Can We Truly Be Free of Our Past? A Conversation with Wendy Chen, by Xixuan Collins Interviews [email protected] Mon, 04/29/2024 - 15:10 An epic family saga that spans over one hundred years and two countries, Wendy Chen’s powerful, lyrical debut, Their Divine Fires (Algonquin, forthcoming on May 7, 2024), is about history, love, passion, loyalty, betrayal, and our desire to be free of our past. In the novel, four generations of women survived the formidable hardship in China during the tumultuous twentieth century—the warlord melee, the Communist–Nationalist civil war, the Japanese invasion, and the Cultural Revolution—each emerging with unspeakable loss and heartache yet undampened spirit for life and the future. An intimate study of family relationships with the backdrop of a chaotic, changing world, this book provides a perspective on Chinese history rarely seen in American literature. Xixuan Collins: You capture the emotions of the four generations of Chinese and Chinese American women so vividly. You have said that you were inspired by your grandmother’s stories of her mother and uncles and the ways they fought, lived, and died for what they believed in. Can you tell us a little more about the story behind your story; that is, what was the moment when you realized you had a story to tell and you felt compelled to sit down and write this novel? Wendy Chen: My grandmother would always tell me stories of her family when I... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2024-04-29 20:10:46 UTC ]
Ion Trewin, literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, has died. Trewin was diagnosed with cancer in October last year. His death today (8th April) was announced by the trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation. Jonathan Taylor, chair of the trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation, said:... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cutting out the middlemen of the literary world can lead to the discovery of acclaimed authors such as Andrea BennettPublishers are playing literary agents at their own game, seeking out new talent for themselves and cutting out the industry’s powerful middlemen.Executives within HarperCollins,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Little, Brown editor-in-chief Geoff Shandler will be overseeing the nonfiction side of a new line featuring nonfiction and literary fiction under HC's William Morrow division. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here is a book review of Randall Munroe's What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Questions. Overall, a great book. I recommend it. The post Book Review: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus has launched a Christmas campaign to celebrate the joy of giving and receiving books. As part of the Greatest Gift campaign, 15 key bloggers and BookTubers will upload a post explaining why they think books are the greatest gift to give. Each Greatest Gift “blog tour partner” will also... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Saskia Vogel documents the hot book trends from the Goteborg Book Fair, including feminist texts, literary fiction, and more. The post Hot Book Trends from the Göteborg Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors such as Phil Klay and Valeria Luiselli were selected by past National Book Award winners as rising stars in the literary world. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Ice Bucket Challenge, created to raise awareness of ALS, was taken by such book world figures as author Stephen King, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and author and indie bookstore supporter Stephen Colbert. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For some authors, a demanding era for publishing calls for complicated stories not cautious and conservative ones and they're finding readersBetween the decline of the traditional bookshop and the internet wrecking our concentration, many thought the novel was on its last legs. With all the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month, Dan Kois, David Haglund, and New York Times Book Review editor Parul Sehgal discuss My Struggle: Book One, the Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard’s six-book autobiographical epic. Can the endless accretion of detail a masterpiece make? Would people respond differently to this... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, the chair of Irish PEN, outlines how Ireland continues to punch above its weight in the literary world. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a cycle seemingly as old as the literary world itself, Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is now the subject of criticism after first experiencing major success. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With a byline long familiar to readers of the New York Times sports pages, Harvey Araton is also the author of six critically acclaimed nonfiction sports books, most recently the New York Times bestseller Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry and Baseball’s Greatest Gift. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Saunders has been announced as the winner of The Folio Prize 2014 for Tenth of December (Bloomsbury), sponsored by The Folio Society. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Setting up Wednesday's #EtherIssue debate on Twitter, Porter Anderson looks at recent writing on perceptions of elitism in the literary world. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From biographies to technical studies and step-by-step guides, here are 10 books that you should look for in the next few months.Of course, we think you can learn a lot online. But, if you're looking to take a deeper dive, there is often no substitute for the kind of thoughtful analysis you can... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xiaolu Guo warns that English-language mainstream has warped a broader 'reading habit', on panel with Jhumpa Lahiri and Jonathan FranzenAmerican literature is "massively overrated", the award-winning author and film-maker Xiaolu Guo told the Jaipur literature festival – and fellow panellist and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN American Center's report "Chilling Effects," offers some disturbing data about the effect of government surveillance on free expression and self-censorship in the literary world.PEN American Center’s report “Chilling Effects,” officially released Tuesday morning, offers some disturbing data... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is wasting time as productivity killing as we've always thought, or does it provide a creativity–enhancing escape from the chaos of the world? Stop dawdling and let's explore!Recently, I read a great book and promised to mail it to a friend overseas when I was done, about nine months ago. Today,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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