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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Fourth Estate wins 11-way auction for Adegoke's 'sensational' debut novel

Fourth Estate has triumphed in an 11-publisher auction for Yomi Adegoke’s "entertaining and daring" debut novel. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 11:55:31 UTC ]
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Atlantic pre-empts two 'brilliant' novels by Denton

Atlantic Books has acquired All Along the Echo, a novel exploring "the glorious noise of existence" by Danny Denton, in a two book pre-empt.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 08:55:20 UTC ]
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Profusely Illustrated review: Edward Sorel and all the golden ages of New York magazines

A memoir by a man who has drawn caricatures for the greatest editors is a treasure trove of the American mid-century modernAt 92, Edward Sorel is the grand old man of New York magazines. For 60 years, his blistering caricatures have lit up the pages of Harper’s, the Atlantic, Esquire, Time,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-15 07:00:17 UTC ]
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8 Books by Queer Writers Who Came of Age in the 90s

The ’90s are back, as if they could ever truly peace out. Between Fear Street and Captain Marvel and the Alanis Morissette musical, the last mostly-offline decade is getting a gargantuan nostalgia polish. For my memoir Sticker—an exploration of my childhood in Charlottesville, Virginia via 20... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-01-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Jabari Asim on Decolonized Souls, Black Love, and Writing the Past

When I reviewed Jabari Asim’s first short story collection, A Taste of Honey (2010),  I knew him to be a prominent essayist and cultural critic, author of What Obama Means and The N Word, former Washington Post deputy books editor and editor in chief of the iconic The Crisis, the journal of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-12 09:49:19 UTC ]
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A Chilling Debut Novel Puts Mothers Under Surveillance and Into Parenting Rehab

Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” takes up themes of autonomy and technology in imagining an experimental facility where parents go through mandatory retraining. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-01-11 17:33:33 UTC ]
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Jami Attenberg on Building a Writing Life

At the Guardian, Jami Attenberg, author of the recent memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You, reflects on how a key moment of rejection allowed her to carve out her own path as a writer. “I’m old enough to realise that there is one more important part to carving out your creative life: … The... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-01-10 21:30:10 UTC ]
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Will Young writes mental health guide for Ebury Spotlight

Will Young has written an accessible A-Z guide on mental health, Be Yourself and Happier, for Ebury Spotlight.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-10 07:27:21 UTC ]
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Print sales in US boom with YA and graphic novels top performers

The sales of print books in the US soared across 2021, boosted by fiction with YA and graphic novels riding high in particular.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-07 18:22:38 UTC ]
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Little Island signs Mitchell's middle-grade novel on Ireland's asylum system

Little Island Books has landed Jane Mitchell's "urgently needed" middle-grade novel on Ireland's asylum-seeker accommodation system. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-05 14:22:36 UTC ]
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Fig Tree scoops debut novel by Mo Siewcharran Prize-winner Bhattacharya

Fig Tree has scooped the "powerful and beautifully humane" debut novel by Mo Siewcharran Prize-winner Santanu Bhattacharya. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-05 14:00:25 UTC ]
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Join the #FReadom Letter Writing Campaign to Combat Censorship!

The #FReadom campaign is asking you to write your school board with provided templates to support school libraries and access to information. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-04 11:39:00 UTC ]
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A Debut Novel About Friendship, Family and Other Ties That Bind

In “Brown Girls,” Daphne Palasi Andreades breaks a big world into small, meaningful pieces. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-01-04 10:00:03 UTC ]
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CricketMash scores with graphic novel retelling of Ashes battle

CricketMash publications has signed up The Ashes: This Thing Can Be Done by cricket historian Arunabha Sengupta alongside London-based artist and illustrator Maha.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-03 15:14:29 UTC ]
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‘The Latinist’ is the perfect suspense novel to kick off your reading year

Set in the claustrophobic world of academia, this twisty tale by Mark Prins will remind you of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’ Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-31 23:16:02 UTC ]
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Our Favorite Essays about Unconventional Writing Teachers

For those of us who want to become real writers—whatever that means—the countless resources available can feel a bit dry and uninspired, ranging from tired but true clichés to well-lauded craft books (Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir on Craft sits dustily on my shelf). Many of us find... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-12-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Howard named Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland

Award-winning author and illustrator Paul Howard, whose recent work includes Joe Wicks' debut picture book The Burpee Bears (HarperCollins Children's Books), has been appointed the new Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-31 03:43:57 UTC ]
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Inaugural Cheshire Novel Prize launches

A new writing award, the Cheshire Novel Prize, launches featuring judges such as Juliet Mushens and feedback guaranteed for every entry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-30 17:30:13 UTC ]
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Keri Hulme, New Zealand's first Booker Prize winner, dies aged 74

Keri Hulme, the first New Zealander to win the Booker Prize, has died aged 74 after battling ongoing health conditions.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-29 05:10:58 UTC ]
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Joan Didion, American journalist and author, dies at age 87

The unsparing observer of US culture, politics and public life won huge acclaim for her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking• Read Alex Clark’s interview with Joan Didion from February 2021• Obituary: Joan DidionJoan Didion, the eminent journalist, author and anthropologist of contemporary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-23 17:19:56 UTC ]
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