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 ]
Captain Obvious doesn't like Twitter telling him he's not real. Even though, you know, he's technically not. Like many avid Twitterers, he's on a quest to be verified by the network. But Twitter is not yet budging, despite the character's months of campaigning. Twitter certainly doesn't seem... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s 'The Martian' set to open in theaters on October 2, the novel topped Apple’s iBooks bestseller list for the week ended September 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild says median income for members has fallen 24% in five years, with piracy, Amazon and publishing economies contributing to slump in earningsThe earnings of more than half of American authors fell below the US federal poverty level last year, according to a survey from the Authors... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Days after the film adaptation of 'Paper Towns' hit theaters, John Green's 2008 novel hit #1 on Apple's iBooks bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E.L. Doctorow, the American author best known for such novels as 'Ragtime' and 'The March,' died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lori Nelson Spielman, an American author, has written books that became global bestsellers — just not in the USA. How should authors measure success? The post How Do Writers Measure Success in Global Publishing? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books written by women or men from the perspective of a female character are less likely to win major literary awards than books written from a male perspective or about men, research by author Nicola Griffith has found. Griffith analysed the last 15 years of winners for six fiction awards –... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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India's Ritesh Batra is to direct the film adaptation of The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes' Booker-winning novel, with British actor Jim Broadbent in the lead. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Smith at Zaffre, the new adult fiction imprint at Bonnier Publishing, has sold US rights for L S Hilton's Maestra in a seven-figure pre-empt to Putnam. Maestra is the first of three psychological thrillers set in the art world, and has already been optioned by Columbia Pictures for a film... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first book acquired by Zaffre, the adult fiction imprint of Bonnier Publishing, has been optioned by Columbia Pictures for a film adaptation. Amy Pascal, a producer for the forthcoming "Ghostbusters", "Spider-Man", and Angelia Jolie's Cleopatra movie, is set to produce the film adaptation... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ridley Scott is on board to produce a film adaptation of Anita Moorjani’s book about her four-year battle against cancer (Hay House). Scott has teamed with Giannina Facio and Colet Abedi to option Dying To Be Me, which will be produced through Ridley Scott Films and Cara Films Ltd,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine and Glenn Close will star in the film adaptation of M R Carey’s novel The Girl With All the Gifts (Orbit) called “She Who Brings Gifts” for Altitude Film Entertainment. The film will be the debut of director Colm McCarthy, who has previously directed on TV shows... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maria Semple’s 2012 novel Where’d You Go, Bernadette (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) is being adapted into a film, with Oscar-nominated Richard Linklater lined up to direct. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As anticipation continues to mount for the Valentine’s Day release of the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' film adaptation, the book hit #1 on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The wait is almost over for 'Seventh Son,' the film adaptation of Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly two weeks after the premiere of its film adaptation, Laura Hillenbrand’s 'Unbroken' continues to dominate Apple’s bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A film adaptation of a bestselling book by France's former First Lady about her six-year relationship with president Francois Hollande is in development, its producer says. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic UK will next year publish The Marvels, the new children’s title from American author and illustrator Brian Selznick. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Movellas is actively looking to find more books written by community members that it can take to the market, c.e.o. Joe Cohen told the FutureBook Conference today (14th November). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American author R.J. Huenke discusses his efforts to publish his new novel Cyberwar through Spanish self-publishing crowd-sourcing service Pentian. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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