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 ]
Karzai’s picture book My Key was awarded top honors—$8,000 and a publishing contract from Clavis—in the first-ever Key Colors Competition in the United States. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The London Book Fair was planned to be the platform for Thames & Hudson to reveal its revamped branding, after discussions aroun its key series led to a period of visual reflection Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-26 11:14:16 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster Children's UK is to publish two rhyming picture books by author Mark Sperring and illustrator Matt Hunt, with the first out next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-25 22:03:02 UTC ]
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Interviews Get to know the participants of the upcoming 2020 Neustadt Festival in this series of short interviews. First up: David Bellos! David Bellos is a professor of French and comparative literature as well as director of the Program in Translation... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-08-25 20:30:39 UTC ]
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The Barnes and Noble bookstore at 601 E. Pratt St. at Baltimore's Inner Harbor will close Saturday, according to a sign posted at the location. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2020-08-25 17:48:42 UTC ]
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Picador has picked up the first novel in eight years from award-winning Irish author Keith Ridgway. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-24 11:52:26 UTC ]
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A look back at the history of the 100-year-old Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-21 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Makenna Goodman on leaving New York publishing behind for the farms of Vermont, and why publishing her first novel was traumatic. Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2020-08-20 17:18:24 UTC ]
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The author’s picture book helps Indigenous children see themselves in familiar stories. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Timing is everything, but during the pandemic, it largely hasn’t been on the side of businesses. So I was recently surprised to see The Strand, whose iconic storefront in Union Square attracts thousands of visitors a year, opening a new branch in my neighborhood last month—and in a space where,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-12 19:56:27 UTC ]
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A fan of the fairy tale weaver writes a letter to Hans Christian Andersen, and offers a list of Andersen tales and picture book biographies. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-12 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Frances Lincoln Children’s Books will publish Thank You, a picture book inspired by the lockdown clapping for the NHS, by Joseph Coelho and illustrator Sam Usher. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-11 02:37:23 UTC ]
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Beloved NYC bookstore Bluestockings—long a fixture on the Lower East Side—has found a new home. This will come as a relief to downtown book-lovers who worried the iconic feminist bookstore was closing for good due to both pandemic woes and the threat of increased rent (in a pandemic 😬). After a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-10 15:01:45 UTC ]
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A Hong Kong bookseller has recreated his shop in Taipei, and it has become a symbol of Taiwan’s vibrant democracy. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-08-09 07:00:10 UTC ]
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The 2020 Edinburgh International Book Festival will be presented online from Saturday 15 to Monday 31 August. The programme, made up of over 140 events for adults, families and children, will offer both live and pre-recorded conversations featuring leading writers, poets and participants from... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-08-07 14:45:31 UTC ]
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Yesterday I stopped in at my local bookstore in London. It’s a small shop, but a good one, and seeing its doors open again was like hearing an ice-cream truck from a block away as a kid. I walked straight into traffic to cross the street to get there. Inside the reality of our time […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-06 08:49:19 UTC ]
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Gayl Jones published her first novel in 1975. It was hailed by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and John Updike. Then Gayl disappeared from the literary scene. Now she's releasing her first novel in 20 years. The post The Long-Awaited Return of Gayl Jones appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-08-05 20:30:18 UTC ]
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Investment banker Lindsay Rechler has rewritten classic story to ‘to explain to my children why their world was turned upside down’The classic 1947 children’s picture book Goodnight Moon has been reimagined for the coronavirus era as Good Morning Zoom, replacing Margaret Wise Brown’s lights and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-04 11:13:49 UTC ]
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Two associations of American and Canadian agents are the latest organisations to hit out at the London Book Fair over its refund policy following this year's cancelled event. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-30 21:17:31 UTC ]
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I know that fingers can’t “plod,” but that is what they are doing now, delivering upsetting news that encapsulates this shitty year. As Hong Kong teeters on the edge of a serious coronavirus outbreak and democratic institutions continue losing a war of attrition with the Chinese government, the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-29 18:53:00 UTC ]
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