A Long Game

How to Write Fiction

Elizabeth McCracken

$34.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Jonathan Cape
01 January 2026

Literary essays

A witty, charming guide to writing and creativity for both reader and writer

Warm, wise and full of practical tips, this book is the ideal companion to every writing life

'Elizabeth McCracken is one of America's finest writers' Garth Greenwell

Write every day Show, don't tell Write what you know Kill Your Darlings

These are some of the most popular nuggets of advice given to writers, universally agreed to be true. They are all pieces of writing advice that Elizabeth McCracken expertly and persuasively shoots down in A Long Game.

McCracken has been writing for most of her life. For over thirty-five years, she has also taught creative writing to generations of students, including at Iowa, guiding many writers towards their own answers to the question of how to write fiction. In A Long Game, she shares insights gleaned along the way, deconstructing received wisdom whilst playfully tackling the mysteries that are inherent to writing and creativity.

This book will lead any writer, at any stage of their career, back to the page. As much a book about the life of a working artist as it is a guide to thinking about fiction, A Long Game is a revelatory and indispensable resource, and the ideal companion to every writing life.

'Elizabeth McCracken was my teacher, and it's a joy to know that now more people will have access to her brilliance through A Long Game... A guidebook for any fiction writer, and a problem-solving and cheering companion that makes writing a less lonely business' Yiyun Li

By: Elizabeth McCracken
Imprint: Jonathan Cape
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 204mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781787336025
ISBN 10: 1787336026
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 01 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Elizabeth McCracken is the award-winning author of eight books including The Giant's House (a National Book Award finalist), Thunderstruck & Other Stories (winner of the 2014 Story Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award), and The Hero of This Book (winner of the Wingate Prize). She has received grants and fellow-ships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and she was chosen as one of Granta's twenty best American writers under forty. She has served on the faculty at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and taught at the University of Texas at Austin.

Reviews for A Long Game: How to Write Fiction

Elizabeth McCracken was my teacher, and it’s a joy to know that now more people will have access to her brilliance through A Long Game… A guidebook for any fiction writer, and a problem-solving and cheering companion that makes writing a less lonely business -- Yiyun Li