From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut novelists it would be championing this year: Megan Nolan, Pip Williams, Ailsa McFarlane, Jo Hamya and Vera Kurian.All five of them are women. But you could be forgiven for not noticing it, so commonplace are female-dominated lists in 2021. Over the past 12 months, almost all of the buzz in fiction has been around young women: Patricia Lockwood, Yaa Gyasi, Raven Leilani, Avni Doshi, Lauren Oyler. Ask a novelist of any gender who they are reading and they will almost certainly mention one of Rachel Cusk, Ottessa Moshfegh, Rachel Kushner, Gwendoline Riley, Monique Roffey or Maria Stepanova. Or they will be finding new resonances in Anita Brookner, Zora Neale Hurston, Natalia Ginzburg, Octavia Butler, Ivy Compton-Burnett. The energy, as anyone in the publishing world will tell you, is with women.It’s only relatively recently that fiction written by a woman about intimate subjects like sex has been classed as literary fictionClass is the dirty secret of publishing. Working-class male writers are now expected to answer for a past that isn’t oursMen think that to be allowed a place at the table, they need to have the right views and be these nice guysWhy wasn’t there uproar in the media... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
Lovers of gorgeous prose and ghost-soaked literary fiction rejoice: two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward’s next novel officially has a release date. Let Us Descend, Ward’s first novel in five years (since 2017’s Sing, Unburied Sing) will be published by Scribner on October 3. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-27 15:09:45 UTC ]
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The well-connected publishing executive provides a top-down look at the industry—and more than a few harsh appraisals of notable peers—in a new memoir. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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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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I kind of love acknowledgement pages. When I was trying to find an agent for my first novel, I would go to the local Borders (it was a lifetime ago) open to them often to discover which agents and editors novelists worked with, which MFA programs they’d attended, who their early readers were. My... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-18 09:56:43 UTC ]
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Russell Banks, who has died at age 82, carried on the legacy of great American novelists probing big themes through the small lives of heroic underdogs. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-09 21:54:28 UTC ]
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Here’s a piece of good literary news to start the year: a new independent bookstore named after the legendary Octavia E. Butler is opening in Pasadena, California, where the late Sci-Fi icon was born and raised. I took the leap and quit my job to open my very own bookstore. Octavia’s Bookshelf... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-03 17:31:27 UTC ]
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Poets, literary fiction authors, and other unexpected writers are taking their shot at sci-fi and fantasy. Here are some of the best, including Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-20 11:35:00 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2023 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A new interactive article in The Times immerses readers in significant locations and moments from the life of the pioneering science fiction writer. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-27 08:00:10 UTC ]
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If you’re a literary genius, you’ve got it easy—right? Wrong. Even Jane Austen, indisputably one of the greatest novelists in the English language, spent years struggling to be published and became so dispirited that there were moments when she almost walked away. The story begins with an... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-18 09:54:04 UTC ]
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The publisher and writer – who has died aged 84 – was a pioneering champion of female writers. Virago’s chair Lennie Goodings remembers her long-time colleague and friendMore than 40 years ago when Carmen and I were working late in the first Virago office on Wardour Street I asked her why she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-18 15:06:43 UTC ]
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Spiracle will feature titles from independent presses, while last month, Spotify also began offering audiobooks to US customersA new audiobook platform which aims to create a “lovely, welcoming, independent bookstore kind of vibe” has launched, as audio giant Spotify also enters the fast-growing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-03 18:09:30 UTC ]
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‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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Held in person for the first time since 2019, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) 2022 conference brought over 300 authors, agents, publishers, and aspiring novelists together in St. Louis, Mo. from September 8-11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Ling Ma, Gwendoline Riley, Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read our most recent book preview. Want to help The Millions keep churning out great books... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-09-13 09:59:24 UTC ]
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With its stellar track record of retail success—including more than 50 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers—Greenleaf has been a proven innovator within the hybrid publishing world for 25 years and counting. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by A.M. Homes, author of The Unfolding. Find more Keen On... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-06 08:56:16 UTC ]
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We talk with Jill and Adlai Yeomans, owners of White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, Pa., which focuses on literary fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
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A Black Muslim leader is bringing his life story and work to Broadleaf; novelists Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton are joining forces on a WWII story coming from Revell, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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