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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Jonathan Escoffery: ‘I was trying to write novels aged nine’"


A Summary and Analysis of John Cheever’s ‘The Worm in the Apple’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The short stories of John Cheever (1912-82) are among the greatest American short stories of the twentieth century. His Collected Stories runs to 900 pages and contains tales which are by turns realist, borderline magic-realist, and downright... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-17 14:00:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Twisty-Turny Tales That Blur the Line Between Fantasy and Reality in Black Life

In WEIRD BLACK GIRLS, Elwin Cotman delivers seven short stories that go long on the absurdity and anxiety of modern Black life. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-04-16 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


7 Short Story Collections Set in Nigeria

I have always loved the versatility of the short story, how it can so easily take on the forms of other things. There are playlist short stories, recipe short stories, diary and epistolary-style short stories. There are flash fiction stories, short short stories, and long short stories that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of J. G. Ballard’s ‘Having a Wonderful Time’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) I’m often surprised by how little serious critical attention some of the work of J. G. Ballard (1930-2009) has received. ‘Having a Wonderful Time’ is a good example. Like many of the short stories from the 1982 collection Myths of the Near Future,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-03 14:00:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


9 Short Story Collections About Women’s Bodies

Short stories can do things novels cannot because they’re short. They’re limber and can dart in and out of close-fitting places. They can be weird and daring in ways that novels cannot always sustain. Joy Williams writes in, “8 Essential Attributes of the Short Story (and one way it differs from... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of ‘The Apple’ by H. G. Wells

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all of the short stories by H. G. Wells (1866-1946), ‘The Apple’ is perhaps the most allegorical. First published in the Idler magazine in October 1896, the story concerns a schoolmaster who meets a man on a train; this man gives the teacher an... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2024-03-27 15:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


12 Brilliant Short Stories by Black Writers to Read Year-Round

From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘The Book of Love,’ by Kelly Link

In “The Book of Love,” the Pulitzer finalist and master of short stories pushes our understanding of what a fantasy novel can be. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-02-12 10:00:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sebastian Barry: ‘When you get past 60, you do feel a licence to write fearlessly’

The Irish novelist and playwright on the positives of ageing, his struggles with depression and a golden age of Irish writingSebastian Barry, 68, is the author of 11 novels and 15 plays. Five of his books have been long- or shortlisted for the Booker prize, and his novels have won numerous... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-10 18:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pedro Almodóvar to Publish Story Collection with HarperVia in September

HarperVia will publish 'The Last Dream,' the debut collection of short stories by Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar, translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne, on September 24, in print and audiobook formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


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,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-27 18:00:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Meet the 10 best new novelists for 2024

Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Rush of Indian Stories: A Review of Redolent Rush, by Dustin Pickering

A Rush of Indian Stories: A Review of Redolent Rush, by Dustin Pickering Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 01/08/2024 - 14:12 In Redolent Rush, a recent short fiction collection published by Hawakal, based in New Delhi, India, we have nineteen... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2024-01-08 20:12:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Your Guide to Reading More Short Stories and Anthologies

Short stories and anthologies can open up new horizons in reading. If you want to explore more short fiction, here are some tips. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ireland: Paul Murray Wins the An Post Irish Book of the Year

Paul Murray, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year, wins the An Post Irish Book of the Year for 'The Bee Sting.' The post Ireland: Paul Murray Wins the An Post Irish Book of the Year appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-12-07 16:15:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ireland’s Paul Lynch Wins the 2023 Booker Prize for Fiction

'Prophet Song,' Irish author Paul Lynch's fifth novel, is a study in contemporary literary intensity, winning the Booker Prize for Fiction. The post Ireland’s Paul Lynch Wins the 2023 Booker Prize for Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-11-26 22:00:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Good Country People’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Good Country People’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64). The story, which focuses on a woman with a wooden leg who is befriended by a young and innocent-seeming bible salesman, takes in many... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-11-20 15:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A. S. Byatt, author of Possession, has died at the age of 87.

Celebrated British author A.S. Byatt—a scholar and novelist whose 1990 novel, Possession, won the Booker Prize and brought her international renown—has died at the age of 87. A statement released this morning by her longtime UK publisher, Chatto & Windus, reports that Byatt “died peacefully... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-17 16:46:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


12 Books for Tolerance and Understanding (2023), by The Editors of WLT

12 Books for Tolerance and Understanding (2023), by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Tue, 11/14/2023 - 14:07 For years, a prognostication by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe appeared on the masthead page of World Literature Today: “These... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-11-14 20:07:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Whose Community Is It Anyway?

I had begun to conceive this essay after rereading a magazine interview I’d done months prior. The interview was about my then new book of short stories A Dream of a Woman, and the interviewer had asked me about community. I’m a trans woman, and specifically the interviewer asked about community... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-07 09:30:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this