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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The grocery store of all places was my initial indoctrination into the world of horror. As my father shuffled up and down the aisles, dutifully stacking groceries in the cart for our family, I would sneak away to the magazine section and my eye was always drawn to the shiny paperback display... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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"Fake," "Hammer" and “Portrait of an Unknown Lady” are literary thrillers that explore authenticity through the lens, or rather the canvases, of the art world. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-24 15:38:03 UTC ]
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Last year not only marked the twentieth publication anniversary of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, it also saw the release of his first novel in seven years, Crossroads. So it was only fitting that Picador would embark on a redesign of the author’s backlist. We spoke with Alex Merto, the art... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 08:54:52 UTC ]
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How’s this for fun? Take 27 incredible writers—including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, PEN Awards, Women’s Prize for Fiction, Edgar Award, and more—and invite each of them to write an erotic short story. Then publish the collection in one steamy anthology with the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 08:50:16 UTC ]
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Reyna Grande, author of "A Ballad of Love and Glory," will join the L.A. Times Book Club on March 29. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-15 14:00:51 UTC ]
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Knopf announced March 8 that it will publish two novels by Cormac McCarthy this fall, his first in 16 years, but don’t expect a book tour. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author lives an entirely private life. “He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t give lectures, and doesn’t do book signings,” Michael... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-15 08:55:34 UTC ]
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His ambitious 1987 novel about the life of Ludwig Wittgenstein and other philosophers was a literary sensation. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-11 20:48:27 UTC ]
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At the risk of seeming obnoxiously obsessed with ourselves, writers and readers do tend to love books about writers and readers—especially when those fictional writers and readers behave badly. (It’s no wonder, really, why the Bad Art Friend discourse hit a nerve; so many people were frantic... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton has written her first novel with the help of best-selling author James Patterson. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2022-03-10 00:01:14 UTC ]
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Over half a decade later, a new Kickstarter campaign has finally eclipsed Pebble's crowdfunding record on the website. Fantasy and sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson set up a campaign to raise $1 million within 30 days to fund four secret books he intends to release every quarter next year. It... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-04 12:57:00 UTC ]
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‘The Paris Bookseller’ by Kerri Maher and ‘The Diamond Eye’ by Kate Quinn are among several great new works of historical fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-02 15:27:34 UTC ]
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Beloved English author and illustrator behind more than 60 books, including Dogger and the Alfie series, was voted the most popular Kate Greenaway winner in 50 years• Shirley Hughes obituaryShirley Hughes, the author and illustrator whose everyday stories of early childhood cast a happy glow... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-03-02 07:51:03 UTC ]
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The lives of queer Arab-Australian boys and men are vividly inhabited in award-winning poet Omar Sakr’s darkly comic debut novel, set in Western Sydney. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2022-02-28 19:12:38 UTC ]
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Until I was five years old, my mother and I lived with her parents in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We never talked about my father. We never said his name, which meant that we never said my full name, Sherry Zimmerman. I first saw my full name written out in an inscription in a children’s alphabet book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:49:55 UTC ]
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The author’s new middle grade novel, Solimar, follows the adventures of a soon-to-be 15-year-old Mexican royal who can predict the future and must work to protect her country’s fragile natural world. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Exciting news for Hayao Miyazaki fans: Shuna’s Journey, a 1983 graphic novel by Miyazaki, will receive an English-language release in the U.S. late this year. First Second, a Macmillan imprint, will publish the work on November 1st. Alex Dudok de Wit will translate, and will write a new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-25 18:53:27 UTC ]
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The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. It is from Story Club with George Saunders, a Substack publication and literary community where Saunders offers weekly discussions of the craft of the short story. Both free and paid subscriptions are... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-25 09:51:07 UTC ]
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News and Events Laura and Bunmi celebrate 41 books by Black authors. From Black joy to history to empowerment, the books on this list provide affirming messages for children and young adults with a special shout-out to NSK Neustadt Prize finalist Jason... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-24 19:13:40 UTC ]
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Jennifer Haigh's "Mercy Street" is a clear-eyed novel about abortion rights in America. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-22 17:33:26 UTC ]
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The range and caliber of Joel Agee's work proves he's much more than the son of the late, Pulitzer-winning James Agee. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-22 12:00:34 UTC ]
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#make sense