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 ]
B Is for Books allows kids and families to browse, read, and select up to three books to take home. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Fashions in architecture are, more or less, generational. So, the reappraisal of brutalism – a once-reviled style of architecture – is now virtually complete Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-06-03 15:33:22 UTC ]
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Picture book writers whose works look different from one another because they’re illustrated by different artists are less apt to be on your radar. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-31 09:04:00 UTC ]
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Four years after two Minneapolis specialty bookstores were destroyed amid unrest following George Floyd's murder, Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore are thriving in their new locations. Their owner, Don Blyly, is also celebrating his 50th anniversary as a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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By large majorities, Indigo shareholders approved the sale of the Canadian bookstore chain to private equity firms controlled by Canadian billionaire Gerald Schwartz, an Indigo board member and the husband of Indigo founder and CEO Heather Reisman. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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He starred in Peep Show, Green Wing and Wonka – and his first novel won an award. Now the star is making operas with 64 homeless people. Not bad going for someone who was written off by his teachersPaterson Joseph is, by his own admission, an unlikely opera librettist. He had turned 50 by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-27 04:00:13 UTC ]
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Florence Minor, best known for numerous picture book collaborations with her husband, illustrator Wendell Minor, died on May 21 after a battle with ovarian cancer; she was 74. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Booksellers Association held its annual meeting and community forum with 128 individuals and store locations in attendance. ABA’s present membership includes 2,433 bookstore companies with 2,844 store locations, representing “an 11% increase in membership year over year,” according... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Charges have been dropped against four of the 11 people charged with mischief and criminal harassment, which police called "hate-motivated," after an Indigo bookstore was vandalized last fall. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2024-05-22 13:48:29 UTC ]
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Translated by Michael Hofmann, it’s the first novel originally written in German to win the major literary award. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-21 23:13:25 UTC ]
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R.O. Kwon first novel, The Incendiaries, made my top ten list of books in 2018 for BBC Culture: “Kwon’s finely polished first novel is an explosive mix, tracking the evolution of a cult that turns to violence, bombing abortion clinics.” Her second novel, Exhibit, is more intimate, an artfully... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-21 08:54:03 UTC ]
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In today's book news: an in-depth look at Reese Witherspoon's book club, upcoming books that "should" be bestsellers, why you should buy yourself a bookstore gift card, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-20 18:19:41 UTC ]
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A local electrical engineer with a passion for literature is on a mission to share the stories of local authors who have struggled to break into the mainstream publishing industry. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-20 10:00:37 UTC ]
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Cool stuff was everywhere I looked. A compendium of Latin American folk tales. A young-adult version of radio legend Maria Hinojosa's memoir. Picture books teaching Spanish speakers words in Nahuatl and Maya. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-15 13:00:39 UTC ]
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Beaming Books takes Laura Alary's picture book tale of a Christmas that almost wasn't, Behrman House signs Howard Blas's guidebook for families and clergy planning b'nai mitzvah celebrations for children with disabilities, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Photo by Miria-Sabina Maciągiewicz. As Emerson said to Whitman: “I greet you at the beginning of a great career, which yet must have had a long foreground somewhere, for such a start.” The same words my editor said to me when I published my first novel in—good God—1982! Although I have to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-10 08:56:38 UTC ]
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Tlotlo Tsamaase’s first novel adds to an exciting and growing body of African science fiction. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-05-09 14:08:00 UTC ]
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The noble but neglected Scribner Building on Fifth Avenue has renewed the lease for its last remaining tenant at a higher rent, marking the first good news in many years for the landmarked property where F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway used to meet their publisher. Apparel retailer... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-05-07 09:48:08 UTC ]
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Michael Deagler’s first novel follows a young man who is piecing his life back together and trying very hard not to drink. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-06 09:00:26 UTC ]
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'Blood at the Root,' LaDarrion Williams' first novel in a three-book deal — a series that centers on a Black boy in a YA fantasy saga — is the kind of fiction he wishes existed when he was a kid. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-03 10:00:51 UTC ]
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