Electric Lit’s Favorite Novels of 2021

When it comes to great novels, this year felt like an embarrassment of riches. The books collected here are ambitious—in intellect, in scope, in subject matter, and in size. Some are perfect encapsulations of the unique problems of our time, while others illuminate the human threads that connect us through time and space. Novelists often […] The post Electric Lit’s Favorite Novels of 2021 appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2021-12-16 12:05:00 UTC ]

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7 Short Stories About the Inner Lives of Athletes

The 2020 Tokyo Games will be defined by many things—the anachronism of its title, the risk of superspreading, the welcome absence of Matt Lauer—but, hopefully, these Olympics will also be remembered for bringing mental health to the forefront of popular discourse. Simone Biles’ “twisties.”... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-10 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Keeping a Critical Eye on Brazil: A Conversation with Emilio Fraia, by Anderson Tepper

Interviews Emilio Fraia’s Sevastopol, out this summer from New Directions, is the sort of book that beguiles and dazzles in equal measure. Consisting of three disparate stories—of a mountain climber attempting to scale Mt. Everest, a mysterious loner... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-09 20:31:30 UTC ]
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Denne Michele Norris Takes the Helm at 'Electric Literature'

Denne Michele Norris has been named editor-in-chief of 'Electric Literature' starting on August 10. She succeeds Jess Zimmerman, who had held the role since 2017 before stepping away earlier this summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Redefining What It Means to Be a Horse Girl

It could have been soccer or tap dancing, it could have been Dungeons & Dragons or Model United Nations, but for editor Halimah Marcus and the contributors of the new anthology Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond, what stamped them most profoundly... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Memoir About Divorcing the Patriarchy

Gina Frangello had a suspicion there was a hunger to talk about women who break the rules. In advance of the release of Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism and Treason, she admits after some prodding, “I got more letters from women before this book came out than I ever received for... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Graphic Novelists Who Show Us What Loneliness Means

In her latest Graphic Content column, Hillary Chute looks at new books from Kristen Radtke and Lizzy Stewart, as well as a first graphic novel from Anne Carson. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-07-29 09:00:05 UTC ]
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8 Short Stories About People Who Want What They Can’t Have

Short stories, to me, are sparked by desire. I don’t mean they’re all love stories, though they certainly can be. I mean they are collisions or conflagrations, small or spectacular traffic accidents in which the desires of one person bump up against the impossible—whether in the form of some... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Who Wrote the Advertising Slogan ‘Go to Work on an Egg’?

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle ponders the links between famous writers and advertising slogans Fay Weldon, author of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983), is one of several famous novelists who started out in the field of advertising. In this connection... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2021-07-23 14:00:03 UTC ]
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The Acknowledgments Are My Favorite Part of a Book

I’ve never read the ending of a book first, though I do have a habit of flipping to the back before I begin, turning instead to the acknowledgments page. There are stories embedded here. Acknowledgments capture the real-life intimacies of the literary world and lay bare the backdrop of the... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Short Stories about Political Issues That Resist Easy Answers

It can be too easy to write villains— people stunted and incapable of love or compassion—when we write about opponents of our politics, especially in short stories, which have so much less space to detail nuance. Sometimes writing about villains and pointing the finger is necessary in a world... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-16 11:00:00 UTC ]
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“The Leftovers” Is Teaching Me Who I Want to Be After Covid

I’ve been watching the Extremely Sad Show for Extremely Sad People for a few months now. I only learned this a few weeks ago, though.  At an editorial meeting for the literary magazine where I’m a columnist, someone said she was watching “the extremely sad show for extremely sad people.” Another... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Queer Indo-Guyanese Poet’s Postcolonial Memoir of His Search for Belonging

I first came to poet Rajiv Mohabir’s work through his cutting meditation on why he will never celebrate Indian Arrival Day, which Guyana celebrates on May 5th to commemorate the arrival of indentured Indian workers in the Caribbean. In the essay for the Asian American Writers Workshop’s The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Cinelle Barnes Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Soft

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Barnes is a regular... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
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For Literary Novelists the Past Is Pressing

Historical fiction was once considered a fusty backwater. Now the genre is having a renaissance, attracting first-rank novelists and racking up major prizes. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-13 09:00:02 UTC ]
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I Thought This Memoir Wasn’t “Taiwanese Enough”—Because That Was My Fear About Myself

In March of 2004, my family and I were at home in Taiwan for the national election, and I got into my first-ever screaming match with a perfect stranger. The election choice, as always, was between the Kuo Ming Tang, which favors reunification with China; and the Democratic People’s Party, which... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Romance novels to read this summer

Romance novelists make their picks for the season, and they run the gamut from sexy to sweet to a little bit murderous. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-27 13:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Club of My Dreams Was at the Library All Along

A successful book club needs three things to thrive: delicious food, decent wine and wonderful people. Only the first two, food and wine, are easy to find. It is the third element, the people, that is like a jigsaw puzzle with a thousand pieces—something that promises to look like the pretty... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-27 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Road Trip Across America to Dismantle White Patriarchy

Randa Jarrar’s memoir Love Is An Ex-Country focuses predominantly on the years leading to the 2016 election, a period, which, like now, was characterized by heightened Islamophobia, misogyny, homophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and racism. Jarrar embarks on a road trip inspired by Tahia... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-21 11:00:43 UTC ]
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Adin Dobkin Admits He’s in the Pocket of Big Sandwich

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re talking to Adin Dobkin, author of the forthcoming book Sprinting Through No-Man’s Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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How women conquered the world of fiction

From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
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