An inside look at the Inklings and their creative process

C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings met each week to read and discuss each other's works-in-progress, offering both encouragement and blistering critique. How did these conversations shape the books they were writing? How does creative collaboration enhance individual talent? And what can we learn from their example?

Complemented with original illustrations by James Owen, Bandersnatch offers an inside look at the Inklings of Oxford--and a seat at their table at the Eagle and Child pub. It shows how encouragement and criticism made all the difference in The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other books written by the members of this literary group. You'll learn what made these writers tick and more: inspired by their example, you'll discover how collaboration can help your own creative process and lead to genius breakthroughs in whatever work you do.

No one knows more than Diana Pavlac Glyer about the internal workings of the Inklings. In Bandersnatch, she shows us how they inspired, encouraged, refined, and opposed one another in the course of producing some of the greatest literature of the last one hundred years. A brilliant and beautifully clear case study of iron sharpening iron. --Michael Ward, coeditor of C. S. Lewis at Poets' Corner

The Inklings are about as important a group as ever existed in the literary world. This tremendous new book about them is much anticipated and hugely welcome --Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling author of Bonhoeffer and Miracles

What a gift Bandersnatch is a joy to read and helps dispel that dangerous myth that our greatest writers created in solitude. We all need community in order to do our best work, and this book will show you how some of the greatest minds of the twentieth century did just that. You won't be able to read this book just once. --Jeff Goins, founder of Tribe Writers and author of The Art of Work

C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, the creators of Narnia and Middle-earth, were close friends, colleagues, and members of the Inklings, a writers group that met in Oxford in the 1930s and 1940s, sharing and discussing their works-in-progress. This important study challenges the standard interpretation that Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and the other Inklings had little influence on one another's work, drawing on the latest research in composition studies and the sociology of the creative process.

Diana Glyer invites readers into the heart of the group, examining diary entries and personal letters and carefully comparing the rough drafts of their manuscripts with their final, published work. Her analysis not only demonstrates the high level of mutual influence that characterized this writers group but also provides a lively and compelling picture of how writers and other creative artists challenge, correct, and encourage one another as they work together in community.

After the death of his brother, Warren Lewis lived at The Kilns in Oxford, edited his famous brother's letters, and did a little writing of his own. Then he got a letter from a stranger on the far side of the world. Over the years that followed, he and Blanche Biggs, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, shared a vibrant correspondence. These conversations encompassed their views on faith, their politics, their humor, the legacy of C. S. Lewis, and their own trials and longings. Their letters paint a colorful portrait that illuminates not only the particulars of distant times and places, but the intimate contours of a rare friendship.

The Bible tells us that God is like a potter, and we are like clay. God hovers over His creation, centering us, shaping us, and transforming us--often in ways we could never imagine. At every stage God carefully works, and ends up making glorious art out of even the most ordinary experiences of our lives.

In Clay in the Potter's Hands, Diana Pavlac Glyer welcomes artists and non-artists alike into her studio to explore the rich implications of this metaphor and learn more about this timeless work of art.

This book also features in-depth sidebars for potters about making pottery written by ceramist Eddy Efaw, and original photography by Quay San created specifically for this new edition.

Unlike more popular works like the Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy is lesser-known and often perplexing. Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra take readers on adventures through the heavens; That Hideous Strength delves deep into topics much closer to home. In the process, these books allude to everything from H. G. Wells and the World Wars to Medieval cosmology and Arthurian Legend; therefore, there is much to be gained from an introduction to Lewis's broad and eclectic interests.

Written to be accessible and useful to fans and scholars alike, A Compass for Deep Heaven provides the background information, historical context, and literary insight readers need to navigate the cosmos of Lewis's science fiction. It does not merely inform; it shows how these contexts clarify key messages and reveal the real-world warnings hidden there.

Thousands of people have read Clay in the Potter's Hands and found it an encouraging, challenging, and insightful way to grow in their faith. Using the image of God as a potter, it offers short chapters and vivid illustrations to show the many ways that God is at work in our daily lives. This LEADER'S GUIDE was designed to help individuals go deeper into the meaning of each chapter and to equip churches, book clubs, small groups, and others to get the most out of their study of Clay in the Potter's Hands. Filled with practical suggestions, study questions, resources, activities, and tips, this guide will enrich your study and make it easy to introduce others to the riches of this book.