Graham Norton: ‘In a world going to hell in a handcart, Ireland is a wonderful beacon’

The chatshow host’s new novel centres on Irish lives dominated by shame and repression. Yet, after ‘decades of darkness’, the country’s legalisation of abortion and gay marriage have made him hopefulGraham Norton’s second novel, A Keeper, had not gone to press before this interview, so his publisher ran off an A5 photocopy for me. After reading the first few pages, I thought they must have sent me the wrong book. Literary fiction this strong could not be the work of a TV star whose canon of previous works comprised one novel. Whoever wrote this clearly had to be an established author.When I tell Norton this, he does a little squirm beside me on the sofa. “Oh my God, that’s incredibly nice of you. I’m not very good at taking compliments, so let’s gloss over this bit, but I’ll just say thank you very much. Seriously, that’s really, really nice.”We’ve got to thank the church for what Ireland is now, because it is a reaction to all those decades of darknessPeople get stuck in their heads about the thing that’s wrong with their life – they forget to have a lovely time Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #gay marriage #publisher ran #literary fiction #tv star

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When Black kids – shut out from the whitewashed world of children's literature – took matters into their own hands

At the turn of the 20th century, with few children's books featuring Black characters, one young editor implored his peers to 'Let us make the world know that we are living.' Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-02-05 13:08:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black kids #20th century #children's literature


‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is a bestseller, but its author, Walter Tevis, was hardly a one-hit wonder

Tevis wrote science fiction greats like “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and the overlooked “Mockingbird.” Also, “The Hustler.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-03 17:15:28 UTC ]
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Gill's Gough joins HarperCollins Ireland as O'Brien steps up in UK

HarperCollins Ireland has appointed Catherine Gough from Gill Books as commissioning editor, while in the UK there is a promotion for Avon and HarperFiction marketing director Hannah O'Brien. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 15:53:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gill books #harpercollins ireland #harpercollins


Behold these cute phone booth libraries from around the world.

Short of becoming a time machine for well-meaning Gen X slackers, I cannot imagine a grander afterlife for the humble phone booth than to be reincarnated as a cosy wee library. One day you’re a rusted urinal, all-but invisible to the cellphone-clasping masses trundling past, and the next you’ve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 17:54:55 UTC ]
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Girl A: Abigail Dean on her shocking debut novel that's taking the book world by storm

Has this Google lawyer written the book of the year? The part-time author talks about the inspiration for her thriller about siblings who flee abusive parents and their ‘house of horror’Abigail Dean was about to turn 30 when she suddenly realised that her job as a lawyer was using up all the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 06:00:07 UTC ]
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Anita Sethi | 'Healing comes from keeping open to the world and to other people'

In May 2019, Manchester-born writer and journalist Anita Sethi was on a TransPennine train from Liverpool to Newcastle when she became the victim of a race hate crime, a male passenger attacking her with words that, she wrote later, “hurt the very heart of me”. Sethi bravely reported the racial... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-21 15:24:54 UTC ]
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‘A force to be reckoned with’– fantasy world pays tribute to Storm Constantine

A pioneering novelist, she was also a passionate publisher, highlighting voices neglected by the mainstream. My life was one of many changed by her enthusiasmStorm Constantine, the fantasy author and book publisher who has died at the age of 64, was a prolific novelist and short-story writer.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-19 11:41:44 UTC ]
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Oxford University Press Puts Its Full ‘World Classics’ List Online

'In the last year, we've really seen the importance of reliable digital products' amid the constraints of the pandemic, says David Clark. The post Oxford University Press Puts Its Full ‘World Classics’ List Online appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-15 21:53:45 UTC ]
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The dramatic — and embellished — life of Graham Greene

Richard Greene looks past the self-mythology to explore the novelist’s cultural context. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-15 13:00:00 UTC ]
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‘On the Suffering of the World’ sounds depressing, but perhaps it is a call to action, too

A collection of works by the 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer takes on new meaning today. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-13 15:00:00 UTC ]
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In ‘Aftershocks,’ a Search for Home in a Life Around the World

Nadia Owusu’s beautiful and unsettling memoir is an attempt to understand what it means to be rooted and rootless. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-13 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Lloyd extends First World War histories for Viking

Viking is to publish two further First World War history titles by Dr Nick Lloyd, to follow on from The Western Front, which the imprint is bringing out next March.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 09:20:33 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney to Publish ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You’

The novel, which follows four young people in Ireland, is part of a two-book deal for the best-selling author of “Normal People” and “Conversations With Friends.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-12 14:00:10 UTC ]
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Faber to release Rooney's third novel Beautiful World, Where Are You in September

Faber will publish Sally Rooney's third novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, this September, following bestsellers Conversations with Friends and Normal People. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-12 03:36:01 UTC ]
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Boats, Bread, and Biblioburros: Unusual Libraries Around the World

Explore libraries that have unusual collections, exist in strange places, or use novel modes of transportation to deliver books to readers. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-11 11:30:00 UTC ]
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A Reading List to Pair With WONDER WOMAN 1984

The perfect books to add even more depth to Wonder Woman -- read these as you watch Wonder Woman 1984, including Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-08 11:38:00 UTC ]
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‘The Power of Ethics’ offers a way forward in an increasingly muddled world

Modern life has multiplied our conundrums. Susan Liautaud’s “The Power of Ethics” tries to help. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-08 06:00:00 UTC ]
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“The World Wakes Up, Enlarged”: A Conversation with Dan Chiasson

AS SOON AS I picked up Dan Chiasson’s latest book of poetry, The Math Campers, I was immediately drawn into a collaborative experience in which writer and reader make meaning together. Chiasson’s lyrical ruminations can take the form of a “choose your own adventure,” but the poet skillfully... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-01-06 18:00:18 UTC ]
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American Savior by Roland Merullo, Read by Dion Graham

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. What would happen if Jesus’s second coming occurred in America, and he believed the best way... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-01 09:00:28 UTC ]
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World War II’s less-famous fascist

Mussolini is overshadowed by Hitler, but his deeds were despicable too, John Gooch writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-31 17:28:51 UTC ]
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