Interviews Eloghosa Osunde and Okwiri Oduor. Photo of Oduor by Chelsea Bieker. It’s hard to argue with Booker Prize–winning author Damon Galgut’s assertion that 2021 was “a great year for African writing.” And as WLT’s “New African Voices” issue helped make clear, 2022 is shaping up to be one as well. Here, then, are two debut novelists who give us every reason to believe the richness and variety of writing from the continent is no passing trend: Nigerian Eloghosa Osunde, author of Vagabonds!, a kaleidoscopic vision of Lagos’s outcasts and outlaws (published in March by Riverhead Books); and Kenyan Okwiri Oduor, author of Things They Lost, which captures a vivid, incantatory world through the eyes of a solitary twelve-year-old girl (published in April by Scribner). Anderson Tepper: Eloghosa, did you set out to write Vagabonds! as a novel or as a collection of vignettes of life in Lagos that you then stitched into a cohesive whole? Eloghosa Osunde: Neither. I set out to write a book of fiction where the individual stories were given momentum by a narrator’s perspective, in a particular sequence, to create a specific rhythm. Beyond the above categories, this book is that. Tepper: Tell us more about the animating spirits of Lagos and particularly Tatafo, the book’s fiery, gossipy, all-seeing narrator? Osunde: They are angels and monitoring spirits moving in favor of Eko, who is the chief spirit of the city, their creator.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-21 13:41:40 UTC ]
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A large-format photo book reveals the toll of industrialization on the landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-05 09:00:51 UTC ]
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I am nostalgic for the bygone office life, for that first real job in our twenties when the word “colleague” encompassed both friend and coworker, when work meant hanging out with them during the day, and social life meant hanging out with them late into the night. It was with those peers that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-05 08:53:59 UTC ]
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Colombian author’s En Agosto Now Vemos (We’ll See Each Other in August) had been just a rumour but now fans will get to read itRumours had long circulated that an entire literary masterpiece, never seen by the public, could still be lying in a dusty safe held by the late author’s family or under... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-28 21:10:15 UTC ]
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C.E. McGill, author of 'Our Hideous Progeny,' highlights 10 impactful queer novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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First-time novelists are joined by two former winners on the diverse list, as the six ‘ambitious and hard-hitting’ contenders are revealed• ‘We were blown away’: how we chose the Women’s prize shortlistThree debut novels will compete against books by two former winners for this year’s Women’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-26 06:30:01 UTC ]
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Blackstone Publishing and Valiant Entertainment announced four inaugural titles featuring novelizations of comics characters. The first books are due out in early 2025. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hug an author today! Fifty-four percent of debut authors responding to Bookseller survey said the process had a negative impact on their mental health—equally likely to feel bummed out whether they pubbed with a Big Four or an indie publisher. One, quoted anonymously in The Bookseller’s report,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 15:32:12 UTC ]
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Award launched at London book fair aims to help older authors take the plunge and submit a first workLondon book fair, which concluded earlier this month, always brings with it a flurry of headlines about debut authors signing six-figure publishing deals. Most of these have at least one thing in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-23 09:00:35 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel died last September at age 70, but a memorial service just this week revealed something of use to those who miss her words. The Guardian’s Saturday Paper will be publishing excerpts from an unpublished project mashing together Jane Austen’s works. “She was having the greatest fun... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-21 16:03:28 UTC ]
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From Kipling to Le Carré, Patrick Worrall ('The Partisan') recommends 10 essential spy thrillers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Wolf Hall trilogy author remembered at memorial service at Southwark cathedral on ThursdayHilary Mantel, the celebrated author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, was working on a “mashup” of Jane Austen novels when she died suddenly, her literary agent told a packed memorial service at Southwark... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-20 17:46:20 UTC ]
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Amid a digital transition in Africa, key publishing players at London Book Fair say they see more content coming from the continent. The post London Book Fair: A ‘Journey of African Publishing’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-19 05:57:21 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward’s latest novel, Let Us Descend, “a haunting masterpiece about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War,” which will be published by Scribner this October. “In each book since my second... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-07 14:00:15 UTC ]
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Call or swing by your local comic book shop and add these great books to your pull list. Here are 1 new comics to read in April 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-05 10:30:00 UTC ]
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'The Great Gatsby: The Essential Graphic Novel Adaptation' by Ted Adams with drawings by artist Jorge Coelho is a full-color, hardcover, graphic adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel. A seven-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Charles Frazier, who will forever be known for Cold Mountain, his National Book Award winning, mega-selling 1997 first novel, opens his fifth novel, The Trackers, with an image that tells us exactly what we’re in for, and also reveals the author’s inspiration. “In a muddy black-and-white... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-04 08:53:48 UTC ]
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Finding “Enough”: A Conversation with Nicole Chung, by Renee H. Shea Interviews [email protected] Mon, 04/03/2023 - 21:13 Writer and editor Nicole Chung is the author of the best-selling memoir All You Can Ever Know (Catapult, 2018), the story of... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-04-04 02:13:03 UTC ]
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Teju Cole’s new novel Tremor will be published by Random House this October. Cole told Lit Hub: The best book designs are, in my view, not illustrative. They stand as their own thing in some sort of relation to the book, at a cooperative angle to it. I feel lucky to have worked with the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-03 14:00:48 UTC ]
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Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs has written a novel, 'This Bird Has Flown,' about an 'over-the-hill' one-hit wonder finding love — and it kind of rocks. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-04-03 13:00:21 UTC ]
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If you're looking to get a tween or teen into comics, here are the 8 most popular graphic novels with our high school comic book club, including The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-28 10:32:00 UTC ]
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