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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Ken Follett Releasing New Novel This September

Best-selling author Ken Follett's new book is out this September, concluding a series that chronicles 1,000 years of Western civilization. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-01-19 17:19:27 UTC ]
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The last satirical novel from a tech-world alum? It's got a bug

Josh Riedel's debut novel 'Please Report Your Bug Here' tries to be both a sendup of circa-2010 Silicon Valley and a futuristic sci-fi cautionary tale. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-18 14:30:20 UTC ]
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Daniel Torday on Why There Are No Acknowledgements in His Latest Novel

I kind of love acknowledgement pages. When I was trying to find an agent for my first novel, I would go to the local Borders (it was a lifetime ago) open to them often to discover which agents and editors novelists worked with, which MFA programs they’d attended, who their early readers were. My... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-18 09:56:43 UTC ]
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Digital Book World: Startups Are Entering 'A New Age'

DBW's final day looked at a recent study of publishing industry startups and found that innovation takes all forms, from wildly successful ideas that took time to take off, like Audible, to cutting edge innovations, like blockchain book retailing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Book World: Startups Are Entering 'A New Age'

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Book World 2023: The Future of AI Writing and Audio

According to multiple presenters at the Digital Book World conference, ChatGPT has potential to remake the way people write and streamline production and editing, while AI voice replication promises affordable audiobook adaptations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Book World 2023: The Future of AI Writing and Audio

Manhattan on the rocks: A novel's dual homage to '90s New York and a legendary author

In his debut novel 'Vintage Contemporaries,' Dan Kois tracks two friends with big dreams in '90s New York and pays homage to late author Laurie Colwin. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-13 14:00:22 UTC ]
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It turns out that people don’t want a coloring book based on a novel about domestic abuse.

There’s no denying that Colleen Hoover has had an incredible year. Still, despite the relentless appetite for her novels, it seems that the people do not, in fact, want a coloring book based on her number-one bestselling book It Ends With Us, which centers on an abusive relationship faced by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-12 17:27:54 UTC ]
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Kelcey Ervick Brings an Athlete’s Discipline to Writing

In one of my favorite pages of The Keeper, Kelcey Ervick‘s graphic memoir about her time as a goalie in the early days of Title IX, Ervick is, at this point, no longer a teenage soccer player. Time has passed, and she’s now a wife and a mother trying to take herself seriously as a … The post... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2023-01-11 11:00:04 UTC ]
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In his own write: Prince Harry’s ghostwriter is so famous that George Clooney made a film of his life

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[ The Guardian | 2023-01-07 18:42:05 UTC ]
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What if the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol had succeeded? A graphic novel is uniquely placed to answer

Comic book creators with a history of galvanising social action on America’s streets have created a graphic novel about the US Capitol attacks. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-01-06 13:12:06 UTC ]
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The NYT’s Conservative Columnist Wrote a Fantasy Novel. Slate’s Book Critic Has Some Notes.

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[ Slate | 2023-01-06 10:40:00 UTC ]
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Why Travel Writing is a Form of Memoir and How Covid Has Changed How We See the World

Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Pico Iyer, the author of The Half Known Life: In Search... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-06 09:52:43 UTC ]
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How Marvel Reaches Fans of All Ages

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Top-selling Canadian cookbook author Jean Paré dies in Edmonton at age 95

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[ CBC | 2022-12-27 15:54:46 UTC ]
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Denver Bookseller Joyce Meskis Dies, Age 80

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Denver Bookseller Joyce Meskis Dies, Age 80

Joyce Meskis, the long-time owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Col., has died. She was 80 years old. Meskis was known as an innovative indie bookseller and a champion of free speech. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Beaton’s ‘Ducks’ Tops PW’s 2022 Graphic Novel Critics Poll

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Top Shelf: 25 Years of Acclaimed Graphic Novels

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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