The novelist and short story writer on her new book about Azrael, the angel of death, her encounters with Raymond Carver and Richard Yates, and why fiction should be uncannyJoy Williams, 80, has written five novels and four story collections and is the recipient of numerous awards. Her most recent book of short stories, Concerning the Future of Souls: 99 Stories of Azrael (Tuskar Rock), was published earlier this year. Her work ranges from the philosophical examination of being, belief and morality to urgent engagements with environmental catastrophe; James Salter wrote of her that she belongs in the company of Céline and Flannery O’Connor. Born in Massachusetts, she now lives in the Sonoran desert.An earlier collection of yours was called 99 Stories of God, and now you’ve moved on to Azrael (the angel of death and transporter of souls) as the subject. What drew you to him?I read in a WS Merwin collection his translation of Hadrian’s deathbed poem to his soul – Animula vagula blandula – so sorrowful and succinct. The soul, a worthy subject. And Azrael has always fascinated me: he was death, but not death exactly. He was more a gorgeous creation of Islam. I picture him as responsible for all the souls of this ensouled Earth. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-19 17:00:20 UTC ]
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From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
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The award-winning science fiction author, whose short story “Bears Discover Fire” swept the genre's major awards in 1990, died on January 10 following a recent cancer diagnosis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The anthology “Burn Man” selects from decades of Mark Anthony Jarman’s work, bringing the writer’s lush and searing stories to new readers. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-01-14 10:00:16 UTC ]
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William Gladstone, the literary agent, publisher, author, and founder of Waterside Productions, died on December 27. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A Rush of Indian Stories: A Review of Redolent Rush, by Dustin Pickering Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 01/08/2024 - 14:12 In Redolent Rush, a recent short fiction collection published by Hawakal, based in New Delhi, India, we have nineteen... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-01-08 20:12:06 UTC ]
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Short stories and anthologies can open up new horizons in reading. If you want to explore more short fiction, here are some tips. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:32:00 UTC ]
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The 2022 Survey of Literary Translators' Working Conditions collected data on income, royalties, copyright, and more from the responses of nearly 300 literary translators in the United States. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Rushdie’s book about the incident will be published in April, but the delay ‘will not change the ultimate outcome’ of the trial says district attorneyThe trial of the man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie has been postponed because of the publication of the author’s memoir about the attack.A... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-04 13:18:47 UTC ]
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Gene Luen Yang and artist LeUyen Pham’s new YA graphic novel 'Lunar New Year Love Story' is a charming, funny, supernatural tale of teenagers navigating romance and tough family issues in the Asian American community. An eight page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The book business in 2023 in a nutshell: Amazon got hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit, Scholastic got mired in a censorship controversy, Simon & Schuster finally found a buyer, AI fever gripped the book business, and publishers stepped up to book bans. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Greta Livraria in Lisbon and Rare Birds in Edinburgh are among the new stores dedicated to women’s writingWith its neatly arranged tables and shelves laden with books written by women, Greta Livraria’s small space masks its big ambitions. Since opening earlier this year, the bookstore in Lisbon... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-12-28 05:00:25 UTC ]
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In his last annual letter to authors as Hachettte Book Group CEO, Michael Pietsch hit on a number of topics, including the publisher’s steps to improve its marketing efforts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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More growth in the seemingly unstoppable manga category and the ongoing struggles of librarians and comics retailers were among our most read stories on comics and graphic novels this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In talking about my debut story collection, House Gone Quiet, with friends and family, I’ve often found myself pitching the merits of the short story form itself. Due to habit or book marketing or a lack of exposure, it’s simply the case that most fiction readers who enter a bookstore are... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary world may have a complicated relationship to popularity—see every literary novelist’s love/hate (and almost always unrequited) relationship with the bestseller list—but the internet does not. Simply: it’s good to be read, and so we thank you, our readers, for consuming, commenting... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-18 09:52:49 UTC ]
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Norfolk-based crime writer JM Dalgliesh topped the Amazon and Kindle bestsellers before being signed by a traditional publisher In 2018, JM Dalgliesh was a stay-at-home father when he sent his first crime novel to six literary agents, only to receive polite rejection letters – or no response at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-12-17 09:00:23 UTC ]
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Of all the great premises™ boasted by this year’s slate of movies, the wonderful American Fiction has one of the very best. The film is about a veteran writer of literary fiction who, as a Black man, finds himself undesirable in the literary market for his lack of conforming to type. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-15 09:55:27 UTC ]
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Not only is her latest cookbook her first best seller, the veteran chef has come around to whimsical rainbow flair on baked goods. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-14 10:02:00 UTC ]
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If you want inspiration for the new year, the nonfiction section has a self-care title that promises a meditative reading and a graphic novel about the Latinx leaders who changed the history of the U.S. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-13 18:42:26 UTC ]
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From a look at how bestselling novelist Colleen Hoover is fueling interest in contemporary Christian fiction to interviews with evangelical superstars David Platt and Beth Moore, here are PW’s most-read religion stories of 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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