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 ]
Good morning, Boston. Happy National Root Beer Float Day. Here are the five things you need to know in local business news to start your Tuesday, before you go get that Black Cow. The biggest business news of the day — unless you include the continuing Wall Street meltdown — is the finding by... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2024-08-06 10:16:18 UTC ]
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From fairy porn to romantasy via the Omegaverse, publishing is sexier than ever. The reason? A big shift in gen Z and millennial attitudes to respectability and shame ...I spent a fortnight reading nothing but smut and I don’t need to give you a reason. But since there is one, here it is:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-08-06 04:00:33 UTC ]
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Founded in 2013, Letters Bookshop in Durham, N.C., is transforming from a privately owned business to a community-supported cooperative, selling shares for $116, in an aim to sustain the store in amid a challenging retail environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A business out of science fiction — a robotics repair workshop — is now in Houston, aiming to provide automated workers to local businesses. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2024-08-02 19:28:12 UTC ]
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Travel into this week's new science fiction and fantasy books, as well as two compelling portal fantasy reads. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-02 15:00:00 UTC ]
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In “The Future Was Now,” former Entertainment Weekly film critic Chris Nashawaty explores the significance of the summer of 1982, which featured the release of eight groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy films Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2024-08-01 22:54:26 UTC ]
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This week's new science fiction and fantasy reads include two that explore fantastical worlds about literature. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-19 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Dive into this double dose of new science fiction and fantasy releases out this week. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-12 16:15:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Science fiction has reinvented the Robinsonade – a narrative based on the scenario described in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe – on numerous occasions and in a variety of ways. We’ve had individuals stranded on a whole planet rather than a mere... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-07-10 14:00:26 UTC ]
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An epic fantasy inspired by Nigerian mythology, a found family wuxia fantasy, a historical fantasy set in the 1920s, and more of today's best science fiction and fantasy deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-01 14:30:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction and technological innovation feed off each other in an ongoing back-and-forth that can play out over decades. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-06-28 12:18:28 UTC ]
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What are your favorite science fiction novels that have yet to see a film adaptation? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-27 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Get to know the Nebula Awards for science fiction and fantasy writing, with outstanding, must-read examples to pick up right now. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-21 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Photo by Arturo Villarrubia Science fiction writer Ted Chiang has won the 2024 PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. The award is given each year to a writer who has “demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form.” Ted Chiang has published two... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-12 14:52:48 UTC ]
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I love it when a text centers the dynamics of conversation. In my own life, talking to others gets me out of my head, and introduces me to possibilities I would never have dreamed of alone. I think of a quote by the activist Valerie Kaur, which my local bookshop has printed on some of […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-06-12 11:00:00 UTC ]
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In which Robin Sloan writes Moonbound—a science fiction book about science fiction—and our writer writes his way into total insanity. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2024-06-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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An elaborate water trap, three generations of empathetic witches, a space thriller, and more of today's best science fiction and fantasy book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-10 13:30:00 UTC ]
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of American (SFWA) has announced the winners of the 2023 Nebula Awards, one of SFF’s most prestigious honors, “given to the writers of the most outstanding speculative fiction works released in 2023.” Here are the winners: NOVEL Vajra Chandrasekera, The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-10 12:14:36 UTC ]
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In a new book, the journalist and science fiction writer Annalee Newitz shows how we have used narrative to manipulate and coerce. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-06-05 09:05:03 UTC ]
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Four years after two Minneapolis specialty bookstores were destroyed amid unrest following George Floyd's murder, Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore are thriving in their new locations. Their owner, Don Blyly, is also celebrating his 50th anniversary as a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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