Celebrating 90 Years of WD: Literary Heroes
Join the celebration of 90 Years of WD with these quotes and images from our past literary heroes, including Hemingway, Capote and King. Plus, you could win a copy of Legends of Literature (Writer’s Digest Books).
In 2010, Writer’s Digest will turn 90. To celebrate, we’ll be counting down to our nonagenarian years with a look back at WD history. In the April issue, we tipped our bookmarks to some of the literary heroes who have graced our pages since 1920. The retrospective continues here.
“The pleasure is the rewriting: The first sentence can’t be written until the final sentence is written.” —Joyce Carol Oates (April 1986 WD)
“At parties, people usually approach the writer of horror fiction with a mixture of wonder and trepidation. They look carefully into your eyes to make sure there’s no overt bloodlust in them, and then ask the inevitable question: ‘I really liked your last story … where do you get your ideas?” —Stephen King, in his article “The Horror Writer Market and the Ten Bears” (November 1973 WD)
“The only obligation any artist can have is to himself. His work means nothing, otherwise. It has no meaning.” —Truman Capote (January 1966 WD)
• January 1962 cover, Kerouac
• Classified ad from Jack London’s secretary, January 1934 WD, p. 7
• O. Henry’s Christmas Story, letter to editor, September 1926 WD, p. 43
• Ambrose Bierce-endorsed ad, December 1931 WD, p. 2
• April 1974 cover, April Fools
• 1st page of Pearl S. Buck’s article “Advice to Novelists,” (entire article is 6 pages) April 1935, p. 13
To read an interview with Ernest Hemingway and writing advice other legends of literature, click here.
Click here to visit the forum and post a picture of yourself with your oldest issue of WD! At the end of the year, one participant will be randomly chosen to win a copy of Legends of Literature: The Best Articles, Interviews and Essays from the Archives of Writer’s Digest Magazine.
