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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Joffe Books launches crime writing prize with Koomson and Yearwood

Independent publisher Joffe Books is partnering with author Dorothy Koomson and literary agent Susan Yearwood to launch a writing prize for unagented crime writers of colour. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-30 23:20:48 UTC ]
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The Independent Publishers Caucus Comes of Age

The fledgling indie publisher organization, founded in 2016, has emerged from the crucible of the Covid-19 pandemic as an invaluable resource to small presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Historical Fiction Novels About War-Torn Love

Every love story is built with inherently high stakes. After all, a heart can be the ultimate prize, and courtship a most dangerous risk. And love, as we all know, won’t stop for much. Our hearts pay no attention to timing or impediments, and logic falls by the wayside as we feel the anguish of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachel Cusk’s New Novel Turns Up the Heat at a Private Artist’s Retreat

“Second Place” borrows its story line from a 1930s-era memoir about D.H. Lawrence, but its themes are quintessential Cusk. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-04-26 17:28:26 UTC ]
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Want to know the ‘Secrets of Happiness’? The characters in Joan Silber’s new novel are looking, too.

The interlinked stories in Silber’s novel unfurl with such verbal verisimilitude that they’re like late-night phone calls from old friends. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-26 09:53:18 UTC ]
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Bonus Vlautin CD released as Faber publishes novel

To celebrate the publication of Willy Vlautin’s new novel The Night Always Comes (3rd June), Faber has announced a bonus CD for Rough Trade customers.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-24 09:39:47 UTC ]
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In her novel ‘When the Stars Go Dark,’ Paula McLain draws on abuse cases, including her own

Polly Klaas and other victims add real-world terror to McLain’s new suspense novel. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Writing a Memoir is Like Making Kimchi

In Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner—also known as the indie-pop musician Japanese Breakfast—writes of her mother’s battle with terminal cancer and the caretaking process. The mother-daughter relationship is the beating pulse of this memoir, presented in all of its uncomfortable complexities.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Streaming TV, Films Drive Surge In Graphic Novel Sales

Many of the biggest hits on such streaming services as Netflix and Disney+ have been adapted from comics and graphic novels. Publishers have learned to scramble to be sure the books these shows are based on are available when demand spikes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel ‘Whereabouts’ is a delicate exploration of despair

In her new novel, the author of “Interpreter of Maladies” and “The Namesake” charts the inner life of a lonely woman living in Europe Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-20 15:45:25 UTC ]
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Sheridan Smith writes first memoir for Ebury Spotlight

Sheridan Smith has written her first memoir, Honestly, to be published by Ebury Spotlight this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-20 02:37:35 UTC ]
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In the Instagram age, you actually can judge a book by its cover

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[ The Guardian | 2021-04-18 09:00:04 UTC ]
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10 Essential Noir Novels

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury scoops ‘staggering’ novel by Kevin Jared Hosein

Bloomsbury is to publish Devotion by Kevin Jared Hosein, after securing the title at auction for a "major" sum.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-17 19:53:38 UTC ]
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Picador signs 'enormously moving' Stevens novel

Picador has signed Briefly, A Delicious Life, a “richly witty and enormously moving” new novel from Nell Stevens. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-17 16:04:42 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-17 13:34:55 UTC ]
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Helen McCrory, star of Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter, dies aged 52

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[ The Guardian | 2021-04-16 17:01:51 UTC ]
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First winners of Owned Voices Novel Award crowned

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-15 22:25:25 UTC ]
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Knopf's Jackson Sells Debut Novel for Rumored Seven Figures

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Creepiest Gothic Novels

Elizabeth Brooks, author of the new novel, 'The Whispering House,' picks the 10 most spine-chilling gothic novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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