Jonathan Escoffery: ‘I was trying to write novels aged nine’

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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Martin Amis, era-defining British novelist, dies aged 73

The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury admits using AI-generated artwork for Sarah J Maas novel

Publisher says cover of House of Earth and Blood was prepared by in-house designers unaware the stock image chosen was not human-madePublisher Bloomsbury has said it was unaware an image it used on the cover of a book by fantasy author Sarah J Maas was generated by artificial intelligence.The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-19 14:30:22 UTC ]
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‘Beowulf is lit AF’ – could ChatGPT really write good book blurbs?

Some in the book industry have already begun exploring automation of its pitches to readers. We took this functionality for a test drive“Blurb writing is a mini art form,” Iris Murdoch once wrote in a letter to former Penguin blurb writer Elizabeth Buchan. And like many other art forms,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-16 09:00:05 UTC ]
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How To Write About Your Mother

Mother’s Day was never a real holiday to my mother—more about marketing than raising me. No white carnations or special dinners for her. But that my memoir about her, Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son, was published just before this Mother’s Day would make her smile. Likewise, that I have... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-12 13:21:24 UTC ]
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In a PEN America Lecture, Ta-Nehisi Coates Exercises Freedom to Write

MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award–winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates talked about the war on books, the imbalance of power, and learning as liberation at the PEN America World Voices Festival on May 11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Two novels share Pulitzer in fiction as 'His Name Is George Floyd' wins for nonfiction

Two novels, "Demon Copperhead" and "Trust," shared the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction while "His Name Is George Floyd" took home the nonfiction prize. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-08 21:55:41 UTC ]
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Scholastic recognizes 100 years of teen writing.

What do Amanda Gorman, Truman Capote, John Updike, and Joyce Carol Oates have in common? Each won a Scholastic Art & Writing Award as a teen. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards began in 1923 and continue to support young writers thanks to The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 12:47:48 UTC ]
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6 Great Y.A. Fantasy Novels

Tracy Deonn, the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award-winning author of “Legendborn” and “Bloodmarked,” recommends a few of her favorite young adult fantasy titles. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-05-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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Copiers, Cubicles and Colleagues: A Reading List of Office Novels

I am nostalgic for the bygone office life, for that first real job in our twenties when the word “colleague” encompassed both friend and coworker, when work meant hanging out with them during the day, and social life meant hanging out with them late into the night. It was with those peers that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-05 08:53:59 UTC ]
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The Best Coming-of-Age Stories about Adolescence

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Many notable short stories focus on the rough passage from childhood to adulthood. Of course, the transition from ‘child’ to ‘adult’ does not happen overnight, and is not the result of a single epiphany of crucial moment, but writers of short fiction... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-05-01 17:00:31 UTC ]
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Matt Rowland Hill: ‘My mother says she will sue me if I ever write another book like it’

The author of Original Sins, an account of addiction and shame, on his book’s impact on his evangelical parents, reading the Patrick Melrose series while waiting for drug dealers, and how looking middle class saved him from arrestMatt Rowland Hill, 38, is the author of Original Sins, about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 17:00:41 UTC ]
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Unseen Gabriel García Márquez novel to be published next year

Colombian author’s En Agosto Now Vemos (We’ll See Each Other in August) had been just a rumour but now fans will get to read itRumours had long circulated that an entire literary masterpiece, never seen by the public, could still be lying in a dusty safe held by the late author’s family or under... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-28 21:10:15 UTC ]
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10 Essential LGBTQ Novels

C.E. McGill, author of 'Our Hideous Progeny,' highlights 10 impactful queer novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ralph Yarl, Defunding Libraries, and (Re)Writing Kansas City: On Crafting New Narratives in a Divided City

Visual artist and poet José Faus, journalist C.J. Janovy, and writer Desideria Mesa, join host Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss Kansas City’s literary legacy and its future. The group focuses on new book ban legislation, as well a white... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:53:54 UTC ]
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Three debut novels compete among Women’s prize for fiction shortlist

First-time novelists are joined by two former winners on the diverse list, as the six ‘ambitious and hard-hitting’ contenders are revealed• ‘We were blown away’: how we chose the Women’s prize shortlistThree debut novels will compete against books by two former winners for this year’s Women’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-26 06:30:01 UTC ]
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Blackstone and Valiant Announce Inaugural Novels Based on Comics Content

Blackstone Publishing and Valiant Entertainment announced four inaugural titles featuring novelizations of comics characters. The first books are due out in early 2025. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Definitive proof that publishing your novel won’t make you happy.

Hug an author today! Fifty-four percent of debut authors responding to Bookseller survey said the process had a negative impact on their mental health—equally likely to feel bummed out whether they pubbed with a Big Four or an indie publisher. One, quoted anonymously in The Bookseller’s report,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 15:32:12 UTC ]
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Novelist Celeste Ng: ‘There was a period when I thought I’d never write again’

The award-winning author on how Trump, Covid and anti-Asian rhetoric inspired her latest novel, digging her way out of ‘post-book fatigue’, and learning to touch type using UlyssesCeleste Ng, 42, is the award-winning author of three novels, including Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-22 17:00:15 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel had an unpublished Jane Austen-inspired novel.

Hilary Mantel died last September at age 70, but a memorial service just this week revealed something of use to those who miss her words. The Guardian’s Saturday Paper will be publishing excerpts from an unpublished project mashing together Jane Austen’s works. “She was having the greatest fun... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-21 16:03:28 UTC ]
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