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 ]
Margaret Atwood's first stand-alone novel in 15 years will be published in September, alongside a new collection of short stories. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andy Robb founded the UKYA Blogger Awards to salute all the teen and YA book bloggers who work so hard, for nothing but free books and the odd signature, to tell the world about the books they love, here’s whyOur guide to becoming a book bloggerTop 10 teen/YA book bloggers by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Catherine Aird has been awarded the Crime Writer’s Association Diamond Dagger award. The Diamond Dagger winner is chosen by the CWA committee from a shortlist of writers judged worthy by their peers. Shortlisted authors must have sustained excellence in their careers and made a significant... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Granta Books editor Anne Meadows has acquired a “darkly funny, whip-smart” novel and a collection of short stories from Catherine Lacey, whose debut novel Nobody is Ever Missing will be published - also by Granta - this week. Meadows acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, including Australia New... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A love letter to fashion, Paris, and the House of Dior, 'Girl in Dior' ('Jeune fille en Dior') brings French superstar Annie Goetzinger to the US, and gorgeous clothes to the comics page. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan is to publish a collection of short stories by television and radio presenter Sir Terry Wogan. Editorial director Trisha Jackson acquired UK & Commonwealth Rights from Luigi Bonomi at LBA. Jackson said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Terry’s for many years and these incredibly... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booktrust and the BBC have launched a short story competition for teenagers. The ‘BBC Young Writers’ Award with Booktrust’ is for teen writers (aged 14-18) of short stories, on any topic, of up to a 1,000 words. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish author Colin Barrett wins the Guardian First Book Award for his debut collection of short stories, Young Skins. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Short story collection about soldiers struggling in cope with chaos of Iraq war takes top US literary prize, with Ursula K Le Guin honored for lifetime contribution• Redeployment by Phil Klay review – incendiary stories of warA US marines veteran, Phil Klay, has taken home America’s most... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Deborah Emin of Sullivan Street Press argues that the rapid change from print to digital publishing is hurting readers, writers, and the next generation. The post Deborah Emin: Publishing’s Complicated Relationship with Technology appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My romance with Chicken Soup for the Soul began and ended with the adolescent iteration, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, and it was fostered in part because I read it when I was not yet teenaged. There was so much in that book for a 10-year-old to love: the amazing celebrity contributors... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A short story collection by Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib has won the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Murray has pre-empted a collection of short stories and debut novel from Irish writer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nine romance writers are distributing an anthology of short stories, "Naught Nine," through INscribe Digital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An obscure but fascinating aspect of the Civil War, when hundreds of women disguised as men enlisted in the army as Union soldiers to fight, is at the heart of Neverhome (Little, Brown; Sept.) by Laird Hunt, the author of five novels and a collection of short stories and a two-time finalist for... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Readers who were inspired by Azar Nafisi’s paean to literature in Reading Lolita in Tehran—there were enough to keep the book on the New York Times bestseller list for 117 weeks—can rejoice at the appearance of The Republic of Imagination (Viking, Oct.), an homage to American literature and a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frozen didn't click until the main characters were reimagined as sisters with a complicated relationship. Co-director Jennifer Lee talks with Fast Company about the collaboration that resulted in the highest-grossing Disney animated film of all time.The fact that Jennifer Lee is a woman isn't... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We last heard from Elizabeth Spencer more than a decade ago. In 1998 she published a memoir, Landscapes of the Heart, followed in 2001 by a “greatest hits” roundup of her novellas and short stories, The Southern Woman, which was followed by a quiet 12 years. One could be forgiven the thought... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 'Creature,' Amina Cain presents personal tales of female characters at loose ends.The peril of reading literary short stories is that one tends to encounter characters who behave not like you or me but like the kind of people one finds only in short stories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Scott Turow's 'Identical' is a compulsively readable crime story about brothers, feuding families and a long-ago murder.Over the course of nine novels, Scott Turow's Kindle County has become one the best-known settings in American literature. While fictional locations are not uncommon... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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