Essay “Literature was a vast minefield occupied by enemies,” Roberto Bolaño, who enjoyed accruing enemies in the pantheon of Latin American letters, writes in the short story “Meeting with Enrique Lihn” (New Yorker, December 22, 2008): except for a few classic authors (just a few), and every day I had to walk through that minefield, where any false move could be fatal, with only the poems of Archilochus to guide me. It’s like that for all young writers. There comes a time when you have no support, not even from friends, forget about mentors, and there’s no one to give you a hand; publication, prizes, and grants are reserved for the others, the ones who said “Yes, sir,” over and over, or those who praised the literary mandarins, a never-ending horde distinguished only by their aptitude for discipline and punishment—nothing escapes them and they forgive nothing. Aptitude for discipline and punishment Bolaño himself had aplenty, too. And in spite of his precarious health, he had stamina. At a young age, he had made up his mind he would die. Who cared if he annoyed others? His mission, as is clear from The Savage Detectives (1998), was to upend that tradition, to take it by the neck and expose its platitudes. What is the use of sacred cows if not to be desecrated? Indeed, every tradition needs an enfant terrible, maybe more than one. When was the last time a rabble-rouser came along in Latin American literature? As Bolaño put it in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-28 21:05:10 UTC ]
Booksellers have generally reacted enthusiastically to news that the US indie-focused retail site Bookshop.org is launching in the UK this November, although some remain cautious. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-13 19:17:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Famed writer and activist Cory Doctorow is selling the audio version of his upcoming book via Kickstarter to sidestep the walled garden of Amazon-owned audiobook platform Audible. When science fiction writer and activist Cory Doctorow releases his new novel, Attack Surface, next month, you’ll be... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-09-12 09:00:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The shortlist for the first Sceptre Bookshop Award shortlist has been revealed, featuring independent retailers across the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-09 22:30:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
IN 1889, the science fiction writer Jules Verne and his son, Michel, envisioned that, in a thousand years, there would be a personally curated newsfeed. What’s really remarkable about that futuristic prediction, says author Rob Brotherton in his new book, Bad News: Why We Fall for Fake News, is... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-09-05 17:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Izumi Suzuki, whose works of science fiction have earned her a special place in Japanese counterculture, will soon make her English-language debut with a story collection whose synopsis sounds almost unbearably cool. Verso Books will publish Terminal Boredom, a short story collection, in April... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-04 16:26:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Why aren’t there more Science Fiction Black writers? There aren’t because there aren’t. What we don’t see, we assume can’t be. What a destructive assumption. —Octavia E. Butler, in Octavia E. Butler: Telling My Stories. A small good thing amid the unrelenting horror: This week, almost fifty... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-03 16:37:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
From contemporary and historical fiction to science fiction and fantasy, including Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao, these 21 books are must-reads for 12th graders. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-03 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Benioff and D B Weiss, creators of HBO’s "Game of Thrones", are adapting Cixin Liu’s science fiction trilogy The Three-Body Problem for Netflix. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-02 17:51:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The London Review Bookshop has partnered with the MUBI streaming service for the broadcast of eight films to be accompanied by fortnightly conversations with writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-01 17:23:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Benioff and DB Weiss to adapt The Three-Body Problem and two sequels with Alexander WooGame of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and DB Weiss are to adapt a series of hit science fiction novels by Chinese author Liu Cixin for Netflix. Together with Alexander Woo, who has worked on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-01 14:29:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A story collection offers a cleareyed survey of the Black American experience, and a debut novel traverses hundreds of versions of Earth. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-08-27 09:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ross Bradshaw responds to an editorial on the boom in publishing We were interested to read that “Bookshops in big city centres … are wary of taking risks” (Editorial, 23 August), and that this autumn’s harvest includes books by Ant and Dec, Jilly Cooper and Arsène Wenger, which have the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-26 16:44:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Many publishers are enjoying record sales – but not all. We must take care that those with the biggest names and deepest pockets are not the only beneficiariesAs the weather turns and the days shorten, as trees bend low with fruit and blackberries darken the hedges, bookshops are bracing for a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-23 17:25:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Soft science fiction focuses on the social sciences, is more philosophical in approach, and explores the important social issues of our time. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-21 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
E-commerce firm Monwell has launched the Mail Bookshop with Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-19 17:01:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this
From nonfiction to science fiction and fantasy, we have a list of 25 contemporary books for 9th graders that are top of the class. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-17 10:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
More than half of Tate's London bookshop staff are facing redundancy, with several roles in its books team and publishing operation also at risk, The Bookseller has learned. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-16 14:07:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Seeing unexpected pairings of readers and books quickly dispels the idea of who reads what• Time to reset: more brilliant ideas to remake the worldI have a party trick. If you name three books you like and two you hate, I can write you a reading list of 10 books you will love.I’ve gained this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-15 10:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Get to know the work of these Black science fiction authors, from the established and prolific to debut authors shaking up the genre like Cinderella is Dead author Kalynn Bayron. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-13 10:37:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Hodder Faith, in partnership with mini-chain St Andrew’s Bookshop, will launch a national church book club this autumn, to be known as The Big Church Read. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-12 13:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this