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 ]
“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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What short stories have your favorite YA writers published? This guide will help you find them. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-21 11:30:00 UTC ]
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I have a long and complicated relationship with superstitions. Being raised in an Italian family means you’re schooled early and often in the myriad ways to avoid bad luck, or worse. Never put a hat on a bed, always leave from the same door you entered, do not even think about passing a baby... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-17 08:52:43 UTC ]
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The Nobel Prize-winning author specialized in exacting short stories that were novelistic in scope, spanning decades with intimacy and precision. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-14 16:13:08 UTC ]
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If you're in the mood for a raucous graphic novel with perfect summer vibes, we got you. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-01 11:30:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The short stories of John Cheever (1912-82) are among the greatest American short stories of the twentieth century. His Collected Stories runs to 900 pages and contains tales which are by turns realist, borderline magic-realist, and downright... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-17 14:00:45 UTC ]
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In WEIRD BLACK GIRLS, Elwin Cotman delivers seven short stories that go long on the absurdity and anxiety of modern Black life. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-04-16 13:00:00 UTC ]
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I have always loved the versatility of the short story, how it can so easily take on the forms of other things. There are playlist short stories, recipe short stories, diary and epistolary-style short stories. There are flash fiction stories, short short stories, and long short stories that... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) I’m often surprised by how little serious critical attention some of the work of J. G. Ballard (1930-2009) has received. ‘Having a Wonderful Time’ is a good example. Like many of the short stories from the 1982 collection Myths of the Near Future,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-03 14:00:45 UTC ]
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Short stories can do things novels cannot because they’re short. They’re limber and can dart in and out of close-fitting places. They can be weird and daring in ways that novels cannot always sustain. Joy Williams writes in, “8 Essential Attributes of the Short Story (and one way it differs from... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all of the short stories by H. G. Wells (1866-1946), ‘The Apple’ is perhaps the most allegorical. First published in the Idler magazine in October 1896, the story concerns a schoolmaster who meets a man on a train; this man gives the teacher an... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-03-27 15:00:31 UTC ]
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