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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The UK’s 2020 World Book Day: ‘Reading in Sharp Decline’

Armed with new and disturbing survey information about youth reading from the National Literary Trust, this year's UK World Book Day hands out book tokens. The post The UK’s 2020 World Book Day: ‘Reading in Sharp Decline’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-05 15:46:41 UTC ]
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Guinness World Records reveals 2021 cover with reader competition

Guinness World Records has revealed the cover of its next edition and launched a competition for one lucky reader to appear on it. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 07:40:22 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson joins schoolchildren for Downing Street World Book Day celebration

Prime Minister Boris Johnson took time out to celebrate World Book Day at 10 Downing Street with Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell and children from Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 18:40:51 UTC ]
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Mirror Books to publish 'remarkable' World War Two memoir

Mirror Books will publish new memoir about the only living sisters to have signed the Official Secrets Act during the Second World War.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 12:36:25 UTC ]
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Wimbledon BookFest cancels World Book Day event over local coronavirus case

Wimbledon BookFest has been forced to cancel its World Book Day event featuring authors Sita Brachmachari, Konnie Huq and Karyn Parsons, because of a local coronavirus case.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 10:24:07 UTC ]
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World Book Day 2020: Duchess of Cornwall, Cowell and O'Leary lead celebrations

The Duchess of Cornwall, Dermot O'Leary and Cressida Cowell will lead celebrations for World Book Day 2020 today (Thursday 5th March). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 07:51:05 UTC ]
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World Book Day's Supertato smashes into the top spot

Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet’s World Book Day title Supertato: Books are Rubbish (Simon & Schuster Children's) has racked up a 671% increase in sales week on week, selling 26,884 copies in the week leading up to 5th March. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-03 11:15:11 UTC ]
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Coronavirus: Milan’s Stefano Mauri to World Book Fairs and Festivals: Postpone

From near the heart of the Italian crisis, a publishing icon withdraws GeMS from London Book Fair and calls rights centers a "nightmare of epidemiologists.' The post Coronavirus: Milan’s Stefano Mauri to World Book Fairs and Festivals: Postpone appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-02 18:15:43 UTC ]
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In Jenny Offill’s ‘Weather,’ the end of the world is only part of the problem

The real question at the heart of this novel is how a woman is supposed to prepare for the apocalypse when everyday life is so maddening. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-27 22:49:38 UTC ]
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In ‘Disfigured,’ a writer explores the damaging ways fairy tales shape our view of the world — and ourselves

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, Amanda Leduc saw plenty of disabled characters in fairy tales, but none she wanted to identify with. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-27 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Beano launches special comic for World Book Day

Beano is today (Wednesday 26th February) launching a special comic in support of World Book Day (WBD) (March 5th) with a free £1 WBD token. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-26 07:46:04 UTC ]
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Harvill Secker bags First World War thriller

Harvill Secker has snapped up First World War thriller Two Storm Wood by British writer Philip Gray.   Editorial director for crime and thrillers Jade Chandler acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Nicola Barr at the Bent Agency. The title is set for publication in May 2021.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 21:42:00 UTC ]
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Septemberland, How to Find Your Way in a Post-9/11 Dystopian World

TO BE A STRANGER in your own land is alienating enough, but to be a stranger among your own people? That vexing question is at the heart of two books — one a Bildungsroman, the other a memoir — by Arab authors whose narratives might be best described as the misadventures of the insider-outsider.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-02-15 18:00:32 UTC ]
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Lauren Graham’s Week: Background Binges and Books, Books, Books

The former “Gilmore Girls” star and best-selling author shares what she watched, read and listened to in a week. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-12 15:00:10 UTC ]
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Lauren Graham’s Week: Background Binges and Books, Books, Books

The former “Gilmore Girls” star and best-selling author shares what she watched, read and listened to in a week. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-12 15:00:10 UTC ]
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Publishing has to keep up with the world, not the other way round | Candice Carty-Williams

A survey of diversity – or lack of it – in the US books industry makes for dismal reading once moreThe results of a survey of diversity in the world of US publishing were released last month. The figures cover executives, editorial staff, sales, publicity and marketing as well as reviewers,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-08 07:00:31 UTC ]
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Emily Nemens’s ‘The Cactus League’ is a nostalgic look at the world of baseball

The Paris Review editor has crafted a panoramic portrait, centered on multiple characters in chapters numbered as innings. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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See the weird, wonderful ads that made Americans love computers

‘Do You Compute?’ investigates how technology went from being written off as science fiction to something we engage with every day. In the years following the end of World War II, computers were just starting to make their way into the public consciousness. The intimidatingly technical devices... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-01-27 09:00:47 UTC ]
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Niantic announces real-world events for its Pokémon and Harry Potter games

Niantic's real-world events for 2019 were so successful that they generated $249 million in tourism revenue across Chicago, Dortmund and Montréal. That's what the company has revealed in a new events website, which it launched alongside its fe... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-01-23 13:44:00 UTC ]
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Megan Angelo’s ‘Followers’ looks at the hazards of our hyper-connected world

The debut novel examines the lives of people who are more interested in how they appear online than who they are in real life. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-21 17:44:04 UTC ]
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