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"


INDONESIA FOCUS: Q+A Nirwan Dewanto

You started writing early in your high school days, what were you writing about most back then?I think it is exaggerating to say I started writing at high school. I was already writing, but it was mainly journaling, which was not for public consumption. There was a poem (about a tree in the... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-03-15 11:15:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How we can enable different voices to emerge in book publishing?

The professor and author discusses his research into the publishing industry’s recent attempts to improve diversity. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Changing course: reflections on the Jhalak Prize

Sunny Singh reflects on how far the Jhalak Prize and the publishing industry have come since the award was founded, and how far there is to go. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Guardian view on academic publishing: disastrous capitalism | Editorial

The giants of the scientific publishing industry have made huge profits for decades. Now they are under threatScientific publishing has long been a licence to print money. Scientists need journals in which to publish their research, so they will supply the articles without monetary reward. Other... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rethinking 'diversity' in publishing

Five years after a report into the trade that induced many measures to change the publishing industry, a new text will assess the current state of play. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Westchester Publishing Services Celebrates 50 Years

The leading provider of publishing services celebrates 50 years of delivering excellence to the publishing industry. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


INDONESIA FOCUS: Q+A Laksmi Pamuntjak

Indonesia is the country of focus at the London Book Fair this year and recently at Frankfurt - to what extent do you think Indonesian literature is finally having it's moment in the spotlight? I cannot say for certain what these one-off ‘spotlights’ on Indonesian literature would mean for... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-02-08 10:06:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Trade gets behind new Female Leadership in Publishing newsletter

A new digital platform and newsletter called The FLIP (Female Leadership in Publishing), launched by three Transworld colleagues to showcase "brilliant, inspiring, courageous and creative" women who work in the publishing industry, has been "inundated" with support, collecting hundreds of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Unit Sales Dropped 6.5% in Mid-December

The publishing industry does not look like it is headed for a big finish to 2018. In the week ended Dec. 15, 2018, unit sales of print books fell 6.5% compared to the similar week in 2017 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Forget Zuckerberg – the tech giants don’t have to own the future | John Harris

Facebook, Google and Apple make the headlines, but there are many inspiring startups to dissipate the sense of techno-dreadA quarter of a century ago, the Canadian author Douglas Coupland published his third novel. Microserfs was the tale of a group of young Microsoft employees who decide to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Let's ensure inclusivity is the norm and not a trend,' Lovegrove urges

It is “absolutely the responsibility” of the publishing industry to inspire and empower the next generation, Dialogue Books publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove has said, while urging the trade to ensure inclusivity in the workplace is "the norm, and not just a trend". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Public Space Branches Into Book Publishing

The literary magazine, founded in 2006 by former 'Paris Review' editor Brigid Hughes, is launching a book publishing imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Books News: Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Finally Hits Shelves

The publishing industry might have to think back to Harry Potter’s heyday for a book that has garnered as much attention as the former first lady’s has. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2018-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Spear phishing' scams continue post-Frankfurt

The global rash of phishing targeted towards the publishing industry is continuing after the Frankfurt Book Fair, with at least one targeted company calling on the New York attorney general to mount an investigation, The Bookseller has learned. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Report: Diversity in children’s books is even worse than you think

This 11-year old girl demands more diversity for children’s books, which are overwhelmingly about “white boys and their dogs.” The lessons of Fenty Beauty and Black Panther have not yet trickled down to the world of children’s books. Apparently, the publishing industry has not yet realized that... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


FutureBook shortlists to be unveiled at Frankfurt event

The shortlists for this year’s FutureBook Awards are to be announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair, with Pan Macmillan managing director Anthony Forbes Watson to be interviewed by Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, at the same event. The interview and awards announcement takes place on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Black Girls' Book Club talks brunch, booze and books

We spoke to Melissa Cummings-Quarry, co-founder of the Black Girls Book Club, about the club's plans for the future and thoughts on diversity in the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Barnes & Noble’s Former CEO, Demos Parneros, Launches Lawsuit Against Bookseller

A late-summer standoff has flared with the US publishing industry's largest–and longest-struggling–brick-and-mortar retail chain. Its former CEO is suing for defamation. The company, in response, alleges sexual harassment. The post Barnes & Noble’s Former CEO, Demos Parneros, Launches... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Northern Fiction Alliance flourish in partnership

Created two years ago to showcase the output of northern indie presses to the international market, and to promote regional diversity, the Northern Fiction Alliance is making a name for itself as a growing force in the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Turkish Agent Issues Warning, Requests Patience

With the Turkish economy collapsing, Nermin Mollagoglu of Istanbul's Kalem Agency discusses the impact on the publishing industry, noting a reduction in rights deals and delayed payments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this