In “The Edge of Water,” A Prophecy Unravels a Nigerian Family’s Pursuit of the American Dream

Olufunke Grace Bankole’s debut novel The Edge of Water opens with a prophecy: “A storm is coming.” The order of things, the Iyanifa tells us, will be disrupted by a soul who defies her fate.  What follows is the story of three generations of Nigerian and Nigerian American women: Esther, who dreams of a different […] The post In “The Edge of Water,” A Prophecy Unravels a Nigerian Family’s Pursuit of the American Dream appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2025-02-04 12:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "In “The Edge of Water,” A Prophecy Unravels a Nigerian Family’s Pursuit of the American Dream"


7 Short Stories about Political Issues That Resist Easy Answers

It can be too easy to write villains— people stunted and incapable of love or compassion—when we write about opponents of our politics, especially in short stories, which have so much less space to detail nuance. Sometimes writing about villains and pointing the finger is necessary in a world... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-16 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Struan Murray, Ben Horslen Win the UK’s Branford Boase Award

The illustrated debut novel 'Orphans of the Tide' wins the 2021 Branford Boase Award, which honors both authors and their editors. The post Struan Murray, Ben Horslen Win the UK’s Branford Boase Award appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-15 20:44:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


If You Lived Here, You’d Be in Hell by Now

Carolyn Ferrell’s beautifully hair-raising debut novel takes readers into a house of horrors where some survivors have a better chance than others. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-07-07 09:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Roger Bennett spent his British boyhood fixated on ‘Miami Vice’ and the Chicago Bears — then lived his own American Dream

Bennett’s new memoir, “(Re)Born in the USA,” traces an offbeat journey from obsession to proud citizenship. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-07-01 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’

The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


“The Leftovers” Is Teaching Me Who I Want to Be After Covid

I’ve been watching the Extremely Sad Show for Extremely Sad People for a few months now. I only learned this a few weeks ago, though.  At an editorial meeting for the literary magazine where I’m a columnist, someone said she was watching “the extremely sad show for extremely sad people.” Another... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of June 28, 2021

St. Martin’s buys a debut novel by a Bloomsbury UK assistant editor, a pair of podcasters sells a book on race to Park Row, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Queer Indo-Guyanese Poet’s Postcolonial Memoir of His Search for Belonging

I first came to poet Rajiv Mohabir’s work through his cutting meditation on why he will never celebrate Indian Arrival Day, which Guyana celebrates on May 5th to commemorate the arrival of indentured Indian workers in the Caribbean. In the essay for the Asian American Writers Workshop’s The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cinelle Barnes Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Soft

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Barnes is a regular... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Debut power

Publishing a debut novel is never easy. 100,000 long-form works of English-language fiction are published every year and even in normal circumstances it’s a struggle to for a first-time novelist to stand out from the pack. But the last 15 or so months have been particularly trying. Full lockdown... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-12 22:02:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Zakiya Dalila Harris: ‘Publishing is such a spoofable world’

The author of a debut novel about diversity in the workplace on how black people act around white people, embracing her hair, and what’s changed a year after George Floyd’s murderZakiya Dalila Harris was born and raised in Connecticut and is currently based in Brooklyn. Now a full-time writer,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-05 17:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


I Thought This Memoir Wasn’t “Taiwanese Enough”—Because That Was My Fear About Myself

In March of 2004, my family and I were at home in Taiwan for the national election, and I got into my first-ever screaming match with a perfect stranger. The election choice, as always, was between the Kuo Ming Tang, which favors reunification with China; and the Democratic People’s Party, which... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Ireland pre-empts debut novel by Kirwan

HarperCollins Ireland has pre-empted a debut novel by award-winning actor and playwright Emmet Kirwan, to be published in 2023.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 22:53:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Three Women' author Lisa Taddeo's debut novel is fearless. So what is she afraid of?

Lisa Taddeo, whose book "Three Women" broke the mold of immersive journalism, talks about her first novel, "Animal," and the struggle to write and live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 13:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Book Club of My Dreams Was at the Library All Along

A successful book club needs three things to thrive: delicious food, decent wine and wonderful people. Only the first two, food and wine, are easy to find. It is the third element, the people, that is like a jigsaw puzzle with a thousand pieces—something that promises to look like the pretty... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-27 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Her Book Doesn’t Go Easy on Publishing. Publishers Ate It Up.

Zakiya Dalila Harris, a former editorial assistant, is making a splash with “The Other Black Girl,” her debut novel about an African-American woman navigating a nearly all-white workplace. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-05-23 20:21:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Road Trip Across America to Dismantle White Patriarchy

Randa Jarrar’s memoir Love Is An Ex-Country focuses predominantly on the years leading to the 2016 election, a period, which, like now, was characterized by heightened Islamophobia, misogyny, homophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and racism. Jarrar embarks on a road trip inspired by Tahia... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-21 11:00:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Adin Dobkin Admits He’s in the Pocket of Big Sandwich

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re talking to Adin Dobkin, author of the forthcoming book Sprinting Through No-Man’s Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Republic of Consciousness prize shares £20,000 pot among longlist

Shola von Reinhold wins the award for small publishing houses with their novel LOTE, but financial reward split among 10 publishersThe Scottish author Shola von Reinhold has won the Republic of Consciousness prize for small presses for their “dazzling” queer debut novel LOTE. But the £20,000... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-19 12:17:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Trauma Has Forced Me to Become a Powerful Witch

In the introductory essay of White Magic, Elissa Washuta—a Native American author and member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe—examines the colonization of spirituality, as well as her own reticence to describe herself as a witch: “I just want a version of the occult that isn’t built on plunder, but I... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-07 11:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this