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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How many of these f*cked up Y2K era YA novels do you remember?

Earlier this week, I was having a perfectly normal dinner with some friends who were in town, and I can’t remember how we got on this topic, but we ended up spending a good 30 minutes trying to track down the name of a middle grade/young adult book from our youth. One friend in particular […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-17 19:26:23 UTC ]
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Mad Cave Acquires Papercutz, the Kids’ Graphic Novel House

Mad Cave Studios, a Miami graphic novel publisher, has acquired Papercutz, the groundbreaking independent children’s graphic novel house founded in 2005 by Terry Nantier and Jim Salicrup. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucy Sante on Writing with the Back Brain

The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. At a literary festival a few years ago, during question time after a panel discussion, an audience member told me, “You’re one of those intuitive writers,” stepping hard on the adjective. Aren’t we all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-12 08:52:32 UTC ]
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Three Raymond Briggs books that helped make the graphic novel respectable

Much of his work was imbued with a sense of the end, so it is fitting to look back at three of his best works to mark the illustrator’s passing Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-08-11 15:31:10 UTC ]
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Snowman author Raymond Briggs dies aged 88

Beloved creator of Fungus the Bogeyman and Father Christmas brought a distinctive strain of melancholy to the genre• The Snowman, the Bogeyman and Father Christmas: the world of Raymond Briggs – in pictures• Raymond Briggs obituary• Share your tributes and memories of Snowman author Raymond... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-08-10 07:20:39 UTC ]
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Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ gets a sequel — in novel form

That “Heat” is plotted as tightly as a Swiss watch makes the shapelessness of this follow-up all the harder to forgive. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-09 12:07:51 UTC ]
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David McCullough, Pulitzer-winning historian, dies aged 89

The author of biographies and other works and narrator of documentaries, McCullough was ‘the voice of American history’David McCullough, the Pulitzer prize-winning author whose lovingly crafted narratives on subjects ranging from New York’s Brooklyn Bridge to American presidents John Adams and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-08-08 19:41:16 UTC ]
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Augusten Burroughs wants to help you process your trauma through writing (for $50,000).

If you have unprocessed trauma, $50,000, and a sense of adventure when it comes to your mental health, a new “wellness recovery program” created by Augusten Burroughs—author of the best-selling memoir Running With Scissors—may be right up your alley. The week-long program, called Focus-Directed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-08 14:41:32 UTC ]
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Too Busy for a Novel? Read These Short Stories Instead

One of the central questions I had when shaping my story collection, Proof of Me, was how to invite into it a unified feel, how to place each story to be in conversation—geographically, thematically, linearly—with what follows. I also sought for each story to stand on its own, offering a... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-08-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
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DOJ v PRH: Jonathan Karp and Stephen King Take the Stand

Day two of the DOJ's trial to block PRH from acquiring S&S featured a little star power: bestselling author Stephen King. In terms of the case before the court, however, the highlight of the day was the testimony of S&S CEO Jonathan Karp. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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What if White people woke up with dark skin? Mohsin Hamid’s novel wonders.

Book review of "The Last White Man," by Mohsin Hamid, which imagines a town in which everyone becomes dark-skinned. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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New Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

Three new books, from epic fantasy to biological thriller, consider an age-old question. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-08-01 18:00:06 UTC ]
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Writing Intimate Truths and Why Memoir Is a Force That’s Changing the Culture

Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is currently in its fourth year. We are a weekly podcast for writers craving a unique blend of inspiration and real talk about the ups and downs of the writing life. Hosted by Brooke Warner of She Writes and Grant Faulkner of National Novel Writing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-01 08:51:12 UTC ]
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Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s new novel puts a feminist twist on ‘Dr. Moreau’

With a powerful woman at its center, ‘The Daughter of Doctor Moreau’ is a gripping tale that melds horror, history and a little romance Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-28 11:00:11 UTC ]
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Anthony Marra’s cinematic novel captures the intricate cruelties of war

'Mercury Pictures Presents’ shows how war affects the lives of a cast of characters connected through a Hollywood studio Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-26 14:06:22 UTC ]
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Review: This tender, original queer YA novel will likely be banned. That's not why you should read it

Lio Min's 'Beating Heart Baby' follows two boys who meet online and ultimately grapples with the joys and perils of making public art. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-25 13:00:45 UTC ]
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Windsor-Smith’s ‘Monsters’ Wins 2022 Eisner for Best New Graphic Novel

Barry Windsor-Smith’s 'Monsters' (Fantagraphics) was named Best New Graphic Novel during the 2022 Will Eisner Comic Awards ceremony, held at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Indispensable Black, Queer, and Feminist Coming-of-Age Stories

Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, author of the new novel 'Big Girl,' recommends 10 essential stories of young people coming into deeper understandings of race, gender, class, sexuality, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In Lawrence Osborne’s novels, tourists can’t escape their true natures

"The Forgiven" author Lawrence Osborne discusses the impulses that drive his fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-22 13:00:00 UTC ]
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How ‘Old Country’ went from a Reddit story to a novel and Netflix deal

When Matt Query began writing the horror story “My Wife and I Bought a Ranch” on Reddit's r/NoSleep, he didn't realize what it might become. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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