Finding Her #ownvoice: A Conversation with Ivy Ngeow, by Susan Blumberg-Kason Interviews [email protected] Tue, 07/18/2023 - 15:46 Ivy Ngeow grew up in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and now makes her home in London. An architect and interior designer by trade, she is also a novelist with five books under her belt, the latest a thriller set in Florida. The American Boyfriend is the story of a British Chinese Malaysian single mother who flies across the Atlantic with her toddler to meet up with her long-distance American Jewish boyfriend. The book was captivating from the beginning, and I never figured out what was going to happen, which is always a great sign for a thriller. I recently corresponded with Ngeow via email to discuss her new novel, how she got into writing, and her thoughts on publishing in Asia versus the UK. Susan Blumberg-Kason: Your latest novel takes place in the resort town of Key West, Florida. Can you talk a little about how you chose Key West for your setting? Had you thought of other locations when you first thought about this story? Ivy Ngeow: I was looking for a warm, isolated location for The American Boyfriend to disconnect both the main character and the reader from cold, harsh reality (literally). It had to be an enclosed world. I didn’t consider other locations because it had to “seem quite near to London” but be “far enough to be away from her mother” for Phoebe Wong, the main character, to find the... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2023-07-18 20:46:55 UTC ]
Interviews Veronica Esposito Photo by Camila Valdés Megan McDowell has translated many contemporary authors from Latin America and Spain, including Alejandro Zambra, Samanta Schweblin, and Lina Meruane. Shortlisted for the Man Booker... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-22 15:20:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House plans to reopen its Colchester distribution centre next week after the facility was closed late last month for a systems upgrade. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 18:41:00 UTC ]
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Traditionally, a ballad was a song that was designed to be danced to, as the etymology of the word, Provençal balada meaning ‘dance, song to dance to’, ultimately from late Latin ballare. The great British ballads – and we say ‘British’ because many of them were Scottish rather than English... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-06-14 14:00:45 UTC ]
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Zondervan takes a gift book on ‘How Far You Have Come,’ literary agent Blythe Daniel gets her own book deal, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio is bringing together wellbeing experts, including fitness author Chloe Madeley and performance coach Sara Milne Rowe, in a new audio anthology, The Here and Now. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 10:56:54 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has joined the other big trade publishers in pulling out of the Frankfurt Book Fair's physical event this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-08 07:32:23 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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Pandemic Dispatches Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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Fitness guru Joe Wicks is leaving Bluebird for HarperCollins, signing a multi-book deal for adult lifestyle and children's titles with the publisher. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-03 00:41:19 UTC ]
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How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I don’t read poetry. I just don’t get it.’ Or perhaps, ‘Why can’t poets just come out and say what they want to say? Why say something in such a way?’ For many people, poetry is ‘difficult’. But whilst it’s true that […] The post 10 of the Most... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-30 14:00:36 UTC ]
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In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle examines a famous phrase derived from Shakespeare The old line about Hamlet, that it’s ‘too full of quotations’, wittily sums up the play’s influence on not just English literature but on the everyday language we use. Many of us... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-29 14:00:47 UTC ]
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If you think lit fic endings are all sorrow or question marks, think again. Here are some happy literary fiction books that will leave you hopeful. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-21 10:34:27 UTC ]
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Guest Blogger: Prof Katy Shaw, University of Northumbria, Vice-Chair of BACLS – the British Association of Literary Studies – and executive committee member of University English, the national subject association. In recent years there has been a rapid rise in the teaching of English Literature... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-18 09:30:54 UTC ]
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The Virus, first published in 1982, will be reissued this summer after the PM’s father shrugged off accusations of cashing in on the coronavirus crisisA long out-of-print novel about a deadly virus by Stanley Johnson, the father of UK prime minister Boris Johnson, is to be reissued this summer,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-11 14:45:10 UTC ]
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Marian Wood, a veteran editor and former v-p and publisher of an eponymous imprint at G.P. Putnam's Sons, died over the weekend. Penguin Random House called Wood's time in the business, which began in the 1970s, "one of the most illustrious careers in publishing." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeremy Trafford, who has died aged 85 after contracting Covid-19, was a publisher, teacher and writer. I met him in the late 1970s, while supply teaching at the London Oratory school, in west London, where he taught English literature in the sixth form. He was a brilliant teacher, who inspired... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-05 11:07:04 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann has reported a first quarter revenue decline of 2.7% in what it said was a “satisfactory” performance given the challenge of Covid-19. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-29 16:46:13 UTC ]
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When we think of poems, these days most people probably automatically think of lyric poems: usually quite short poems which describe the poet’s (or an imagined speaker’s) thoughts and feelings. But from the epic poems of Homer to the Border Ballads of the Middle Ages to notable contemporary... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-04-29 14:00:40 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has launched a collaboration with charity Speakers for Schools delivering a series of virtual educational events from its authors, streaming to thousands of students across the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 20:41:22 UTC ]
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Judge famous for ruling against Boris Johnson will recount how ‘a little girl from North Yorkshire became the most senior judge in the UK’ Lady Hale, who presided over the momentous decision to rule Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament unlawful, is set to write her memoirs, of how “a little... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-04-23 14:06:04 UTC ]
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