Be careful what you wish for. I’m talking to you, Liz Lopatto and Galleycat Ron Hogan. According to Hogan, the two were out drinking scotch recently and came up with “an idea for the best new reality series…MFA Fiction Workshop.” And now this week, a casting call went out for “The Ultimate Author.” Not quite the reality show Hogan and Lopatto were envisioning, the program will feature 8 wannabe authors competing to write the best stories in a variety of genres to win a book deal. According to the show’s producer, contestants “must be smart enough to spell well, creative enough to coordinate a themed book gathering, savvy enough to handle an ambush interview, wise enough to develop an effective marketing plan, and talented enough to help design an eye-catching book cover.” No mention of whether or not you have to write well. While profanity is not allowed, you can say “ass” or bitch,” just not excessively. I feel a tad guilty about being snarky, especially since the producer says her intention is to promote writing and reading, but there’s a spelling error on the “Writing Challenge” test, for God’s sake (see the “incorrect punctuation mark” section). The reality show I wanted to make after attending KR‘s Writers Workshop (under the tutelage of the wonderful Claire Messud) would look more like “Survivor,” with challenges, such as “write your way out of a paper bag,” and the opportunity to vote annoying workshoppers (you know, the ones who start every statement with, “well, in my novel…”) off the island.
Fontasia. Over at Slate, Luc Sante, Elisa Zuritsky, Maile Meloy, and other authors share their favorite fonts. Courier, that ubiquitous font of beloved IBM Selectrics everywhere, seems to take the lead. I’m a Times New Roman, but only because it is the default on my Word program. I have an irrational dislike for Verdana, opting always for Arial when sans serif must be used. According to a 2001 BBC report on the personality of fonts, Courier is for “sensible shoes” people, while “serif styles such as Times New Roman show a compromise between old and new, conjuring up images of trustworthiness that have made them a favourite of solicitors.”