Non-fiction

LIFE IS A JOKE: A WRITER’S MEMOIR

ISBN 978-1906413811
Arcadia Books Ltd.

An optimistic, poignant and often very funny account of how creativity can banish the disagreeables that permeate life. The hazards and secrets of the book trade and writing co-mingle with the joys of travel, family and entertaining.

The alarums and excursions of an arson attack and the efforts to ease the lot of fellow writers imprisoned for their beliefs in democracy are eclipsed temporarily as Rosemary Friedman emerges from the valley of the shadow of death into which she is unexpectedly precipitated.

With her skill and acute eye she takes us behind the scenes of TV and theatre, lets us into the machinations of auditions, directors and stage-managers and the dynamics of plays themselves in which every actor is expected to be `dead letter perfect.’

“Courageous, inspiring and entertaining.”   The Tablet

“One of our most deft and durable novelists.”   The Jewish Chronicle

“Rosemary Friedman’s Commonplace Book will fit the bill perfectly when you go in search of Christmas presents.”   Camden New Journal

“The book makes compulsive reading… the literary equivalent of a really expensive box of Belgian chocolates …you are not satisfied until you have nibbled the lot.”   Daily Express

“Rosemary Friedman’s Commonplace Book… is a genealogy of her imagination, the DNA of her talent.”   The Jewish Chronicle

“A reflective and cerebral anthology.”   The Spectator

THE WRITING GAME

ISBN 978-1902835013
Empiricus Books.

Based on the author’s own experience The Writing Game answers questions such as ‘how long does it take you to write a novel?’, ‘where do you get your ideas’, ‘do you do much research?’, ‘ have you ever had a manuscript rejected?’ and ‘do you write every day or only when you get the inspiration?’

The Writing Game is an informative guide to the pitfalls and hazards of dealing with publishers (is imprint important?) and agents (do you need one?), tells you what to do about writers’ block and how to survive the disappointments and rejections encountered by writers such as Bernard Shaw, Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, Vladimir Nabokov, Lewis Carroll, Somerset Maugham, Frederick Forsyth, John le Carre (told ‘he has no future’), William Golding and Iris Murdoch. Those who doubt their potential as writers would do well to remember the literary establishment’s reaction to Ian Fleming’s fiction: ‘James Bond will never sell’.

The Writing Game gives the lowdown on the vexed questions of titles and book-jackets and. by way of encouragement, points out that a statue has yet to be raised to a literary critic.

Chapters on Writing for the Small Screen (in which the goal-posts are constantly being moved), and Writing for the Big Screen give hilarious accounts of Friedman’s encounters with producers and directors both in the UK and Hollywood, and are interspersed with a personal account of the ups and downs of her own action packed life. The Writing Game is a must for both established and would-be writers as well as for readers who want to know how it’s done.

“A vivid and revealing exploration of creative writing. It is thoughtful and fluent and deserves to be widely read.”   Mark le Fanu, General Secretary, Society of Authors

“This unique survey of the creative territory is as indispensible to the writer and the interested reader as the Michelin Guide is to the traveller, and it’s much more fun to read.”   Clive Sinclair, Award-winning novelist

“The pathos and bathos of writing for television.”   Laurence Marks and   Maurice Gran, TV comedy writers

“Rosemary Friedman brings a cool touch to the hot-headed business of being a writer. She adds information and advice from Flaubert to Faulkner, and Woolf to Jong.”   Rachel Billington, President English PEN

“I wish I’d had this marvellous book as an inspiration, guide, and even if you like, a friend, when I started writing nearly thirty years ago.”   Bruce Robinson, Screenwriter, director and novelist