There is talk of a new magazine for New York in the spring, with May Riley Smith as editor. William Henry Bishop, the novelist, has entered upon his third year of European residence, and does not seem disposed to curtail his stay. He is now living in Verona, in the Palazzina Giusti. Librarian Spofford thinks that within three years he will be able to move the National Library into the new building going up in Washington. Dr. D. G. Brinton is preparing a series of lectures on the "Ethnology of Modern Europe," and a work on the ethnology of the American (Indian) race, both of which he hopes to publish in 1891. A. B. Frost is one of half a dozen American illustrators to whom art has brought handsome fortune, "lettered ease," and rural comfort. He lives on a good-sized farm near Madison, N. J., and dispenses a generous hospitality. George Meredith, it is said, writes in a little cottage of two rooms standing in the garden of his house. He works in the morning, and after giving his manuscripts to his daughter to copy, proceeds to study and to translate the classics. As for worldly affairs, he is a ward in chancery, and has a moderate fortune. Jessie Benton Frémont's Christmas gift was the cottage at Los Angeles where she has long lived, now presented to her, with receipts for old debts, by the women of California. The money necessary for the purpose was $10,000. A well-known syndicate manager says of women as literary workers: "It is an indisputable fact that the best literary work to-day is being done by women, and the most conclusive evidence of this lies in the fact that of the fifteen most successful books published within the past two years, eleven were written by women. In my experience of eight years I have found literary women just, fair, always courteous and obliging, and capable of far better work than men are generally willing to credit to them. I have found their work more evenly meritorious than that of men, while the most successful articles which I have printed, in both newspapers and magazines, came from the pen of women." Henry Rider Haggard, Esq., J. P., is the full name of the famous author. He is thirty-three years old, but looks more as if he were twenty or twenty-five. He resides in the village of Ditchingham, in the southern division of the County of Norfolk, through which village, near the outskirts of his estate, runs the Waveney Valley railroad. Mr. Spurgeon devotes only a few hours to the preparation of a sermon, and commits only the headings to paper. Grace Greenwood is now more closely allied to works of charity than to literary labors, though she still writes a little. After January 31, the business of Charles Scribner's Sons and Scribner & Welford will all be carried on under the name of Charles Scribner's Sons. George Bancroft is still seen on Pennsylvania avenue, Washington, on pleasant days, his arm in that of a friend or attendant, walking at a good pace, and conversing constantly. He has entirely lost his memory of immediate events and dates, and his mind is gradually passing away. Clifford Lanier has resigned his position as superintendent of city schools at Montgomery, Ala., and will devote himself exclusively to literature, fiction, and poetry. Gustav Freytag, the German novelist, is dangerously ill. His physicians have ordered his removal to a resort for invalids in the southern part of Europe. Schliemann was thirty-four years old before he knew a word of Greek, and it was not until he was forty-one that he began the study of archæology, in which he was destined to achieve so much distinction. By an odd coincidence, the Christmas numbers of Scribner's, Harper's, and the Century each contain a story in which a person with the unusual name of Spurlock figures. Mrs. Van Rensselaer Cruger does most of her literary work on her farm, and to this retreat, which is at Bayville, Long Island, N. Y., and is called "Talesse Farm," she goes for quiet work. Grant Allen, a Canadian by birth, has won the prize of £1,000 for the best novel, in the competition recently announced by a member of Parliament, George Newnes. Several hundred novels were offered in competition. Mr. Allen's "What's Bred in the Bone" won. It is doubtless only a coincidence that its title suggests James Payn's famous novel of twenty years ago. Some of those who read William Allen Butler's illustrated poem on the Passion play at Oberammergau in Harper's Weekly for December 3 may not remember that the writer just a third of a century ago produced the famous society skit in verse, "Nothing to Wear," a production which ranks. among the classics of our native literature. HAVE YOU THE BOUND VOLUMES OF THE WRITER? IF you have not, now is the time for you to complete your file. With the number for January, 1891, THE WRITER entered upon its fifth volume. The four bound volumes of the magazine, now ready for delivery, are so full of practical advice and help for literary workers that they are almost indispensable to any writer. THE WRITER is unique, the only magazine in the world devoted solely to explaining the practical details of literary work. Its success has been phenomenal, and a complete file of the magazine will grow more and more valuable every year. The supply of bound volumes for the first four years is limited, and new and old subscribers are advised to complete their files without delay. The early numbers were not electrotyped, and it will not be long before a complete set of the magazine will be worth a good deal more than the original price. Those who buy the bound volumes from the beginning will find that they have made an excellent investment. Full tables of contents of the first four volumes of THE WRITER are given on the next four pages of this circular. Twelve numbers of THE WRITER make a handsome book of about 300 pages. The volume, tastefully bound in cloth, with gilt lettering on back and sides, and with full index and title-page, costs only $1.50, post-paid. Everything published in THE WRITER is original, and written expressly for the magazine. The bound volumes make the best handbooks of journalism extant. The supply of bound volumes for 1887, especially, is running so low that before long the price must be advanced. For the present orders will be received for the first four volumes of THE WRITER, bound as described, together with a subscription for the magazine for 1891, for Six Dollars, to be remitted with the order. For One Dollar additional, a subscription for THE AUTHOR for 1891 will be included; or for Four Dollars additional,- Ten Dollars in all, a subscription for THE AUTHOR for 1891 and the first two bound volumes of THE AUTHOR, for 1889 and 1890 will be given, with a complete set of THE WRITER to the end of 1891, as described. Every subscriber for THE WRITER should be a subscriber for THE AUTHOR as well. The two magazines are closely connected, and one is intended to supplement the other. A full set of both magazines will make an invaluable addition to any writer's library. For convenience, the following price-list is appended: THE WRITER. Volume I. April - December, 1887. THE WRITER. Volume IV. January-December, 1890. THE WRITER. Subscription, twelve numbers, PRINTED FORMS for submitting MSS. to Editors. Time- and 6 x 9 inches. Either size, per hundred, MANUSCRIPT PAPER. The style selected by the editor of THE WRITER as the best for writers' use. Unruled, 6 x 9 inches in size. Price per 1,000 sheets,* * Recipient to pay express charges. $1.50 1.50 مو. 1.50 1.00 1.00 1.50 1.30 .75 1.35 1.25 Make drafts and postal orders payable to WILLIAM H. HILLS. Do not send stamps or local checks in payment for subscriptions. Address simply: P.O. Box 1905. THE WRITER, Boston, Mass. THE WRITER'S LITERARY BUREAU PROSPECTUS. The number of writers who know where to find the best market for their productions is exceedingly limited. Such a knowledge implies a long and familiar acquaintance with periodical literature. A manuscript to be acceptable must fit the publication to which it is offered as a glove to the hand. If it does not, the editor will decline it as "unsuitable," usually adding that "this does not necessarily imply lack of merit." It occasionally happens that an article, otherwise acceptable, is refused because at one or two points it fails to meet requirements. The editor very seldom cares to make necessary explanations in such cases, and therefore simply "begs leave to decline with thanks." With a view to rendering much-needed assistance to authors in marketing their manuscripts, The Writer's Literary Bureau was organized in September, 1887, under the management of a gentleman who for many years had been connected with one of our largest publishing houses. The enterprise has prospered and developed, until now the Bureau is prepared, and offers, to undertake every sort of work between author and publisher. TO AUTHORS: The Bureau offers to read manuscripts and give (1) specific advice as to their disposal; (2) general advice based on the defects observed; (3) thorough grammatical and rhetorical revision; (4) one or more typewritten copies. A charge for these services will be made as follows: (1.) For reading any manuscript containing not more than 2,000 words and giving a list of the periodicals to which it is best suited, 50 cents; if the manuscript contains more than 2,000 words, 25 cents additional for each additional thousand words or fraction thereof will be charged; each short poem is regarded as a separate manuscript. (2.) For a letter of general advice, 50 cents, in addition to the fee for reading. (3.) For correction and revision of manuscripts, at the rate of one dollar an hour. (4.) For one typewriter copy of manuscript, at the rate of six cents a hundred words; for each other copy, two cents a hundred words. (5.) For reading a book manuscript containing more than 40,000 words, and giving a list of publishers and a general letter of advice, the fee is $10, in advance. The payment for service (1) is essential in the case of every manuscript sent, but the selection of services (2), (3), and (4) is optional with the sender. In other words, no manuscript sent to the Bureau for any purpose whatever will be examined unless the manuscript is accompanied by the fee for reading. Services (2) and (4) will not be performed without the fees in hand. In addition postage should be enclosed for return of the manuscript to the author. If the author so directs, and encloses double postage, the Bureau will send the manuscript to the publisher most likely to buy it, with directions if the manuscript is declined to return it to the author. In either case a list of periodicals to which it is best suited will be sent to the author direct. TO PUBLISHERS: The Bureau offers a great variety of manuscripts, especially in the line of fiction. The Bureau not only has very many manuscripts constantly going through its hands, but is in connection with skilled writers in all lines, and can secure manuscripts of any sort at short notice. MANUSCRIPTS SOLD ON COMMISSION. In consequence of many urgent requests, the Bureau has opened a commission department, and will undertake the sale of manuscripts when desired on the following terms: Every manuscript must be submitted in the regular way, and accompanied by the fees for reading. If the author wishes the Bureau to act as selling agent, and the manuscript is found to be worth work in that line, the author will be required to make a postage deposit of an amount sufficient to pay the cost of mailing the manuscript to and from six or seven publishers, with an additional charge of ten cents for each time that the manuscript is sent out, to cover expense of registration, stationery, etc. When the manuscript is sold, any unexpended balance of the postage deposit will be returned to the author, together with 75 per cent. of the amount received from the publisher, the Bureau retaining 25 per cent. as its commission. The Bureau will not assume responsibility for loss or damage during handling or transmission of manuscripts, or for the failure of publishers to make payment, but every precaution will be taken to prevent loss. Address: THE WRITER'S LITERARY BUREAU, P. O. Box 1905. Boston, Mass. "THE AUTHOR" SPECIAL OFFER TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS. THE FIRST VOLUME of THE AUTHOR ended with THE SECOND VOLUME ended with the number for UNBOUND SETS of THE AUTHOR for 1889 and 1890 can TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS the bound volumes of THE ANY OLD SUBSCRIBER for THE AUTHOR may get THE AUTHOR FOR 1891 will be better and more valu- SEND YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NOW. ADDRESS: THE AUTHOR, BOX 1905, BOSTON, MASS. |