Falling in Love Is Hard When You’re the Guardian of the Dead

Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s debut novel When We Were Birds begins in the time before time and follows the uneasy truce between the living and the dead. Cigarettes are offered, liquor is poured, prayers are said, all in the hope that the buried stay buried. This is the story of Yejide, a young woman who becomes […] The post Falling in Love Is Hard When You’re the Guardian of the Dead appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2022-04-01 11:00:00 UTC ]

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Exclusive Cover Reveal: Isle McElroy’s “People Collide”

Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover for acclaimed writer Isle McElroy’s sophomore novel, People Collide, which will be published by HarperCollins this September. When Eli wakes up alone in the cramped Bulgarian apartment he shares with Elizabeth, his more organized and successful... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-22 15:10:28 UTC ]
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The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

So many libraries, so little time! As writers and readers, we here at Electric Literature know there’s nothing quite like stepping into a space that has been specifically designed to invoke and perpetuate a love of reading. With book-banning efforts escalating across the country and funding for... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-17 12:05:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘The Applicant,’ by Nazli Koca

“The Applicant,” a debut novel by Nazli Koca, features a worldly-wise 20-something Turkish writer who works as a cleaner at a Berlin hostel while struggling to figure out what kind of life she wants to lead. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-14 10:00:12 UTC ]
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7 Long-Awaited Follow Ups to Beloved Books

The last few months have been an exciting time in the world of publishing, not only for the litany of debut novel and short story collection releases, but also for the publication of two long gestating, highly anticipated projects by Cormac McCarthy and Katherine Dunn. The 89-year old’s first... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Growing Up in Between White and Black America

Davon Loeb’s debut memoir The In-Betweens follows the story of his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as a biracial young man growing up between various cultures, races, and identities. Loeb grows up with a Black mother and a white, Jewish father. In school, he is one of the few Black... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
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My Name Is A Direct Line To A Colonizing Ancestry I Still Benefit From

About twenty pages into Sofia Samatar’s memoir The White Mosque, Sigmund Freud appears, sitting in a train compartment late at night. Up to this point, Samatar’s story has been primarily about her travels across Central Asia to study The Bride Sect, a Mennonite group who fled persecution in... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-07 12:05:00 UTC ]
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In “I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself,” a Cruel Form of Public Shaming Has Replaced Prisons

Marisa Crane’s debut novel I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is set outside of our reality: in an America where a cruel form of public shaming has taken the place of prisons. In Exoskeletons we meet Kris, a new mother struggling to see a future for herself and her kid in the wake of her partner’s... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3,” by Kira Yarmysh

A debut novel from Kira Yarmysh, a longtime critic of Vladimir Putin, offers an intimate look at political imprisonment. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-06 10:00:09 UTC ]
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Laura Warrell on Publishing While Black

The young Black woman giggles behind her hands as she sits in the furthest corner of the lecture hall at the DC public library where I’m launching Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, my debut novel about a cast of women, of all ages and backgrounds, who become entangled with a freedom-loving jazz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-06 09:55:20 UTC ]
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17 Small Press Books From 2022 That You Might Have Missed

It’s January and you know what that means—a reset for your TBR pile! There are so many amazing books to look forward to in 2023, but before we get too far into the new year, I think it’s worth spotlighting some of the titles you might have missed last year. And 2022 was an incredible […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-27 12:05:00 UTC ]
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Christine Ma-Kellams Wants to Survive What Happens in Your Writing

In our monthly 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 time, we’re talking to Christine Ma-Kellams, who’s teaching an online eight-week fiction workshop. From improving narrative... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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When everything breaks down, what does it take to survive?

On an isolated island in Maine, a woman is pushed to the brink to save her family, in Meghan Gilliss’ debut novel “Lungfish.” Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-01-19 22:19:20 UTC ]
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We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy

“I never thought I’d be one of those people,” she said. T Kira Madden and I were sitting in the private room of a fancy strip-mall restaurant in Albany, New York, and I was eating a very expensive salad. Earlier that afternoon, we had given a reading at a local bookstore with T Kira’s... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-19 12:05:00 UTC ]
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The last satirical novel from a tech-world alum? It's got a bug

Josh Riedel's debut novel 'Please Report Your Bug Here' tries to be both a sendup of circa-2010 Silicon Valley and a futuristic sci-fi cautionary tale. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-18 14:30:20 UTC ]
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Meet the Champion of Debut Authors

If you are a debut author or a literary fiction and nonfiction stan, you’ve likely heard of Debutiful. Adam Vitcavage launched the podcast and website dedicated to highlighting the work of debut authors in January 2019. It has since become a beacon in the literary community, helping over 100,000... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Manhattan on the rocks: A novel's dual homage to '90s New York and a legendary author

In his debut novel 'Vintage Contemporaries,' Dan Kois tracks two friends with big dreams in '90s New York and pays homage to late author Laurie Colwin. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-13 14:00:22 UTC ]
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America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country

Growing up, the library was not just Amanda Oliver’s favorite place but also her “first beloved destination, first embodied center… it was absolutely sacred.” However, soon after Oliver began her career as a librarian at a Title I school and then in the D.C. public library system, she witnessed... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Memoirs by Women About Multicultural Identity and Belonging

I was in my twenties the first time I read a memoir set in Lahore, my father’s city, where I’d spent time during my childhood. I was living in Syracuse, New York, then, and I read Meatless Days hungrily, soaking in familiar places and people, and when I finished it, I read it again. I […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-04 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Announcing the Winner of Electric Lit’s 2022 Book Cover Tournament

Over the holidays, we asked our social media followers to vote for the best book cover of 2022 and after an especially close competition, a crowd favorite won the hearts of book lovers. From 32 beautiful cover designs, here are the semi-finalists: Valley of Want by Ross White, cover design by... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of January 2, 2023

Restless Books buys Immigrant Fiction Prize winner Praveen Herat’s debut, Penguin Press nabs a debut novel about generational trauma, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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