has anyone ever tried to contact their favorite author? what happened?

it turned out he necked himself in 2008


;_;

Have you read anything by John Green recently?
Just asking

>>9964127
She called the police.

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>>9964132
>his favorite author is a man too weak to live
>who's most famous line is "Urine trouble? Urine luck!"

>>9964127
The ouija board just kept going zoso zoso zoso over and over again.

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>>9964127
still waiting on it, going on 10 years now

fucking you stephan king

>>9964145
>who's

>>9964127

Anon, our favorite authors are either dead or skulking around New York City smoking Camels and thinking about double triple and quadruple meanings of every single word in the world

>>9964145
the fuck does Joe Rogan have to do with IJ?

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>re-read one of my favorite childhood books
>think about writing a fan letter to the author as I had some questions and generally just wanted to
>look her up, oh shit shes actually pretty old
>try to track down her address (wasn't easy) through her old publisher
>send a letter through the mail because email wont work
>get it returned because "not a proper address" or some bullshit
>feel kind of silly going to all this trouble, but fuck it im in this deep already
>try googling her again to look for a fan mail drop off
>first thing that pops up is her obituary, she died like a few days before
legit depressed me for almost a month. She probably wouldnt have seen it anyway but I dont know whats worse to consider, I was so close or not close at all to getting a reply. I let my stupid masculinity get in the way of doing it sooner and I wish this didnt end in a "I messed up, lesson learned" way but thats all I can take from it

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>>9964183
what was the book anon? talk about it

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>>9964187
tuck everlasting, so the author was Natalie babbit. I remember reading it in 7th grade and it had a profound affect on me. It wasnt some grandiose literature, but it helped teach me about death and carpe diem. All the other guys were immature and goofed off while we read it and I played along but it is probably my favorite child hood book.
I wanted to write her and thank her for it helping me deal with a relatives death at the time and asking if the tuck family (who are immortal) will ever get to die on day as well. The ending of the living forever miserably really bothered me

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>>9964168
>ouji boards arent a thing

>>9964213

I fear if I try to channel Joyce I'm gonna get Ukkedoerendunandurraskewdylooshoofermoyportertooryzooysphalnabortansport-haokansakroidverjkapakkapuk and then the door is gonna slam shut. If I try to channel Beckett, it'll just crawl to "NO" and stay there

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JK rowling when I was like 9, it was some typed letter thanking me for supporting the series, stay in school, keep reading and I too could be a great wizard one day

it was probably typed up by an assistant and given out to thousands of kids

>>9964216
Haha good post:)

>>9964248
She wrote those things herself. It's only now that the fanmail is decreasing somewhat in volume that she has time to produce new books in the series.

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>>9964206
>tuck everlasting,
GOAT childhood book right there

>>9964127
Yes, I conducted a seance to meet Brecht.

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>wanted to write to tolkien when I was a kid
>was going to write my own fanfiction and see what he thought, even offer it to him for free
>dad sits me down and explains he died a long time ago

I've got Don Delillo's phone number

Not my favorite any more but I mailed a letter to the author of Captain Underpants and got a generic response iirc. By the time I got the response (months or years later) I didn't really care :/

>>9964206
>>9964288
>teacher recommended me this book in middle school
>dropped it almost immediately
its like I'm destined for plebbery

I tried emailing Michael Dobbs not the House of Cards author but his cousin who's a cold
war historian.

Didn't some /tv/tards write to GRRM and get a response? Or am I remembering incorrectly?

>>9964406
Same thing happened to me, fuck

>>9964170
I assume that it's because Joe Rogan's podcast is outsider thought/philosophy/rational skepticism/humour but for dudebros who don't know how to read, and he's comparing that to how Infinite Jest deals with it?

>>9964206
Should I read this as an adult or have I missed the opportunity for this to have any impact on me?

>>9964248
Y'know some of the later editions actually had the fan letters published at the back of the books. Yours could be in there somewhere, anon.

>>9964406
I bet that was crushing, anon. ;_;

>>9964127
I email Chomsky when I have a question but that's about it.

>>9964127
Messaged him maybe a year ago or so, just said I appreciate his work, got me through some tough times. Never heard back from him.

>>9964651
prank call him

>>9964127
I wrote to a local fantasy author at the beginning of her career, and got a hand-written reply about two weeks later. My original letter was maybe six hundred words, but her reply went on for pages, detailing her worldbuilding in response to a question I asked, and teasing details of the third book in the trilogy (which had not been released yet).

I think she was stoked someone took the time to write to her.

>>9966100
Fuck her, anon

>>9966115
I wrote to her fifteen years ago, when her fantasy novels were an escape from her dull housewifery. She is ancient now.

>>9966154
If Macron can do it, so can you.

>>9966070
Do people unironically email one of the greatest linguists alive when they just could go to a dedicated internet forum and waste some autists time?

its easy to troll Nick Land on twitter. Like, I don't even try to upset him and before I know it he's freaking out.

>>9964137
>favorite author
>she

>>9966169
He answers emails about anything, why wouldn't I use this resource? Also, I think his role as the "greatest linguist" is waning. This video by Minsky is good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH98yW1SMAo

>>9966211
I used to do the same. I used to email him set essay questions.

>>9964127
Ah yes, John Shade

>>9966059
its a great book, aimed for children but not in a sappy immature kind of way. The whole theme is carpe diem and to appreciate life, which anyone can appreciate. Its just from the point of view of a child. Anytime I read it I get a huge sense of nostalgia

>>9964677
read it anyway, part of the reason it took me so long to try and contact her was I thought it was a kiddie book and I was too macho to admit how much I liked it, By the time I got over myself it was too late and ill always regret it

every now and again i get drunk and message george szirtes on twitter and ask him when the next krasznahorkai translation is coming out and he never responds

I emailed Jonathan Safran Foer and he replied a month later (after I emailed him again to ask if he received the previous email) accusing me of writing an email that was inconsiderately long and being a "worryingly delusional" person. He asked me not to email him and and it really wasn't the reaction I was hoping for.

>Dear Mr. Safran-Foer / Jonathan, Please don't continue beyond this sentence if you are busy or otherwise distracted with more pressing matters. You kept reading? Great! Well first for introductions. My name's [my name] and I've read your first two books. Everything Is Illuminated wasn't great in my opinion but Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close really was a gripping read. I digress. The reason for my writing you today is to inquire as to whether you could provide for me any advice that you would have given to yourself at a younger age when you were writing your first novel and no-doubt dreaming of literary (and other) success? Wow, still haven't introduced myself, huh. Well, here's the slim. I'm 23 years old and I recently graduated from university with a degree in English Literature. Suffice to say I've struggled to find a job but I have in the time I have been unemployed written a novel that I am confident will have a major effect on the literary world should it find a publisher willing to give it a chance. Here's when you come in, Jon (do you mind me calling you that?). I have discovered your address via legal means online and I am wondering whether you would be willing to receive my manuscript in its entirety, along with a synopsis (I'll even throw in my author photo for free!) and first of all give me your feedback on it and then, providing you enjoy it to pass it on to your friends in the publishing world (I know how well-connected you folks are) so that I can avoid the dreaded slush pile of doom! Anyways, so let me know asap and I can have the manuscript on your straw 'Welcome' mat by the end of the week. If you'd rather I hand it to you in person and take some time to discuss our respective views on literature contemporary and otherwise I would love to visit your office at [his university address] and spend a few hours shooting the lit (see what I did there?). So let me know Jon and we can then discuss the next step of our correspondence. Thanking you again and again, [my name].

>>9964132
he sucked his own dick in 2008? write him a letter of congrats

>>9964651
I met Don DeLillo on the D train this morning. He was sitting alone in the last car, reading "The Histories" by Herodotus.

>Hi, Mr. DeLillo. I love your work.

He thanked me for the compliment. His voice was quite raspy, and he coughed a bit, as if there were some viscous fluid lodged in his throat.

>If I may, sir, do you have any projects in the works?
>I do, yes.

He didn't seem irritated by my question, and in fact he was almost open to the conversation.

>What about? I enjoyed Zero-K very much.
>Thank you. It is a novel. It is an exploration of the internet's impact on globalization, and how certain groups on the web collude anonymously to obstruct the processes of democracy in America and Western Europe.

I was floored. I stood in silence for several seconds.

>W-w-wow, Mr. DeLillo. I cannot wait to read it.
>Call me Don, he said.

When we got to Fordham Road station he closed his book, smiled, and walked off the train into the fog of commuting bodies.

Can you believe it?

>>9964127
When I was a kid I wrote to Phillip Reeve (writer of the Hungry Cities quartet). Lovely guy, wrote back a proper letter answering my questions about the series.

A few months later I got to meet him in person at a book show and he signed a few of my books. Class act.

I emailed an article to Alain de Benoist a few years ago I thought he would be interested in, didn't include my name because I didn't expect him to reply but he sent me a polite thank you that weekend

I wrote Brian Jacques when I was 10. I got a generic printout thanking me for the letter bit something essentially to the effect that he doesn't read letters. Also an application pack for the redwall club, I was miffed but I still applied for it

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>>9966955
I'm new to /lit/, someone please tell me this is pasta.

>>9964248
>I too could be a great wizard one day
even rowling knew you were a virign

>>9964206
fuuuuck, I think I have that book and a few others at my moms house still. Im gonna go grab it just for the memories. It helped me deal with a friends death

>>9964127
I have one author I like that is still alive, and I have no desire to contact him because I know his writing is bad, I just enjoy his works because it gives me ideas of things to look up and study independently.
The authors I would like to contact were both dead before I was born.

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>>9964127
he's not my absolute favorite, but i wrote an email to tc boyle and he responded. seems like a nice guy.

>>9966951
: (

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I wrote a letter to Gene Wolfe. Then, about six months later, I wrote another letter to him.

He has never responded to either.

>>9966955
Why do you sound like like some Hannibal Lecter type in this email?!

I drive a truck for Coca-Cola. Contacted Stephen King on Twitter and told him I could deliver some free coke. Boy, was that ever a faux pas.

Went to a reading, met my favorite author, got books signed, got a picture with him. He was super nice. Heard the same thing from other people online.

>>9964127
Wrote a comment on one of Molyneux's video hehe!

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>>9964127
I send prepared the email so be sent on a specific date to myself in the future, exactly 6 years ago

I read 1 year ago, and I haven't responded

>>9966955
>here's the slim

>>9969917
haha and then wat happened

>>9966955
>here's the slim
>I have discovered your address via legal means online
> (do you mind me calling you that?)
> I can have the manuscript on your straw 'Welcome' mat by the end of the week

Lol fucking hell I cracked up for 10 minutes straight

You sound like a fucking serial killer

I wrote to God and he didn't respond

>>9964127
I only read dead white men.

>>9970199
inb4 godisdead

>>9969962
Kek

>>9966955
> I have discovered your address via legal means online and I am wondering whether you would be willing to receive my manuscript in its entirety, along with a synopsis (I'll even throw in my author photo for free!) and first of all give me your feedback on it and then, providing you enjoy it to pass it on to your friends in the publishing world (I know how well-connected you folks are) so that I can avoid the dreaded slush pile of doom!
A little too much there.

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The author of Myfarog responded to my question about europe during the ice age

Carl Hiaasen comes into my work all the time. Cool dude. Would never talk about writing or his work.

I wrote to Murakami about depression and sometimes feeling a bit alienated from women (not in a REEEE THOTS way tho), and he answered back in like two months. Pretty nice guy.

Not my favorite author, but one I like. She even wrote me an autograph, but I won't post it, because she isn't that well known anyway and you would bully me, because she writes YA and children books.

>>9966955
>Please don't continue beyond this sentence if you are busy or otherwise distracted with more pressing matters. You kept reading? Great!
God damn... and this was just the intro.

I once visited Nietzsche graveyard

>>9970646
What was his reply like?

I wrote some positive reviews on an indie authors amazon page, then liked a post of his on Facebook. Got a message from him thanking me for the support.
Thought that was pretty cool of him. Nice to know he noticed my name and realised it was me giving the reviews.
Seems like a nice guy.

>>9970839
Is his stuff any good? Link his amazon page if you can.

>>9970814
I'll just copy it and leave out the stuff that mentions my name

"First of all, thanks for e-mailing me about this matter of yours. It's odd how it usually is the loneliest people the ones who confide in me the most; I imagine that my writing resonates the most with them. I'd also like to say that I can relate to your specific problem very well: not now, but over more than fifty years ago.

Just like yourself, highschool me had a hard time relating not only to girls, but most of those who surrounded me. I was raised in a very "academy-like" environment, and my parents were both literature teachers themselves, so I discovered books at a very young age. And with that came that alienation you mentioned in your e-mail.

Back then, I sometimes felt worried about it: of never finding the "right girl". But now, as an old man who has been married for many years, I think that I can safely say that you will eventually find a person with interests and a taste similar to yours. The fact that you have those interests means that there are others with the same interests, [my name].

Since you are currently doing your university studies, I would recommend joining a literature or music club if you don't mind being more proactive.

And please remember that identitiy is a very fragile thing that can easily be changed. Instead of telling you to change who you are, however, I would recommend "sticking to your guns", as the popular phrase says. Try to improve what you consider flaws, but don't stop reading, don't stop listening to the music you like. Be proud of what you like. Life is, in my very humble opinion, too short to change who we are for others.

Again, thanks for confiding in me, [my name]. I can only wish you the best of luck in your studies and life."

- [italicized] Haruki Murakami

I met Thomas Jane once and my brother has met Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Clarkson.

>>9964127
When I was in high school, I had a YA author confirm that one of my favorite characters was gay. It was a pretty big moment for me.

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>>9966955
>here's the slim

>>9966955
When writing to anybody I feel has any sort of authority over me, I end up typing like this. Most of the time I rework them to make me seem more apathetic and straightforward, but for those that I don't rework, they keep me awake at night.

>>9971035
based

i talked to chomskys late wife once. found his home phone on mit finger back in the day.

>>9964651
say 'beaner' and hang up

>>9964161
I got a response from, what I'm assuming was, a secretary of King's back in 2004/2005. I probably still have the letter somewhere around. Got some insight regarding his inspiration sources. 4th-grade me thought it was pretty neat.

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>>9971035
thats pretty fucking sweet anon
Ive been in a negative space for a few months and this helps

>>9966169
Lol I just emailed him after reading this - mainly to see whether he really responds to everyone's email, but it was a question I genuinely wanted the answer to. He responded in under an hour with this:

"One of the many important topics I haven’t discussed. It’s very interesting work. Seems to me entirely compatible with generative grammar. It takes the syntactic forms generated and discusses how they are used and interpreted. There’s very interesting work in formal pragmatics that might intersect with it, like Gennaro Chierchia’ outstanding work. I’m sure faculty in your department, like Norbert Hornstein, can direct you to a lot more."

I did some work experience at a UK music magazine, and was sending copies out in the post. I noticed one addressed to Neil Gaiman, so I slipped a little note in saying how much I loved Sandman. A few years later I mentioned it in a tweet and Gaiman responded with a little thank you.

>>9972284
Would you post the question you asked him?

I was able to interview a fantasy writer that I enjoyed as a child for a paper on myth and shared world fiction. It was fine.

>>9972332
I also have correspondence with a poet whose collection I reviewed on a journal's online supplement. I am facebook friends with her and a number of other poets whom I have had heard read and spoken with since.

I saw Thomas Pynchon at a grocery store in Manhattan yesterday. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.

He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”

I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I went off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen bananas in his hands without paying.

The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.

When she took one of the bananas and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any kirsch zomoskepsis,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each banana and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.

>>9972308
Hey Prof. Chomsky,

I'm a Linguistics undergrad at College Park, and I've had difficulty finding any work by you discussing the relationship between Generative Grammar and contemporary pragmatics, particularly the Inferential Role Semantics most closely associated with Robert Brandom and the Relevance Theory of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. In short, do you think these theories (namely Inferential Role Semantics and Relevance Theory) are compatible with Generative Grammar and are there any publications you could point me to by you or colleagues discussing their relationship to Generative Grammar?

Thanks,
[my name]

>Tfw when I made a minor typo in an email to Chomsky
>"you or colleagues"
>not "you or your colleagues"

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>>9972548
I really wanted to hear what he thinks of Brandom though. Good answer anyway, and it actually did lead me to some really interesting shit that I'm reading literally right now (just hopped on 4chan for a minute because of my shitty post-modern 21st century attention span).

Personally, I respect Brandom and his work, although I think he's somewhat of a cuck, at least in certain respects.

I bet Chomsky feels exactly the same way.

lmao what nerd has a favorite author that didn't die 150 years ago

this thread shows the true nature of some of you, are nothing more than hero worshipping sycophants

>>9972605

Sycophants? So wanting to communicate with people we respect is loathsome to you? Get a grip ya dip

>Dear Mr [Anonymous],

>Thank you for writing your letter dated June 27th. I do not often reply to fan mail as I am so busy working on my latest book, which in all honesty consumes all of my attention, but your missive last month caught my attention, and I couldn't resist. I am penning this response while eating a delicious piece of buttery toast, white bread, so forgive me if some has dripped off my chin and dappled the page, for it is most delicious and I am frankly famished from a long day of hard work, which you must understand is very difficult as Google has informed me that you yourself have never published a novel. My work is often compared to Tolkien's, but never before have I personally been so disfavorably contrasted to that esteemed writer. No I do not believe that your criticisms are fair. I do not see myself as "like unto Melkor" simply for attempting something different in the fantasy genre. I believe that is a very underhanded thing to say. As for your other critiques I simply do not have time to address them, as I have to prepare a blueberry crepe with whipped cream for desert, but rest assured you are wrong. I've instructed my publisher to no longer forward any mail addressed from you. Thank you.

>Yours kindly, [Anonymous]

>>9972660
I breathed out with unusual sharpness while reading this post

I sent nudes to BEE and he followed me on twitter afterwards.

>>9969693
I thought about this but then decided this would happen so I messaged Marc Aramini on Goodreads instead. He's not Gene Wolfe but he knows his work so well he's the next best thing. And he replies.

>>9972660
excellent

>>9972858

This I actually believe

I'm assuming you're male

>>9972660
Rothfuss?

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>>9966955
>come to /lit/ because free time before bed
>not really expecting much of anything at all
>mfw this post

Thanks for making my night with your hilarious lack of self-awareness.

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>>9971035
What a neat guy. I'm going to screencap this post just so I can be reminded of how nice he is.

>>9971035
He wrote this is in English to you? That's pretty cool.

Not sure how well known he is here, but I got a chance to chat with Ivan Vladislavic when I was working my MA dissertation.

It was really easy going, despite my initial nervousness.

>>9964127
My favorite author is Edgar Allan Poe.
I don't live nowhere near his grave to try some rituals to summon his spirit.

HOW DO YOU THINK IT WENT OP?

>>9971861
Tell us more.

i sent an email to dfw a while ago he hasn't replied yet

>>9966955
PLEASE BE REAL

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>>9966955
>I have discovered your address via legal means
The whole thing's gold but that really got me. may ur pasta ride eternal anon

>>9973802
Yeah. His English is actually pretty good.
https://youtu.be/lA5R68o9wTI

>>9966955
old pasta.

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>>9974380
He typed

> finger [email protected]

and the reply contained a phone number.

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>>9966955
> I would love to visit your office at [his university address] and spend a few hours shooting the lit (see what I did there?).

It is like an alien wrote this

>>9964127
>>9964132
This but it turned out I necked myself in 2008.

>>9964651
Post it.

>>9966955
[Your name].... easy on the sociopath behavior.

>>9970738
There is an age limit here you know.

>>9971861
Post it.

>>9972439
Underrated post. I love this pasta.

>>9978646
then who was phone?

>>9972983
Someone post a screencap of the Murakami message, I think it might keep me positive for a while at the very least.

>>9978684
What implications are you implying?

>>9972548
What's a good place to start with Chomsky and Generative Grammar?

>>9978751
Just don't.

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When I was like 8 i wrote a letter to Dav Pilkey asking when the next Captain Underpants book would come out. I got a little comic book back a few weeks later from his publisher.

>>9964145
it's a pretty good line d e s u

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>>9978708

I poured whiskey on the grave of William Faulkner and lit a candle too.

>>9964216
have another (you), you deserves it

>>9964127
I sent an email telling Tao Lin to go to bed.

>>9964161
You gotta spell his name right first, buddy.

>>9966070
>I email Chomsky
This sentence is incomprehensible to an insignificant pleb.

>>9972858
You sent nudes on twitter for everyone to see?

>>9979676
Why not?

>>9964206
more like cuck everlasting

hah

>>9969286
lol FUCK underrated roast.

this is some real nigga shit lmao hml dm i got loud

>>9981194
Because it is Noam Chomsky, duh.

>>9980181
>literally "just be yourself"

>>9983061
I'm going to be honest here, I don't know enough about Chomsky to know why that's a bad thing.

>>9983200
Syntactic Structures is the main book, probably try something a bit easier like Language and Responsibility to get into his ideas.

All my favorite authors are dead and half of them committed suicide.

>>9964127
I talked to Christopher Moore at a book signing for a little while. He struck me as kind of a jackass, never read another of his books.

>>9984447
All my friends are dead...

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>>9984447