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 ]
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Paul Reubens 'finished a first draft' of a memoir about his life and career before he died, a representative for the Pee-wee Herman actor has confirmed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-01 18:13:09 UTC ]
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Bestselling YA novelist Elizabeth Acevedo explains why 'Family Lore,' her first novel for adults, features sex, magic and an 'alpha vagina' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-31 13:00:02 UTC ]
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Richard E. Grant, star of 'Loki,' 'The Lesson' and much more, on how writing his memoir 'A Pocketful of Happiness' helped him grieve for his wife. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-28 19:53:27 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Ours, the debut novel by award-winning poet Philip B. Williams, forthcoming from Viking in February. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: In this ingenious, sweeping novel, Phillip B. Williams introduces us to an enigmatic woman named... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-26 14:00:11 UTC ]
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In an analysis of 300,000 English Literature syllabi, these are the novels by women authors that were the most commonly assigned. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-25 13:22:28 UTC ]
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Virginia Woolf’s first novel, The Voyage Out, was published in the UK in 1915, after which she wanted to tweak some passages for the printing of the US edition. We know this thanks to the work of unsung hero Simon Cooper, a metadata officer at the University of Sydney, who found Woolf’s own copy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-24 17:39:46 UTC ]
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Kate Beaton won two prizes and DC Comics had eight winners as the comics and graphic novel industry held its annual Eisner Awards ceremony July 21 at the start of this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tool is said to have been pitched to several US news outlets as an aid for journalists rather than a replacementGoogle is testing an artificial intelligence tool that can write news articles, in the latest evidence that the technology has the potential to transform white-collar professions.The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-20 12:04:29 UTC ]
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It isn’t unusual for libraries to feature prominently in novels; novelists, after all, are merely adult versions of the little people who fell in love with books at public libraries. But what of librarians? The keepers of the books, the ones who know you prefer romance, science fiction, or... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-07-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Grief is for People, a first memoir from the sharp-eyed essayist and novelist Sloane Crosley, which will be published by Macmillan on February 27, 2024. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: For most of her adult life, Sloane and Russell... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-19 14:00:54 UTC ]
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From Bono to Jarvis Cocker, Bruce Springsteen to Cosey Fanni Tutti, the last decade has seen an explosion of books by artists from every walk of musical life. Why is this once-rare genre striking a chord with stars and readers alike?By her own admission, Miki Berenyi was not a woman itching to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-15 08:00:25 UTC ]
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For years I refused to read historical fiction. It seemed to me that there was something artificial—dishonest, even—in summoning a time and place that hadn’t been experienced firsthand. I couldn’t see past the affected dialogue, the funny hats, and my suspicion that the author was making it all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 08:51:46 UTC ]
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Billed as ‘a therapeutic novel’, the publisher’s first foray into fiction follows 29-year-old Anna’s mental health journey – with a view to helping the reader. But how useful can such clunky writing be?At 29 years old, Anna is full of self-loathing. She hates her job, her boyfriend is having an... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-07 15:45:50 UTC ]
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Ruth Madievsky, a clinical pharmacist, insists her debut on sisters living dangerously is 'so fictional!' But it also channels her immigrant family's stories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-06 13:00:43 UTC ]
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Debut novelist Terah Shelton Harris used to believe some actions were unforgivable. Then her mind was changed by survivors of a church shooting and a friend who was sexually assaulted. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-07-05 15:56:20 UTC ]
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The influencer and Slay in Your Lane co-author talks about her journey via Twitter to become a writer, and channelling her experience of social media into debut novel The List“Honestly, I’m a better painter than I am a writer,” says Yomi Adegoke, cackling, as she takes a sip of prosecco.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-01 08:00:07 UTC ]
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Lamya H’s powerful memoir Hijab Butch Blues is an honest grappling with what it means to be queer, to be a devout hijabi Muslim person who resists gender normativity, to love faith and community. Seeking other queer women in Islam as a young person, H wonders if Maryam, whom no man has touched,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-06-29 11:12:00 UTC ]
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As a fiction writer, I’ve always felt compelled, memoir style, to pore over my life’s timeline. But in a novel, I can erase, revise, smash, crash, reconstruct, and transfigure that squiggly narrative. A novel has no obligation to mirror or represent anything familiar, recognizable, or real. And... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-28 08:52:54 UTC ]
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Tom Rachman's 'The Imposters,' about an aging novelist spinning alternate histories, bears faint echoes of his acclaimed debut, 'The Imperfectionists.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-06-26 13:00:23 UTC ]
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Ad spending for the top 200 U.S. advertisers showed robust growth, powered my internet companies. Digital media grabbed the lion's share of budgets. Spending is growing this year, but a recession looms. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2023-06-26 09:45:00 UTC ]
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