Interviews Photo of Sulaiman Addonia by Alexander Meeus. For me, one of the most astounding books of this past year—which may have slipped your attention due to the pandemic—was Silence Is My Mother Tongue, the second novel by Ethiopian Eritrean writer Sulaiman Addonia (@sulaimanaddonia). Published last September by Graywolf Press, the novel is just now beginning to get the recognition it deserves: it was recently shortlisted for the Firecracker Award for Independently Published Literature and is a 2021 LAMBDA Literary Award finalist. Set in a refugee camp in Sudan, the novel defies expectations—shimmering with sensual detail, it charts the daily encounters and erotic dreams of an extraordinary cast of characters, with the inseparable siblings Saba and her mute brother, Hagos, at its center. Of course, since war erupted in Ethiopia’s Tigray region this past winter, Addonia’s work has only taken on more resonance. “I have been looking at the pictures of refugees fleeing Tigray and waiting outside the United Nations refugee agency office at Hamdayet in Sudan,” Addonia wrote in a New York Times editorial in late November, “the place through which my family and I passed decades ago, on our way to a refugee camp further inland. I was struck by the eyes of young children. Their gazes retreat and shift, as if their wide eyes have already become the trenches into which they will hide their childhood.” We spoke by email—Addonia... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-05-18 13:43:22 UTC ]
This week marks the launch of a new literary festival in New Jersey and two new bookstores (King City Books in Mt. Vernon, Ill., and Vallejo Bookstore in Vallejo, Calif.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt Books in Marylebone is holding its first literary festival on 27th to 28th March. Authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A book by Robert Macfarlane, the chairman of judges of this year's Man Booker Prize is shortlisted for another literary award, the biennial Warwick Prize for Writing. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Kwani? Manuscript Project, a new one-off literary prize for unpublished fiction from African... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 12/10/2011 - 11:55 A new literary award, The Literature Prize, has been set up to "establish a clear and uncompromising standard of excellence", with the advisory board claiming that the Man Booker Prize no longer does the job. The board, for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 15:06 The Royal Society is holding its first literary festival in its 350-year history, with the likes of Sebastian Faulks, China Miéville and John Banville taking part. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 05/07/2011 - 08:49 The Oldie magazine team is launching a new literary festival, based in London's Soho, with authors including Man Booker-winner Howard Jacobson and Michael Morpurgo set to appear. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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