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 ]
There's no better time to read horror short stories than October. With Halloween fast approaching, dive into these 20 spooky tales. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-10-17 10:31:00 UTC ]
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The Leeds-born novelist whose work included poetry and short stories as well as his bestselling thrillers will be remembered as a master of plot and characterThe crime writer Peter Robinson has died aged 72, his publisher has announced.The Yorkshire-born author died suddenly on the 4 October... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-07 11:56:17 UTC ]
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Sotheby’s describes 17th-century Cervantes editions as a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for collectorsOne day in the early 1930s, a young Bolivian diplomat named Jorge Ortiz Linares walked into the illustrious Maggs Bros bookshop in London to ask if they might have a particularly fine edition... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-06 13:44:15 UTC ]
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‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is one of the best-known short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64), who produced a string of powerful stories during her short life. First published in the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1955, the story is about an American family […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-09-26 14:00:41 UTC ]
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‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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Friendship is such a universal and central theme to all of our lives, that picking just a small number of the best short stories about such a broad theme is always going to be a challenge. However, the following stories are by some of the finest masters of the short […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-09-21 14:00:43 UTC ]
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Jonathan Escoffery’s first book, the superbly crafted, kinetic linked story collection If I Survive You, arrives with four starred pre-publication reviews and an early rave from The New Yorker’s Katy Waldman, with more to come. He’s a rare debut author with a lengthy track record. His stories... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-06 08:57:51 UTC ]
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning author has written five books in six years and been nominated for a Booker Prize for “Oh William!” What’s gotten into her? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-09-03 12:59:45 UTC ]
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The books we love coming out this week include new titles by Maggie O’Farrell, James M. Scott, and Jonathan Escoffery. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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What are the best short stories which are set in school, or which focus on school and one’s schooldays? There are plenty of stories which are ‘set in schools’ in the sense of being set reading for schoolchildren, but it’s harder to find some canonical and classic short stories which […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-08-29 14:00:36 UTC ]
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On Episode 10 of Ursa Short Fiction, Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton welcome writer Michael A. Gonzales for part two of our deep dive into the life and work of Diane Oliver, who published six short stories before her death at age 22. (Part one of our series is here.) Diane Oliver was just a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-17 08:51:56 UTC ]
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These days, we’re hanging by a thin thread, and that thread is Tuesdays: the day new books grace us with their presence. * Jane Campbell, Cat Brushing (Grove Press) “The 13 exquisitely drawn short stories in the collection are woven with wit and bold enlightenment. Each meticulously crafted gem... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-16 13:00:57 UTC ]
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Fiction often deals with domestic matters, including family, and some of the finest short stories treat the important, though sometimes fraught, relationship between parents and their children. What makes a good parent? What if two parents disagree over what’s best for their children, or for the... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-08-08 14:00:43 UTC ]
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What are some of the best short stories about childhood, and the experiences of children? Although there are dozens of classic tales about those formative years, the following stories represent, for our money, some of the finest stories about children taking the rocky path of knowledge and... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-08-05 14:00:32 UTC ]
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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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On this special Member Exclusive episode of Ursa Short Fiction, authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Dawnie Walton (The Final Revival of Opal & Nev) offer a comprehensive guide to the business of publishing—from submitting short stories to literary magazines, to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-01 08:51:28 UTC ]
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Dhumketu (1892-1965), one of the towering figures of Gujarati literature, often described the short story form as an incomparable flower in the garden of literature, as delicate as the juhi, as exquisitely beautiful as a golden bird, as electrifying as a bolt of lightning. For him, the short... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-01 08:51:21 UTC ]
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Writers of short stories have said a great deal about relationships of various kinds, and although the novel may be the preferred form for teasing out the complexities and conflicts of a long-term relationship, the short-story form can also provide writers with enough space to pinpoint a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-07-29 14:00:30 UTC ]
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The longlist for the Booker Prize has been announced, including six American authors: Hernan Diaz, Percival Everett, Karen Joy Fowler, Leila Mottley, Selby Wynn Schwartz, and Elizabeth Strout. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'Booker Prize Book Club Challenge' will be won by a book club that produces the most impressive social media for the shortlist. The post Booker Prize Looks to Boost Social Media With a Book Club Contest appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-07-13 23:04:06 UTC ]
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