Interviews Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s astonishing debut novel, The House of Rust, winner of the inaugural Graywolf Press Africa Prize, arrived in October as if on a magical wave, imbued with an assortment of creatures—human and animal, real and imagined—that populate the city of Mombasa and its surrounding waters. Aisha, fierce and adventurous, sets off on a boat made of bones in hopes of rescuing her fisherman father who has disappeared at sea. What she encounters on her search—and return home—will enthrall and amaze. “On the surface this is a limpid tale,” writes author A. Igoni Barrett, the prize’s judge, “but it is eddied and enriched by what lurks beneath the surface of both the sea and the prose. Everything in this story sparkles.” I spoke with Bajaber about Mombasa, sea monsters, and Aisha’s journey of self-discovery, among other things. Anderson Tepper: Congratulations, Khadija. I’m curious about the story of your book’s path to publication. Did it change much since being awarded Graywolf’s Africa Prize in 2018? Khadija Abdalla Bajaber: Thank you very much. Well, it definitely changed and grew. When I’d first finished working on the book, it ended at what is now actually the midpoint. I was quite happy with that ending at the time but was already beginning to rethink things. There were subplots I’d set up at the beginning that needed resolving. So then I started developing everything more; and toward the end, when... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-11-15 21:42:08 UTC ]
In 1993, I published my first decent story in a literary journal and a few months later received a letter from an agent whose name I recognized. I’d written short stories in college classes, sent them off, and typically the only thing that came back was a rejection, housed in the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-10-01 11:10:00 UTC ]
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Rarely have I been so moved, awed, amused, satisfied, and softly startled by a debut, but The Only Sound Is the Wind, the gorgeous new fiction collection by Pascha Sotolongo, is a deft, accomplished, utterly fearless book of short stories that seamlessly meld the mundane and the transcendent,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-01 08:55:46 UTC ]
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The Short Stories of Moroccan Writer Mohamed Choukri: A Talk by Dr. Jonas Elbousty, by The Editors of WLT News and Events [email protected] Thu, 09/26/2024 - 13:32 The University of Oklahoma’s Center for Middle East Studies; Department of Modern... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-09-26 18:32:59 UTC ]
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Pedro Almodóvar's first book consists of a mix of short stories and personal essays that amount to 'a fragmentary autobiography.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-09-16 10:00:58 UTC ]
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Picture a teenager in a suburban Southern California Costco, lingering by the books tables while her parents shopped. There, between the boxed vacuums and party-size clamshells of croissants, I first encountered the writing of Ha Jin. His short story, “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town,” had... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-10 08:55:26 UTC ]
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Striding the Borderlands: Charles Ferdinand Ramuz’s Great Fear on the Mountain, by Alice-Catherine Carls Book Reviews [email protected] Thu, 09/05/2024 - 14:03 Caroline Cingria, C. F. Ramuz, pastel (1903) / Images courtesy of Noël CordonierLumen... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-09-05 19:03:58 UTC ]
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Comma Press has been publishing Palestinian short stories since 2008. Comma’s connection to Palestinian literature deepened however in 2014 when, shortly after bringing out the anthology, The Book of Gaza, all the writers we’d worked with on that book were subjected to 51 days of carpet bombing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-27 14:32:12 UTC ]
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Her novels and short stories often explored the lives of willful women who loved men who were crass, unfaithful or already married. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-07-29 02:48:48 UTC ]
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The author of humorous short stories finds emotional connections in tales that engage with tech. But he’s more interested in the ties between humans. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-07-24 09:04:44 UTC ]
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War, Trauma, and Human Courage: A Conversation with Zhang Ling, by Yan Lu Interviews [email protected] Mon, 07/22/2024 - 16:20 Zhang Ling is the author of ten novels, including A Single Swallow (trans. Shelly Bryant) and Where Waters Meet, the... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-07-22 21:20:19 UTC ]
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“All Art Is History”: A Conversation with Parul Kapur, by Sangamithra Iyer Interviews [email protected] Tue, 07/16/2024 - 15:20 On March 26, 2024, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop co-sponsored an event at Yu and Me Books to celebrate the New... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-07-16 20:20:51 UTC ]
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It's a bumper crop of YA book deals, with something for every kind of reader. Grab horror, fantasy, short stories, and more on the cheap. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-06 14:00:00 UTC ]
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A Rastafarian memoir for fans of Educated, a final girls thriller, a love letter to bookstores, and more of today's best book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-02 15:05:00 UTC ]
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Promoting New and Unexpected Crossings: A Conversation with Leonora Djament, by Aitana Bellido Interviews [email protected] Mon, 07/01/2024 - 15:34 Leonora Djament has been editorial director of the Argentine publishing house Eterna Cadencia... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-07-01 20:34:20 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short-story writer Clarice Lispector (1920-77) has not had as much attention as her fellow titans of South American literature, Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. But her short stories are often... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-06-12 14:00:27 UTC ]
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The Best American Series is a literary institution. But just in case you’re stumbling upon it for the first time: Each book in the annual series showcases of best short fiction and nonfiction in a given year, from short stories to essays, science and nature writing, to food writing. Each... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-11 14:00:24 UTC ]
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It's a book in a library that helps a young girl break free of the repressive and conservative world her parents raise her in. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Pop culture feeds on romantic couplings, but we all know the truth about who keeps us alive. Our friends, what would ever we do without them? It is passionate platonic friendship that concerns Lilly Dancyger in her second book, First Love: Essays on Friendship. A collection of personal and... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-06-06 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Hello, readers! I’m your host, Kristen Arnett, advice columnist (and Dad) extraordinaire. I’m excited to welcome you back to yet another special episode of Am I the Literary Asshole?, an advice column that asks if “head empty, just vibes” is simply a nice way of describing a hangover. My head?... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-30 13:32:53 UTC ]
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As Asian American Pacific Islander Month comes to end, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Asian American identity is more than just race or shared affinity. Born out of political activism and the anti-war movement to protest and rally against injustice, warfare, imperialism, and... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-05-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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