When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the mistaken impression that there is something new about women's writing from the Gulf. But women on the peninsula have been composing sophisticated literature for centuries. Al-Khansa (575-645 AD), who was born and died on the Arabian Peninsula, is said to have been told by an admiring male writer that she was “the greatest poet among those with breasts.” Al-Khansa is said to have replied, archly: “I am the greatest poet among those with testicles, too.” Her work can be read, in vibrant translation, in James Montgomery’s Loss Sings.Prominent poet-filmmaker Nujoom Ghanem, in a 2016 interview that focused on her literary ancestors, had a similar barb: “The majority of poets in our world are male, but quantity does not make quality.” Yet among the younger generation of writers, women often dominate. In Yemen, the UAE, Kuwait, and elsewhere, emerging women writers have been flooding into writing workshops and literary seminars. Each Gulf country could have its own list of 10 women writers. Here are just a few to seek out:Raja Alem (Saudi) – Alem was the first woman to co-win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), for her classic Mecca novel The Doves’ Necklace (translated by Adam... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]
She published her first book in her 40s and became the biggest selling author of the past decade in any genre – The Gruffalo alone has sold 13m copies. How did this former busker make it so big?The room where the children’s author Julia Donaldson writes – the heart of her vast picture book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 06:00:31 UTC ]
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When I was young my parents enrolled me in a speed-reading course, which was held in what felt like the basement of a used bookstore on a former main street in a town just west of Kansas City. The post A Year in Reading: Farooq Ahmed appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-12-16 16:00:11 UTC ]
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Independent Denver bookstore BookBar has launched its new publishing division, BookBar Press, with the publication of an anthology of micro-plays written by area playwrights. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury is to publish Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate's first novel in 48 years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-09 16:14:16 UTC ]
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Denver's iconic Tattered Cover Bookstore, which has been owned by Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan since 2015, has been sold to two entrepreneurs and Denver natives, Kwame Spearman and David Back. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster Children’s Books has snapped up two new picture books from author-illustrator Benji Davies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-08 21:12:01 UTC ]
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My local bookstore is long, narrow, and outlined in wooden bookshelves. It’s wedged in an old Victorian building that sits across from the Salish Sea, where orcas, seals, and otters are frequently sighted. It smells like paper and salt water, and holds some 3,000 titles that reveal to tourists... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-07 09:49:19 UTC ]
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A three-book series with illustrator Ashley Evans opens with a picture book based on the Alphabet Rockers' song 'Not Alone.' The post Sourcebooks in a Picture Book Deal With Socially Conscious Alphabet Rockers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-03 21:01:10 UTC ]
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YES! The volunteer-run, collectively owned radical bookstore and activist center Bluestockings is reopening in a new location after shutting down over the summer and fall. In July, Bluestockings announced they were shutting down their original location at 172 Allen Street for both pandemic and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-03 16:23:15 UTC ]
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Yes, the two-time National Book Award finalist and America’s most famous contemporary practitioner of the Joni Mitchell school of marriage fiction (think about it) is returning to the novel game. Riverhead Books announced earlier this afternoon that Matrix—Groff’s first novel since 2015’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-01 18:25:06 UTC ]
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William Heinemann will publish Bewilderment, Richard Powers' first novel since his Booker-shortlisted and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Overstory (William Heinemann, 2018). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-24 19:27:03 UTC ]
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In the mood for a little holiday shopping? You know what they say: November is the new December! Who says that? Independent bookstores that need your support now! So here are a dozen new books hitting shelves today. Go forth! * Ernest Cline, Ready Player Two (Ballantine) “This sequel, nine years... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-24 12:39:52 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group has acquired two non-fiction picture books and two picture books by debut author and illustrator Ellan Rankin, winner of the 2020 Carmelite Picture Book Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-23 20:16:52 UTC ]
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Interviews Since 2003, Jessica Cohen has published over twenty books translated from Hebrew to English. Among other honors, she shared the 2017 Man Booker International Prize with author David Grossman for her translation of Grossman’s A Horse Walks... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-11-20 16:36:29 UTC ]
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Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho invites white readers to have ‘Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,’ #5 in hardcover nonfiction. Plus Anthony Horowitz returns with ‘Moonflower Murders,’ and ‘This Is Your Time’ by Ruby Bridges joins other activist-minded titles on our picture book list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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An even busier Bologna Children's Book Fair than in the past will feature a new parallel general-publishing conference, 'BolognaBookPlus.' The post Bologna Children’s Book Fair Joins London Book Fair in Moving to June appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-11-18 13:58:55 UTC ]
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Hello and welcome to the very niche readership who understands what I am talking about and why I am excited and amused by this! The rumors (from this headline) are true: Principal Snyder, also known as Armin Shimerman, has recently published the first novel in a historical fantasy series about... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 15:43:11 UTC ]
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We’ve got a star-studded stack of new books today, folks! To name a few: President Barack Obama’s memoir, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom’s musings, Julia Child’s culinary wisdom, and Steve Martin’s cartoon pigeons (???). You can get them all at your local bookstore today! *... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 15:30:14 UTC ]
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Sarah Crossan’s first novel for adults is, like some of her celebrated YA novels, written in verse. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-17 13:59:37 UTC ]
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My first novel was released within six months of Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance’s memoir of Appalachian roots and a youth spent in a Rust Belt community with a dearth of jobs and resources. Vance’s book came out just before the 2016 election; mine was released just after. Donald Trump’s victory had... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-17 12:01:45 UTC ]
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