Parakeet Brings out the Delightfully Weird, Unexpectedly Wise Side of Marie-Helene Bertino, by Taylor Hickney

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Parakeet Brings out the Delightfully Weird, Unexpectedly Wise Side of Marie-Helene Bertino, by Taylor Hickney"


Podcast | Tice Cin

‘Careful when you turn your eyes towards someone, you allow them the chance to turn theirs on you.’ Tice Cin on her debut novel Keeping the House. The post Podcast | Tice Cin appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta

[ Granta | 2022-06-03 13:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Imagining More: Women Writing Worlds in Crisis

I wrote the bulk of my debut novel between 2016 and 2020, years of intense political tension and heightened concern for our planet and the people we love. My debut novel, Walk the Vanished Earth, is a speculative exploration of what it means to be both a parent and a child at the mercy of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-01 08:51:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


U.S. Book Show: Pondering a Healthy Publishing Industry

Panelists addressing the issue of what a healthy publishing industry looks like concluded that, while the industry is suffering some severe aches and pains, creative remedies could bolster the book business—as long as industry leaders are willing to reimagine old formulas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: “The Shore,” by Katie Runde

Katie Runde’s debut novel takes readers on a stroll down a sandy boardwalk and into a family facing a big loss. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-24 09:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Summer Reading BSuggestions

A book for “White Lotus” fans, a coming-of-age story in the Canary Islands, Werner Herzog’s debut novel (yes, it’s grim) and more. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-21 09:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Portrait of an Angry Young Woman Set in Contemporary India

Naheed Phiroze Patel’s debut novel Mirror Made of Rain follows Noomi Wadia, an indignant young woman raised in a Parsi family in India, through a world that is keen to control women and safeguard long-established pecking orders. Since her childhood, Noomi has had a difficult relationship with... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-05-19 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘Probably Ruby’ offers an authentic portrait of transracial adoption

Lisa Bird-Wilson's debut novel revolves around a Métis girl adopted by a White family. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-10 22:14:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bud Smith on the Quintessential “Road Trip” Novel

Okay here we go. I’m about to get in my car and drive 14 hours. Rae has picked out twenty albums for us to listen to. All this driving is because my debut novel Teenager is coming out. I have to drive around America a little bit and read it to some nice people. Fittingly, […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-10 08:52:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Children’s Books Edition: The UK’s Branford Boase Award 2022 Shortlist

The Branford Boase program annually awards a debut novel for children–and the winning author's editor is honored, too. The post Children’s Books Edition: The UK’s Branford Boase Award 2022 Shortlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-05-06 19:55:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘Kaikeyi’ gives ‘The Ramayana’s’ villainous stepmother a closer look

Vaishnavi Patel’s debut novel is a powerful, feminist retelling of the epic from the vilified queen’s point of view. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-26 12:19:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Black Lives Matter Spurs a Publishing Awakening

David Unger, director of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York, highlights how Black Lives Matter woke up the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Paper Shortage, Workforce Issues Tackled in Webinar

The publishing industry faces continuing supply chain issues and paper shortages, while another set of challenges has appeared in early 2022, in the form of employee resignations and work-life balance issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Murder in the Red Light District Sparks a Reckoning of Power and Injustice in Lahore

Aamina Ahmad’s debut novel The Return of Faraz Ali begins with a moment of no return. Born and raised in Lahore’s old city, the young Faraz is forced to leave behind his mother and his sister Rozina. It isn’t until Faraz is an adult in 1968 working as a policeman, that he goes back to […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-04-07 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: ‘Four Treasures of the Sky,’ by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

A debut novel traces a young Chinese woman’s coming-of-age: abandoned, trafficked — and posing as a man. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-04-03 09:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Heading to London Book Fair: Diversity in UK Publishing

As the UK publishing industry prepares for its annual encounter with many colleagues from other markets, a look at UK book business diversity. The post Heading to London Book Fair: Diversity in UK Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-01 19:24:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Falling in Love Is Hard When You’re the Guardian of the Dead

Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s debut novel When We Were Birds begins in the time before time and follows the uneasy truce between the living and the dead. Cigarettes are offered, liquor is poured, prayers are said, all in the hope that the buried stay buried. This is the story of Yejide, a young woman who... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-04-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of April 04, 2022

Riverhead buys a debut novel about a Georgian father and son fleeing the Russian occupation of South Ossetia in 2008, Joe Abercrombie sells a new trilogy to Tor, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of March 21, 2022

Berkley buys a debut novel about a mother’s journey across the Caribbean, SJP Lit makes its first acquisition, Kristen Martin sells a book about orphanhood to Bold Type, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Stop moaning about sensitivity readers – if there was diversity in publishing we wouldn’t need them | Juno Dawson

Since 2011, all my book editors have been white. Why wouldn’t I want another perspective on the characters I invent?Until a few years ago, only publishing industry insiders would have understood the role of the sensitivity reader. Then came American Dirt. The Jeanine Cummins novel sold to a US... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-03-08 09:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Take a look at the beautiful cover—and partial contributor list—for Astra Quarterly’s first issue.

Last February, Astra Publishing House announced their new literary magazine, Astra Quarterly, billed as “the international magazine of literature.” Helmed by Nadja Spiegelman, former online editor of The Paris Review and author of I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This, Astra Quarterly is... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-03 16:27:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this