The Writing Life
- 15 Jan 2026
- 9781837264162
- £9.99
- 128 pp
- 129×198mm
- 15 Jan 2026
- 9781837264179
- £7.99
- 128 pp
In a few words
A slim volume that bursts with insight by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard, illuminating the creative process and the trials of a writer’s life
In a few words
A slim volume that bursts with insight by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard, illuminating the creative process and the trials of a writer’s life
Dillard writes beautiful, mysterious prose and The Writing Life is as much about living life as it is about writing
A genuine source of pleasure. It’s accessible and conversational, funny and heart-breaking and tackles, sometimes directly, often obliquely, those questions of method and purpose that can haunt those who’ve made the mad decision to dedicate their lives to art
Dillard writes beautiful, mysterious prose and The Writing Life is as much about living life as it is about writing
A genuine source of pleasure. It’s accessible and conversational, funny and heart-breaking and tackles, sometimes directly, often obliquely, those questions of method and purpose that can haunt those who’ve made the mad decision to dedicate their lives to art
More about
the book
How do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning?
In The Writing Life, Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard offers up her own trials in the pursuit of inspiration: the absurdity, the fierce determination and the sacrifices (warm feet; gainful employment; peace of mind). Her perennial guide, which wrestles with the hubris and insanity of the creative process, has been an inspiration and a comfort to writers for nearly forty years.
More about
the book
How do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning?
In The Writing Life, Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard offers up her own trials in the pursuit of inspiration: the absurdity, the fierce determination and the sacrifices (warm feet; gainful employment; peace of mind). Her perennial guide, which wrestles with the hubris and insanity of the creative process, has been an inspiration and a comfort to writers for nearly forty years.
Annie Dillard is a wonderful writer and The Writing Life is full of joys
The Writing Life is a spare volume [ . . . ] that has the power and force of a detonating bomb. A book bursting with metaphors and prose bristling with incident
A small and brilliant guidebook to the landscape of a writer's task . . . Dillard brings the same passion and connective intelligence to this narrative as she has to her other work
For nonwriters, it is a glimpse into the trials and satisfactions of a life spent with words. For writers, it is a warm conversation with a stimulating and extraordinarily talented colleague
Annie Dillard is a wonderful writer and The Writing Life is full of joys
The Writing Life is a spare volume [ . . . ] that has the power and force of a detonating bomb. A book bursting with metaphors and prose bristling with incident
A small and brilliant guidebook to the landscape of a writer's task . . . Dillard brings the same passion and connective intelligence to this narrative as she has to her other work
For nonwriters, it is a glimpse into the trials and satisfactions of a life spent with words. For writers, it is a warm conversation with a stimulating and extraordinarily talented colleague
Annie Dillard
View profileAnnie Dillard was born in 1945 in Pennsylvania. She is a much-celebrated poet, novelist and essayist and author of thirteen books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Letters and has received fellowship grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She was awarded the 2014 National Humanities Medal for her work deepening the understanding of the human experience.
Annie Dillard
View profileAnnie Dillard was born in 1945 in Pennsylvania. She is a much-celebrated poet, novelist and essayist and author of thirteen books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Letters and has received fellowship grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She was awarded the 2014 National Humanities Medal for her work deepening the understanding of the human experience.
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Canongate has acquired The Writing Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard’s perennial guide to the creative process. UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) were acquired from Rachel Clements at Abner Stein. First published in 1989, the volume will be available in paperback and ebook on
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