll talk through these choices, what they mean, and how to go about making them.
Pacing, Backstory, and Balance
A common drafting mistake is the Chapter Two Information Dump, in which we learn everything about a character all at once. But another common mistake is not slowing down to give us the information we need in order to care about the character. There are solutions to this paradox! We’ll talk about backstory, memory, and flashback, as well as the cause-and-effect foundations of forward, ongoing action.
Character, Dialogue, Interiority
We expect more out of a novel character than we do from a short story character (who might be quickly painted) or from a film character (who most likely lacks interiority). We’ll talk about creating and sustaining long-haul characters, about the many layers of interiority that can give them life and depth, about mapping character relationships, and about the dialogue that we rely on particularly to bring non-point-of-view characters to life.
Macro Edits, Micro Edits
A completed first draft is simply the moment when you meet your novel for the first time; much, if not most, of the work still lies ahead. We’ll talk about the stamina needed for those edits, as well as strategies and steps for mid-stream edits, full-draft edits, restructuring, rewriting, and retroactive outlining. We’ll also talk about the finer grades of sandpaper we need later on, polishing on the level of the line. And we’ll talk about what to do when a draft is running too long.
Northwestern Summer Writers’ Conference
The Northwestern University Summer Writers’ Conference returns on Friday, July 19 – Saturday, July 20. Once again, it will be held online, welcoming writers from around the globe to participate in this extraordinary event.
Since its inception in 2004, the conference has offered a variety of programming for writers of all genres and backgrounds. This year’s attendees have the unique opportunity to learn from award-winning authors on how to uncover the heart of a story, use nature to make sense of the world, tease universal insights from personal experiences, and navigate the complexities of flashbacks. The conference features a variety of specialized workshops on flash fiction, imaginative travel writing, and character development. Participants can also receive pro tips on publishing as practice and how to embrace the concept of ‘good enough.’ For those seeking personalized feedback, individual manuscript consultations with conference faculty are available.
This year’s esteemed workshop instructors include Paula Carter, Gioia Diliberto, Kate Harding, Laurie Lawlor, Rebecca Makkai, Juan Martinez, Faisal Mohyuddin, Lori Rader-Day, Christine Sneed, and Megan Stielstra.
Hosted by the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies MA in Writing and MFA in Prose and Poetry programs, this conference offers an unparalleled platform for writers to deepen their understanding of the craft and business of writing.
Live at The Newberry Library on Thursday, April 13, 2023: Rebecca Makkai and Meg Wolitzer —Novelists on the Craft of Writing
Award-winning authors Rebecca Makkai and Meg Wolitzer will reflect on their work and growth as authors.
This program will be held in-person at the Newberry and livestreamed on Zoom. The online version of this event will be live captioned. Please register here.
This installment of “Conversations at the Newberry” features award-winning novelists Rebecca Makkai and Meg Wolitzer.
In this event, Chicago author Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions for You, The Great Believers) will interview New York-based and New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer (The Female Persuasion, The Interestings) about a life in books, her growth as an author, her film adaptations—including 2017’s The Wife—and her new role as host of Public Radio’s popular Selected Shorts podcast.
This program also marks the launch of a new series curated by Rebecca Makkai and StoryStudio, which will pair major visiting authors in conversation with local discussion partners. Unlike bookstore or festival events promoting an author’s latest book, these evenings will highlight the author’s whole career, with a focus on the craft of writing. Perfect for readers and writers alike, each event will celebrate one author’s work—a glimpse behind the creative curtain, a chance to ask questions, and an opportunity to mingle with other literary folk. You’ll also be able to purchase books and have them signed.
The event, generously sponsored by Sue and Melvin Gray and presented in collaboration with StoryStudio Chicago, is free to the public.
Makkai’s latest book, I Have Some Questions for You, along with her 2018 novel The Great Believers, are available for purchase at the Newberry Bookshop.
Wolitzer’s novels, The Female Persuasion (2018) and The Interestings (2013) are available for purchase at the Newberry bookshop.
SPEAKERS
Rebecca Makkai is the Chicago-based author of the novels The Great Believers, a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award,?The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower. She is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University and Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago. Join her at SubMakk (it’s a Substack!)
Meg Wolitzer is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Female Persuasion, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking. She is also the author of the young adult novel Belzhar.
I Have Some Questions For You Available Now!
Penguin Random House | Exile In Bookville (Signed Copies Available)
Lake Forest Bookstore (Signed Copies Available) | Libro.fm (audio)
Amazon Audible
A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past — the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the 1995 murder of a classmate, Thalia Keith. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are the subject of intense fascination online, Bodie prefers — needs — to let sleeping dogs lie.
But when The Granby School invites her back to teach a two-week course, Bodie finds herself inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn’t as much of an outsider at Granby as she’d thought — if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.
Click here to purchase the book that The San Francisco Chronicle calls “Thought-provoking, deeply unsettling and undeniably riveting…A fully immersive, addictive whodunit.”
Raves for I Have Some Questions For You in The New Yorker + more!
Click here to purchase the book that the San Francisco Chronicle calls “Thought-provoking, deeply unsettling and undeniably riveting…A fully immersive, addictive whodunit.”
Praise for I Have Some Questions For You:
“What distinguishes Makkai’s turn is her detective framing: she understands that every high school, with its indelible characters and astronomical-seeming stakes, is a crime scene.” —The New Yorker
“[Makkai’s] prose is lean yet lush, with short, incantatory chapters and sentences as taut as piano wire.” —New York Times
“A twisty, immersive whodunit perfect for fans of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.” —People (print article 2/27 issue)
“Enthralling.” —Wall Street Journal
“[An] irresistible literary page-turner.” —The Boston Globe
“Bewitching.” —Vanity Fair
“[I Have Some Questions for You] calls into question our relationships to memory and power while also challenging readers to reconsider how we think about race, sex, and class.” —Time
“Thought-provoking, deeply unsettling and undeniably riveting . . . Part #MeToo manifesto, part true-crime page-turner, part campus coming-of-age, [I Have Some Questions for You] serves up compelling insights about the fallibility of memory and the slippery nature of truth . . . it’s a fully immersive, addictive whodunit.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Makkai’s triumph of a novel mixes clever storytelling with an exploration of consent, control and memory . . . satisfying and cleverly multi-layered . . . combines the smarts of literary fiction with the thrills of a whodunnit, topped with all the divertissements of the best boarding school-set dramas.” —Financial Times (London)
“Makkai has crafted an un-put-downable, captivating boarding school mystery novel with podcasting, teaching, race, divorce, parenting, professional drive, and teen dynamics as undercurrents . . . The writing in this book is absolutely A+ sensational. Pure perfection.” —Zibby Owens, GoodMorningAmerica.com
“Dark academia meets state of America in this brilliant, original novel.” —Daily Mail
“An enthralling mystery, an interrogation of the past, an entrancing campus novel, I Have Some Questions for You is a propulsive page-turner.” —B&N Reads
“This psychological thriller hits all the high notes, complete with at least a few revelations you won’t see coming.” —Good Housekeeping
“The Secret History meets Serial…[in this] modern campus novel, in which a woman goes back to her old boarding school to teach a class on podcasting and winds up reliving—and relitigating—her own youth and the murder of a classmate.” —LitHub
“[An] addictive page-turner.” —O Quarterly
“Clever and deeply thoughtful . . . a deliciously complex reckoning . . . [I Have Some Questions for You] is sure to be a hit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A thought-provoking and delicious tale of life and death and justice that very well may have gone sideways.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Engrossing . . . a well-plotted indictment of systemic racism and misogyny craftily disguised as a thriller and beautifully constructed to make its points.” —BookPage (starred review)
“A beguiling campus novel . . . Chilled as the deep New England winters during which it takes place and twisty with the slowly found and then suddenly illuminated branches of memory, Makkai’s rich, winding story dazzles from cover to cover.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Every year, I look for the novels that truly respect their victims, and think carefully about the tropes of true crime; for 2023, [I Have Some Questions for You] is that novel.” —Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
“Makkai’s novel takes on some of the defining issues of its time […] without battering readers with them. Instead, Makkai carefully winds her themes around her story’s scaffolding, which strengthens her masterly plot even more.” —Shelf Awareness
“[Makkai adds] intriguing layers of complication . . . Well plotted, well written, and well designed.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Part boarding school drama, part forensic whodunnit, I Have Some Questions for You is a true literary mystery—haunting and hard to put down.” —Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad and The Candy House
“I’ve been waiting years for a book like this! You will laugh, think, think again, cry and stay up all night finishing it. Unputdownable and unforgettable. Makkai has written the book of the season.” —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less and Less Is Lost
“Both a deeply satisfying crime story and a thoughtful, even provocative, novel of ideas, I Have Some Questions for You narrates one woman’s interrogation of her own past while in turn posing difficult questions directly to its reader: about sex, power, privilege, and the ambient violence of contemporary American life. What a feat.” —Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind
“Some books are so universal that they feel bizarrely specific: I read I Have Some Questions for You as if it was written just for me, but I can’t imagine who wouldn’t love it. Timely, provocative, nuanced, generous—Rebecca Makkai astonishes once again with the perfect combination of brains and heart.” —Laura Lippmann, author of Dream Girl
“Rebecca Makkai’s extraordinary storytelling gifts are on full display in I Have Some Questions for You, a tense, sharply drawn, and impeccably plotted literary mystery andan urgent, propulsive story of the collision of gender, race, and class in a New England boarding school. I loved walking alongside narrator Bodie Kane—angry, obsessive, struggling with her own traumatic memories—in her imperfect attempts to reckon with a past she longs to leave behind.” —Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine
“One of the things I love most about Rebecca Makkai’s writing is her absolutely engaging voice; reading her books feels like hearing a well-told story by a longtime friend. This book—through the voice of its beautifully complex narrator, Bodie Kane—brings readers along on a journey they won’t forget.” —Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Long Bright River
News Interviews and Profiles for I Have Some Questions For You
Selected Print:
American Booksellers’ Association Bookweb.org
Selected Audio:
I Have Some Questions For You – Book Club Kit
If you’re reading I Have Some Questions For You with your book club, please enjoy the IHSQFY Book Club Kit! Download the IHSQFY Book Club Kit Here!
