The Two Cultures

Since releasing a new novel last week, I’ve been asked several times about the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction. A vast majority of readers know me for my journalism and essays. That’s how I came to prominence, if prominence is the right word, and that’s also how I make a living. Novels, in general, do not earn much money. Glass Century, in my view, has been a great success so far—I’m gratified with the reception, and there’s more to come—but it is, in every sense, a labor of love. When I first began writing seriously, at eighteen, I wanted to be a novelist, and I never wavered on that front even as I progressed in the world of journalism. My nonfiction writing—of which this newsletter is, of course, a major part—will always matter a great deal to me, but fiction is the first love. I want to be known for the fiction I produce. Slowly, I see that happening.