The If I Survive You author on the suspense of the Booker ceremony, Americans’ warped view of the Caribbean, and writing his next novel on the roadJonathan Escoffery, 43, was born in Texas and lives in Oakland, California. His debut, If I Survive You, about a second-generation Jamaican in Miami, where Escoffery grew up, was shortlisted for last year’s Booker and is currently on the shortlist of the Gordon Burn prize, announced on 7 March. The novelist Rumaan Alam has called it “a reminder of what fiction can do... It’s truly a feat that a book of short stories tackling such big stuff – family, love, violence, race – could be so damn funny.”What did it mean to be shortlisted for the Booker prize?It felt like I’d arrived in the UK for the first time, even though the book had been out for months. I’d already connected with readers outside the US because the book is partly set in Jamaica and talks about the African-Caribbean diaspora, but suddenly I was hearing from people in India and Australia. I’d watched the ceremony when Marlon James won with A Brief History of Seven Killings in 2015. I loved what that book did for Jamaica and to see it honoured in such a massive way was beautiful. I felt like that novel was capturing a history of tumultuous politics and rising crime I’d grown up hearing in a very matter of fact way from my parents: “This is what was happening in the 70s, this is why we left.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-27 18:00:42 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#booker prize
#jonathan escoffery
#short stories
This week, four authors of acclaimed debut novels—Xochitl Gonzalez, Rachel Lyon, Lucas Rijneveld, and Adelle Waldman—return for their sophomore efforts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
The biennial Novel Prize comes with a $10,000 purse and simultaneous publication in North America, by New Directions; the U.K. and Ireland, by Fitzcarraldo; and Australia and New Zealand, by Giramondo. In a twist, this year, the three publishers crowned two winners. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#simultaneous publication
Are utopias becoming a trend in fiction during this dystopian era? The debut novel from Phillip B. Williams, 'Ours,' embraces magic without ignoring reality. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-24 11:09:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
#road map
Some stories are ripped from the headlines; others are ripped from history. Three new novels publishing this week explore the lives of historical figures who left a mark on their respective eras. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#historical figures
#week explore
#novels inspired
We Solve Murders introduces a new detective duo – but the author has not abandoned his Thursday Murder Club charactersA new crime series by Richard Osman called We Solve Murders has been announced, after the huge success of his Thursday Murder Club novels.The beloved elderly sleuths from the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-20 17:44:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#first novel
#coming back
#bestselling series
#pointless presenter
#huge success
#solve murders
#detective duo
#crime series
#richard osman
Scott Guild's debut novel (and companion album) 'Plastic' is a dark and entertaining saga about a postapocalyptic world populated by plastic figurines. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-15 21:43:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
The Irish novelist and playwright on the positives of ageing, his struggles with depression and a golden age of Irish writingSebastian Barry, 68, is the author of 11 novels and 15 plays. Five of his books have been long- or shortlisted for the Booker prize, and his novels have won numerous... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-10 18:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#costa book
#paperback
#delivery charges
#observer order
#coming home
#irish fiction
#historical fiction
#booker prize
#golden age
The “Aya” series explores the pains and pleasures of everyday life in a working-class neighborhood in West Africa. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-02-10 10:02:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#graphic novel
#west africa
#everyday life
Andrew Ewell's debut novel 'Set for Life' is well-written but doesn't fulfill its potential. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-09 16:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
Our book reviewers offer up bouquets to unexpected tales of love and affection, from a long marriage to a passion for the movies. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2024-02-08 20:38:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#reading list
#romance novels
Three Black women novelists make their debut with tales of inheritance, friendship, and alternate futures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#novelists
#debut novels
In 'Fourteen Days,' the Authors Guild shows off its storytellers, including Dave Eggers, Celeste Ng, Scott Turow, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange, Tess Gerritsen, R. L. Stine, Weike Wang and Ishmael Reed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#authors guild
#tess gerritsen
#tommy orange
#mira jacob
#scott turow
#celeste ng
Check out these 8 gothic science fiction novels! They're sure to both terrorize and entertain you in equal measure! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-24 11:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#science fiction
#equal measure
In Kaveh Akbar's brilliant debut novel, 'Martyr!', an Iranian American man in addiction recovery becomes obsessed with the concept of martyrdom. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-22 11:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
#kaveh akbar
From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#novelists
#present day
#early 2000s
#angela carter
#margaret atwood
#toni morrison
#adrienne rich
#shirley jackson
Katherine Min's Korean American debut novel was ignored. After she died in 2019, publishers worked to put out her second novel, 'The Fetishist.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-18 11:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
The Modern Library Torchbearers series, which spotlights women writers throughout history, will reissue four novels by Elaine Kraf, which were originally published between 1969 and 1979. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#originally published
Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous memoir will hit shelves later this year, with the help of her daughter Riley Keough, who picked up the pieces. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-11 20:25:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#memoir
#hit shelves
#posthumous memoir
The debut novel 'Dead in Long Beach, California,' is a sharp, dazzling turn for Compton-raised author Venita Blackburn, who made her name with lightning-fast fiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-11 11:00:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#debut novel
#long beach
In her essay for PW, author E.L. Shen reflects on the experience of losing her father as a teenager and the catharsis of writing about grief in her forthcoming book for middle graders, 'Maybe It's a Sign.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#middle graders