21 Books for the 21st Century: The Results of Our Readers’ Poll, by The Editors of WLT

Lit Lists Earlier this spring, the editors of WLT invited twenty-one writers to nominate a single book, published since the year 2000, that has had a major influence on their own work, along with a brief statement explaining their choice. We published the longlist and then invited readers to vote on their favorites. Here are the top vote recipients, followed by the respective nominating statements: 1. M. NourbeSe Philip, Zong! 2. Deborah Levy, Things I Don’t Want to Know: On Writing 3. John FitzGerald, The Mind 4. Roberto Bolaño, 2666 5. (tie) Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing, and W. G. Sebald, Austerlitz To mark the occasion of Zong! winning the readers’ poll, M. NourbeSe Philip and Philip Metres recently took part in an email interview about the book. It will be published tomorrow on the WLT Weekly. M. NourbeSe Philip Zong! Wesleyan University Press, 2008 I discovered M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong! only after I’d written abu ghraib arias, when critics saw parallels in the work. Zong! is at once a brilliant documentary long poem and a sort of ritual exorcism of the demons of the slave trade. Built out of the language of the legal document of Gregson v. Gilbert, Zong! brings to light the murder of Africans on board a slave ship in 1781 for financial gain. The kidnapped and enslaved Africans had been purposely thrown overboard so that the owner of the Zong could benefit from his insurance policy. Philip’s visionary use of the burying language... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-28 13:32:05 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "21 Books for the 21st Century: The Results of Our Readers’ Poll, by The Editors of WLT"


Claire Messud Moves to Norton

Claire Messud, author of books including 'The Emperor’s Children' and 'The Woman Upstairs,' has moved to W. W. Norton & Company in a two-book deal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Wein pens ‘Code Name Verity’ prequel

Bloomsbury Children’s is set to publish a new novel from Elizabeth Wein, telling the story of Julie Beaufort-Stuart, the main character from her novel Code Name Verity, before the Second World War.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Forgotten Georgette Heyer stories to be republished

Three short stories by the queen of Regency romance have been discovered by her biographer and are being reprinted in a new volumeA trio of forgotten stories by the queen of Regency romance Georgette Heyer have been uncovered by her biographer and are due to be published, for the first time in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Corsair buys Roxane Gay short stories

Little, Brown imprint Corsair has acquired Difficult Women, a collection of short stories by US writer Roxane Gay, for publication in January 2017.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lena Dunham releasing first fiction book

Actress-turned-author Lena Dunham is trying her hand at writing fiction as she prepares to release a collection of short stories next year. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


ANZAC Heroes book sends children the 'wrong message'

The winning book at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults has been criticised for endorsing New Zealand's participation in World War I and "glorifying" the killing of Germans. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tinder Press to publish wartime suitcase of love letters

Tinder Press has acquired Letters from a Suitcase, a collection of letters spanning the "short but passionate love affair" and marriage between communist couple David and Mary Francis during the Second World War. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book on First World War signaller to The History Press

The History Press is to publish a book based on an original set of sketchbooks and diaries from a signaller in the First World War. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ursula K Le Guin to publish Earthsea story in print for first time

The Daughter of Odren will be published in new omnibus edition of the much-loved fantasy sequence to mark the 50th anniversary of The Wizard of EarthseaA story from Ursula K Le Guin’s world of Earthsea that has never been published in print before is due to be released to mark the 50th... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Poetry on proposed third Heathrow runway to Nine Arches

Independent poetry publisher Nine Arches Press is to publish Heath, a new book written in collaboration between poets Penelope Shuttle and John Greening. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lee Child to write more Reacher novels

Transworld has signed a new contract with international bestselling writer Lee Child for three further thrillers plus a volume of short stories and a novella. New books in the deal will feature maverick ex-military policeman Jack Reacher. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bryan Cranston returning to television

US actor Bryan Cranston will return to television executive producing and starring in a series based on the short stories of science fiction author Philip K Dick, Variety magazine has reported. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Chris Cleave: Interview

Bestselling novelist Chris Cleave talks to Alice O'Keeffe about his new book which tackles the Second World War, Everyone Brave is Forgiven. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jeffrey Deaver talks about the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel 'A Steel Kiss'

Deaver has written 37 novels, three collections of short stories, and dabbled in everything from folk music to an audio-only drama. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Terry Pratchett short story collection coming this summer

Penguin Random House Children’s will this summer publish a second collection of short stories from Terry Pratchett. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Halahmy World War Two pet story to Alma

Independent publisher Alma Books has signed a middle-grade story about what happened to all the pets in World War Two by Miriam Halahmy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New edition of Mein Kampf set to land on German bestseller lists

Annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s opus, which ‘unmasks his false allegations, whitewashing and outright lies’, will debut at 20 on non-fiction chart after publishers received 15,000 orders A new critical edition of Mein Kampf is set to make its debut on German bestseller lists this weekend,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


2015 fiction quiz: Can you recognize these opening lines?

How many have you read? Test yourself by seeing if you can match first lines to the titles of the Monitor's favorite novels (and one collection of short stories) from 2015. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Popular U.K. Band Taps Author for Promotional Push

Author Stuart Evers recently collaborated with U.K. folk trio Daughter, writing three short stories that provide the visuals for three music videos promoting Daughter's second album. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hitler's Mein Kampf to be republished in Germany

Adolf Hitler’s political manifesto Mein Kampf is to be published for the first time in Germany since the end of the Second World War, the BBC has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this