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 ]
In 2013, I moved to New York City alone. I had just divorced and graduated from the Iowa Writers Workshop. My first novel had been released—waiting for it had been my only remaining tether to a former life. With its release, my last connection to the functional adult world was severed and I was... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-23 08:48:27 UTC ]
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In her first novel to be published in the UK, Catherine Chung tells the story of a gifted mathematician whose studies take her deep into her family history. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-23 07:02:53 UTC ]
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The first novel I published with a major house was about a murder I covered as a reporter when I was in my early twenties. The victim, who was my age, and lived in my neighborhood, disappeared in the winter and her body was found in the summer in a shallow grave in the woods […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-22 08:48:49 UTC ]
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On this warm October day in Southern California, I walk the Venice canals and think of Kate Braverman. How in her sensational first novel Lithium for Medea she captured a Venice so distant that it’s difficult to accept that this version, which is polished and expensive and filled with tourists,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-22 08:48:36 UTC ]
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Jokha Alharthi’s inventive multigenerational tale, “Celestial Bodies,” is also the first novel by an Omani woman to be translated into English. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-10-21 15:10:57 UTC ]
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This list showcases 10 great recent picture book biographies by and about trailblazing women—get ready to inspire the young reader in your life. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-10-21 10:33:42 UTC ]
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LOOK, IT MUST be said: Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments is a deeply strange text. A page-turning potboiler set 15 years after the events of the first novel and published over three decades later, and co-winner this week of the 2019 Booker Prize, it tells a story only barely connected to the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-19 15:00:57 UTC ]
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A buyer circles back to talk sell-through on bookseller favorites. Plus, a holiday preview! Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-18 12:00:02 UTC ]
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A novel featuring a 110-year-old character has won the £20,000 Daily Mail and Penguin Random House First Novel Competition, now in its fourth year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 05:17:36 UTC ]
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Publisher Walker Books has snapped up The House at the Edge of Magic, a middle-grade comic fantasy adventure by picture book author Amy Sparkes in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 00:50:05 UTC ]
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Jim Field makes his author-illustrator début with the perfect picture book for budding language learners. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 20:29:18 UTC ]
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Puffin has acquired the first children’s book from author–illustrator Keri Smith, Wreck this Picture Book, due to publish in autumn 2020 as part of a global release. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 10:22:48 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has acquired Irish children's laureate Sarah Crossan's first novel for adults in a six-figure deal at auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 04:39:48 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s has landed a new picture book from Giles Andreae and illustrator Guy Parker-Rees to mark 20 years of Giraffes Can’t Dance. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 00:47:25 UTC ]
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Hachette Children's Group has acquired the first collaboration on a picture book between France-based author team Myriam Dahman and Nicolas Digard and Kate Greenaway Medal longlisted illustrator Júlia Sardà: The Wolf’s Secret. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 02:56:28 UTC ]
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The value of good signage in a bookstore is never overstated – especially as it’s rarely seen by customers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-14 12:00:55 UTC ]
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Oxford University Press has signed husband-and-wife team Naomi and James Jones' debut picture book in a five-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-14 08:36:11 UTC ]
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The president and CEO of Vroman's Bookstore will succeed Oren Teicher as CEO of the American Booksellers Association on March 1 of next year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut author Chikọdili Emelumadu has won the £3,000 Curtis Brown First Novel Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-10 07:07:47 UTC ]
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Translating one medium into another is tricky. Music is music and art is art and dance is dance; to try to convey the power of another art in fiction is its own sleight-of-hand. My own first novel takes on that challenge. In A Song For A New Day, musician Luce Cannon was on the cusp […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-07 11:00:15 UTC ]
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