Cultural Cross Sections Taylor Hickney In this profile, one of Marie-Helene Bertino’s students at the New School provides a personal glimpse of the author, whose new novel, Parakeet, was published June 2. On the evening of the National Book Awards, Marie-Helene Bertino strolled into our workshop ready for the after party adorned in a gold, sequined ball gown and black hoodie. There was already an electric air in the program that night, because we, her students—mostly aspiring and emerging writers—were impressed to know the faculty invited or involved in what we perceived as a night for authors who’ve Made It. Her hair had been curled—it was typically pin-straight—and accented with a rose behind her ear. She laughed and blushed at the compliments and laid her small, gold watch on the table next to her notes as she does in every class she teaches. She commands the space in a room: even with five minutes left before the start, our chitchat dies down, our attention drawn to her because she gives it back to us. Even with five minutes left before the start, our chitchat dies down, our attention drawn to her because she gives it back to us. On June 2, her second novel, Parakeet, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, hit the shelves. In the book, a soon-to-be-wed woman known only as “the bride” is confronted by her late grandmother, who takes the form of a bird. Her grandmother tells her to seek out her estranged brother, a reclusive... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-04 19:40:55 UTC ]
Mariam Rahmani’s debut novel is both charmingly familiar and totally unpredictable. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2025-03-26 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Facing publishing industry backlash, Slovakia's government reversed its 23-percent book VAT hike, instead slashing it to 5 percent. The post Slovakia’s Publishers Surprised by a VAT Reduction on Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2025-03-11 19:42:53 UTC ]
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Publishers and analysts say popularity of genres like manga and superhero comics is a gateway into readingThe best route to learning to love words in print could well be pictures. This, at least, is the hope of the publishing industry this spring, as it welcomes news that sales of children’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-09 14:00:11 UTC ]
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In this land of opportunities, being an immigrant can often feel like playing a round of Twister. A certain contortion of mind, language, and will power seems written into the script; a lot of territory remains untouchable. Shubha Sunder’s debut novel Optional Practical Training is named after... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-03-07 12:05:00 UTC ]
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Fifteen years ago, Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel became a best seller, but was also heavily criticized for its portrayal of Black characters. Now, she has written second novel, “The Calamity Club.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-07 10:04:33 UTC ]
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Emily St. James’s debut novel Woodworking chronicles the developing friendship between a 16-year-old trans girl and her recently-out-to-herself English teacher in Mitchell, South Dakota in the months leading up to the 2016 election. In a town like Mitchell, secrets are few and far between,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-03-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover of These Memories Do Not Belong to Us, the highly-anticipated debut novel by Yiming Ma, which will be published by Mariner Books in the US and McClelland & Stewart in Canada on August 12, 2025. You can pre-order here in US or here in Canada.... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-03-04 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Houser will publish his debut novel A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, an adaptation of his hit podcast, this fall. The book is the first title from the new publishing arm of his entertainment company, Absurd Ventures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Georgia Hunter's debut novel about a Polish Jewish family that survived the Holocaust was turned into a Hulu series. Her second novel, 'One Good Thing,' revisits WWII Europe but is a more conventional work. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2025-02-24 11:00:28 UTC ]
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Don’t give in to moral panic, fellas! Here are some tips from my own bumpy literary journeyIf you really want to make a name for yourself, publish comment insisting you’ve been silenced.It happened again last week in a nationwide publication. Under a byline, accompanied by a headshot and the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-02-04 14:00:09 UTC ]
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Olufunke Grace Bankole’s debut novel The Edge of Water opens with a prophecy: “A storm is coming.” The order of things, the Iyanifa tells us, will be disrupted by a soul who defies her fate. What follows is the story of three generations of Nigerian and Nigerian American women: Esther, who... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-02-04 12:00:00 UTC ]
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RESPONDING TO THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Kim Kelly on the how-tos and DOs and DON’Ts of mutual aid • Madeline ffitch on direct action and survival work in the face of fascism • Josh Cook on what the publishing industry can do in the face of authoritarianism. | Lit Hub Politics Matthew... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-25 11:30:02 UTC ]
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Good Girl—the debut novel by award-winning poet Aria Aber—follows nineteen-year-old Nila as she becomes charmed in a Berlin club and falls manically in love with Marlowe, an older brooding American writer. Raised by Afghan refugees, Nila’s childhood remains haunted by the shadows of exile while... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-01-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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“Those people. My whole existence, neatly packed into one demonstrative adjective,” says Nila, the protagonist of Aria Aber’s pulsing debut novel Good Girl. Nila was born in Berlin, “inside its ghetto-heart, as a small, wide-eyed rat, in the months after reunification.” As these quotations show,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-16 09:56:24 UTC ]
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A debut novel about an Afghan German party girl in Berlin shows that there are plenty of ways to dramatize the immigrant experience. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2025-01-15 14:30:00 UTC ]
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The way our legal system approaches issues of intellectual property must change to meet the novel questions posed by new technology, argues publishing industry analyst Christopher Kenneally. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-01-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Aria Aber’s exciting debut novel finds the daughter of an Afghan refugee sidestepping disapproval and racism as she dives into Berlin’s nightworld. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-01-13 10:00:16 UTC ]
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