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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How Julia Donaldson conquered the world, one rhyme at a time

She published her first book in her 40s and became the biggest selling author of the past decade in any genre – The Gruffalo alone has sold 13m copies. How did this former busker make it so big?The room where the children’s author Julia Donaldson writes – the heart of her vast picture book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 06:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #local bookshop #recently bought #jacqueline wilson #favourite author #famous creation #ladybird heard #picture book


A Wave Blue World Debuts New Model for Publishing Comics

A Wave Blue World is an independent comics and graphic novel publisher with an unusual model. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent comics #graphic novel


World Literature Today’s 75 Notable Translations of 2020, by Michelle Johnson

Lit Lists Literary translation’s 2020 story is one of abundance and adaptation. Like most books published this year, dozens of new translations were published during a global pandemic. Events quickly moved from bookstores to Zoom. Writers and... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-12-14 20:55:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fig tree #dubravka ugrešić #memoir


John le Carré didn’t just invent the characters in the foreground of the spy world. He designed the entire set.

His genius was that his re-imaginings of people and events have proved more memorable than the real things. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-14 10:02:24 UTC ]
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The Magic World of Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum

Subscribe on Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | This week co-hosts Kate and Medaya are joined by author Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, whose latest book is the collection of short stories Likes. Sarah discusses the magic of childhood, the difficulties of family life in the current political climate, and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-12-02 22:35:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family life


One of Europe’s Great Libraries Didn’t Stand a Chance… In Either of the World Wars

Exactly a century after the burning of Washington another invading army encountered a library, and saw it as a perfect way to strike a blow at the heart of their enemy. This time the action would have a global impact, as the means of spreading news had been transformed in the century since the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-02 09:48:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world wars #global impact #literary hub #libraries


Where the headlines are made: inside newsrooms around the world - in pictures

Noel Bowler photographed some of the largest newsrooms across the world, exploring the physical spaces that house our modern press. With declining readership, reduced advertising and persistent questions about ‘truth’ and relevance of newspapers in the 21st century, the structures of print media... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-30 06:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #declining readership #21st century #print media


Andrew Hunter Murray | 'I wanted the story to be the uncovering of a secret about this world'

Andrew Hunter Murray was out walking when an image occurred to him: a still Earth, half in light, half in darkness, no longer rotating. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-27 04:30:33 UTC ]
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Norton, Ryan and McAnulty win at An Post Irish Book Awards

Graham Norton, Dara McAnulty and Donal Ryan were among the winning authors at the virtual An Post Irish Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-25 22:26:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graham norton #donal ryan #dara mcanulty #winning authors #irish book


Visualizing 'Between the World and Me'

HBO's status as a skillful producer of African American-themed material will continue to rise after the release of 'Between the World and Me,' the cinematic adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's 2015 NBA-winning work of nonfiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's Books Ireland to give 6,000 titles to children

Children’s Books Ireland is giving 6,000 books to children in the run-up to Christmas, supported by the Arts Council and KPMG. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-22 20:52:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books ireland #arts council


A green beacon of hope

I hold my manuscript in my hand that will in the not too distant future become a book: I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain (Bloomsbury, 2021), the first of my nature writing trilogy. Over 200 pages of paper and the first time I’ve ever printed it out despite multiple drafts.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-19 06:28:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #distant future


Gayle's Half the World Away optioned by Genesius Pictures and Tantrum Films

Mike Gayle’s Half A World Away (Hodder & Stoughton, 2019) has been optioned for television by Genesius Pictures and Tantrum Films with actress Michelle Collins attached.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 04:01:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mike gayle


Who’s the killer in ‘The Undoing’? The novelist behind the series wonders, too.

Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of “You Should Have Known,” talks about the surprising adaptation of her book. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Exploring the legal world of Hamilton — and ‘Hamilton’

Scholars explore the questions of law, past and present, raised by the hit musical. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-13 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hit musical


Bookshop.org is what the publishing world has been waiting for

Following its its success in the US, the ethical platform Bookshop.org has arrived in the UK, marking an exciting new chapter for independent stores onlineIn publishing we often talk about things that we are “excited” and “delighted” about, so much that sometimes I think the words have lost... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-05 08:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #exciting news #buying books #independent bookshops #publishing world


Industry Notes: Italian Bookstores Stay Open, Guadalajara Named World Book Capital

Italy's bookstores are allowed to operate amid COVID-19 restrictions, and Guadalajara becomes UNESCO's World Book Capital for 2022. The post Industry Notes: Italian Bookstores Stay Open, Guadalajara Named World Book Capital appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-11-04 20:25:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world book


How the Literary World Reinvented the Book Festival in Real Time

As the literary world moved online in 2020, a central question for many organizations was how to manage the annual festivals that gather thousands of readers from around the world. Here, the directors of five festivals—Sara Ortiz of the Believer Festival, Lissette Mendez of the Miami Book Fair,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-03 09:57:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #real time #central question #lissette mendez #literary hub #book festival #literary world


Two rarely seen paintings offer a peek into the very private world of Paul and Bunny Mellon

“Paul and Bunny Mellon: Visual Biographies - The Trompe l’Oeil Paintings at Oak Spring, Virginia” explores two paintings that reveal a great deal about their owners. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-02 13:00:00 UTC ]
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See inside one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores

Dujiangyan Zhongshuge is the latest bookstore designed by X+Living, and it’s stunning. The very best books transport you to another world, and the most magical bookstores help make that a reality. Chinese bookseller Zhongshuge is renowned for its stunning bookstores, and its latest outpost, in... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-11-02 08:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller #bookstore