Interviews Weina Dai Randel burst onto the literary scene a number of years ago with her duology about Empress Wu Zetian, China’s first woman leader. After winning the prestigious Rita Award in 2017 and seeing her novels translated into seven languages, she is back now with a new historical novel set in 1940s Shanghai. Keeping with her love of strong women characters, her new book, The Last Rose of Shanghai, centers on a nightclub owner named Aiyi Shao who falls for a Jewish refugee who had recently escaped Nazi Germany. Through their love of jazz, they develop a forbidden bond set during one of Shanghai’s most volatile and exciting eras. Randel is the first Chinese American author to write about Shanghai Jewish refugees, although there have been dozens of memoirs, narratives, and novels about this phenomenon from Jewish authors. We recently spoke over Zoom about what made Shanghai so special and why it matters now, along with the reasons Jews escaped to Shanghai during World War II and how Chinese and Jewish traditions are so similar. Susan Blumberg-Kason: It seems that the popularity of 1930s and ’40s Shanghai rose both in China and the US about twenty-five years ago. Can you talk about the appeal of this time and why it’s so special, both to people in the US and China? Weina Dai Randel: I think many aspects of Old Shanghai appeal to us today. From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, the period of Old Shanghai was a symbol of... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-20 14:33:49 UTC ]
Paul Beatty has won the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for 'The Sellout,' making him the first American author to win the award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins's 'The Girl on the Train' keeps up its wild ride at #1 in the wake of the release of the film adaptation on October 7. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Puffin Books will next year release a series of Dr Who books written and illustrated in the style of Mr Men. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins is at #1 again with 'The Girl on the Train' in advance of the October 7 release of the film adaptation of the thriller. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Victoria Aveyard, American author of ‘The Red Queen’ wins the ‘Buxtehuder Bulle,’ Germany's most renowned prize for young people’s literature. The post US Author Victoria Aveyard Wins Prestigious German Literary Award appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steven Spielberg’s new film adaptation of a Roald Dahl story has Dahl being remembered as a children's book author with a dark sense of humor. But his stories for adults are typically more macabre. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actors Mel Gibson and Sean Penn are to star in "Professor and the Madman", a film adaptation of a novel about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children’s will next month publish a new edition of Arthur Ransome's classic children's book Swallows and Amazons to tie-in with the new film adaptation. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Jim Henson Company is producing a film adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men novel, with the screenplay written by Rhianna Pratchett, the late author’s daughter. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nordic young adult series, The Snow White Trilogy by Salla Simukka (Hot Keys Books) is to be adapted for the silver screen by Zero Gravity Management in association with Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although Maria Semple has written two previous novels—most recently the bestselling "Where’d You Go, Bernadette," with a film adaptation in the works—the one-time TV writer ("Mad About You," "Arrested Development") says writing them never gets easier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, Jojo Moyes fans gear up for the film adaptation of 'Me Before You’. Plus Debbie Macomber joins the coloring book revolution, animal behaviorist Frans de Waal explains why our fellow creatures are more intelligent than we think they are, and much more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins made her triumphant return to the iBooks U.S. bestsellers list for the week that ended April 24, with 'The Girl on the Train' taking the #2 slot in the wake of the release of the first trailer for its film adaptation last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julia Roberts is set to produce and star in a film adaptation of Harlan Coben’s latest thriller Fool Me Once, according to Deadline. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following actress Brie Larson’s Oscar win for her role in the film adaptation of ‘Room,' Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel came in at #3 on the iBooks bestseller list for the week ending March 6. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Filming has finished and editing is underway for the film adaptation of Eleanor Catton' first novel The Rehearsal. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Steve Jobs" actor Michael Fassbender has been confirmed to star as Harry Hole in the film adaptation of Scandinavian crime writer Jo Nesbo’s global bestseller and thriller, The Snowman (Vintage). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton is to republish its 1970 bestseller The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst by Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall, to coincide with the film adaptation to be released in 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the film adaptation of 'The Martian' dominated the box office during its opening weekend, Andy Weir's novel stayed put at #1 on Apple's iBooks bestseller list, for the week ended October 5 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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