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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Hilary Mantel was working on ‘mashup’ of Jane Austen novels before her death

Wolf Hall trilogy author remembered at memorial service at Southwark cathedral on ThursdayHilary Mantel, the celebrated author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, was working on a “mashup” of Jane Austen novels when she died suddenly, her literary agent told a packed memorial service at Southwark... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-20 17:46:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #literary agent #bill hamilton #literary icon #died suddenly #celebrated author #memorial service #hilary mantel


Live from New York: Curtis Sittenfeld on Dating Up, Writing Funny, and How SNL and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Are Alike

Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, Romantic Comedy, which begins behind the scenes at a television show similar to Saturday Night Live, where a female comedy writer is gobsmacked that her schlubby straight male... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-20 08:53:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #bestselling author #romantic comedy #whitney terrell #iowa writers #curtis sittenfeld


For teens who like to write: Miami Book Fair is offering a virtual summer camp.

First of all, if you’re a teen who likes to write, keep at it, and don’t let anyone tell you different. (And if you’re the parent of a teen who likes to write, please encourage them.) With the above in mind, the Miami Book Fair is offering a virtual summer camp for teens who like […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-18 14:26:44 UTC ]
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On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’

‘When I was put on Granta’s first Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983, no novel of mine had been published.’ The post On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’ appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta

[ Granta | 2023-04-12 15:52:21 UTC ]
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Brittney Griner Is Writing a Memoir About Her Detention in Russia

The basketball star, who was detained for 10 months, said she hoped her book would raise awareness about other Americans who had been wrongfully detained abroad. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-12 14:16:29 UTC ]
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Rachel Pollack, trans activist and comic book writer, dies aged 77

Pollack, who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, Kate Godwin, had been fighting Hodgkin’s lymphomaRachel Pollack, award-winning author, leading authority on tarot and the occult, trans activist and comic-book writer who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, has died... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 10:45:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #comic book #science fiction #clarke award #short stories #speculative fiction #rachel pollack


See the cover for Jesmyn Ward’s new novel, Let Us Descend.

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward’s latest novel, Let Us Descend, “a haunting masterpiece about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War,” which will be published by Scribner this October. “In each book since my second... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-07 14:00:15 UTC ]
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11 of the Best New Comics and Graphic Novels to Read in April 2023

Call or swing by your local comic book shop and add these great books to your pull list. Here are 1 new comics to read in April 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-05 10:30:00 UTC ]
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How a Tiny Literary Magazine Became a Springboard for Great Irish Writing

The Stinging Fly has helped launch several of Ireland’s most promising writers. How has a publication with 1,000 subscribers carved a niche in the Irish canon? Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-05 09:00:42 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: The Great Gatsby: The Essential Graphic Novel Adaptation by Ted Adams and artist Jorge Coelho

'The Great Gatsby: The Essential Graphic Novel Adaptation' by Ted Adams with drawings by artist Jorge Coelho is a full-color, hardcover, graphic adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel. A seven-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Teju Cole has a new novel out this Fall! Here’s the cover…

Teju Cole’s new novel Tremor will be published by Random House this October. Cole told Lit Hub: The best book designs are, in my view, not illustrative. They stand as their own thing in some sort of relation to the book, at a cooperative angle to it. I feel lucky to have worked with the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-03 14:00:48 UTC ]
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The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs wrote her debut novel about a pop star. It's not her

Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs has written a novel, 'This Bird Has Flown,' about an 'over-the-hill' one-hit wonder finding love — and it kind of rocks. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-04-03 13:00:21 UTC ]
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Writing History Showed Me a New Way to View Climate Change

Two new books, a U. K. paperback and a world first edition, were delivered to my door on the same day last week. I put the books side by side on the table. The first, suggestive of dark happenings in the past,  was The Lion House: The Rise of Suleyman the Magnificent. The second book’s […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-03 08:52:43 UTC ]
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The Best Graphic Novels, as Chosen by a High School Comic Book Club

If you're looking to get a tween or teen into comics, here are the 8 most popular graphic novels with our high school comic book club, including The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-28 10:32:00 UTC ]
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Valemon The Bear: Myth in the Age of the Anthropocene With Martin Shaw

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-27 08:52:16 UTC ]
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Millie Bobby Brown's debut novel is inspired by grandma's 'very personal' WWII story

Millie Bobby Brown of 'Stranger Things' will release her debut novel later this year. 'Nineteen Steps' is inspired by her grandma's experiences during WWII. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-03-24 22:14:27 UTC ]
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Eric Brown, science fiction author and Guardian critic, dies aged 62

Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
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Exclusive: See the cover for Bryan Washington’s new novel, Family Meal.

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Bryan Washington’s latest novel, Family Meal, coming this fall from Riverhead Books. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: From the bestselling, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot, an irresistible, intimate novel about two young... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-21 14:00:48 UTC ]
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Richard Milward: ‘I hid my writing like a secret vice’

The novelist on his latest book, a Charles Manson-inspired work written in slang, his love of the band Mogwai and the trials of sorting post for Royal MailRichard Milward, 38, grew up in Middlesbrough and lives in London. He is the author of three previous novels: Apples, published when he was... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-18 18:00:17 UTC ]
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Ann Napolitano’s New Novel, “Hello Beautiful,” Is the 100th Pick of Oprah’s Book Club

Ann Napolitano toiled in obscurity for years. Novels went unpublished; agents turned her down. She found recognition with “Dear Edward.” Then came the call: “Hello Beautiful” was the 100th pick for what is arguably the most influential book club in the world. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-03-14 12:35:55 UTC ]
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