“Silence Became My Mother Tongue”: A Conversation with Sulaiman Addonia, by Anderson Tepper

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 ]

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2023 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists Announced

PEN America's Literary Award Finalists have been announced. They include books of by debut writers and well-known writers alike. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-16 18:42:50 UTC ]
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Reykjavik International Literary Festival Names Guest Authors

The 16th edition of Iceland's biennial Reykjavik International Literary Festival has announced its 2023 lineup of authors. The post Reykjavik International Literary Festival Names Guest Authors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-02-15 08:10:36 UTC ]
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Carolina De Robertis has won the 2022 John Dos Passos Prize.

On Wednesday, the 41st John Dos Passos Prize was awarded to Uruguayan American writer Carolina De Robertis (The President and the Frog; Cantoras; The Gods of Tango) by Longwood University. The Dos Passos Prize is the oldest literary award given by a Virginia college or university, and every year... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-26 14:54:21 UTC ]
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2023 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists

The 2023 PEN American Literary Award Longlists have been announced! This year’s awards will confer $350,000 to more than 100 writers. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-01-23 17:48:28 UTC ]
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Past Winners of the Baillie Gifford Prize Reflect on Their Year in Reading

The Baillie Gifford Prize is the most prestigious nonfiction literary award in the world. We checked in with some past winners about their year in reading. * Craig Brown, 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize-winner for 150 Glimpses of the Beatles, recommends: Geoff Dyer is the funniest and most original... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-01 14:20:48 UTC ]
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The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2023 Longlist

The Aspen Words Literary Prize 2023 longlist includes seven fiction debuts and five short-story collections. The post The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2023 Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-12-12 20:25:30 UTC ]
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Bending Gender’s Rules, in Life and in German Grammar

The victory of Kim de l’Horizon, a nonbinary writer, in a top literary prize stirred a debate about how the German language can accommodate people who don’t identify as male or female. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-30 11:35:52 UTC ]
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An Indigenous Writer Discovers New and Old Ways to Connect With the Land and With Each Other

Joshua Whitehead can’t be held by genre. Following on the success of his Lambda Literary Award winning novel Jonny Appleseed and poetry collection full-metal indigiqueer, Making Love with the Land is Whitehead’s first full-length work of creative nonfiction. But to describe this book as merely... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-11-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Are these America’s “most talented but underappreciated” writers?

On Friday, Longwood University announced the finalists for the 2022 John Dos Passos Prize, which is the oldest literary award given by a Virginia college or university, and which honors “one of America’s most talented but underappreciated writers. . . whose work offers incisive, original... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-21 14:30:02 UTC ]
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Brigitte Giraud Wins Goncourt Prize With Tragic Novel of Loss

The prestigious French literary award went to “Living Fast,” or “Vivre Vite,” which explores the causes of an accident that killed the author’s partner. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-03 14:26:37 UTC ]
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Here are the bookies’ odds for the 2022 Booker Prize.

Tonight, the 2022 winner of the Booker Prize, the biggest literary prize in the UK, will be announced in a ceremony hosted by comedian Sophie Duker and featuring a keynote speech by Dua Lipa. So who will win the £50,000, book sales, bragging rights, and chance to have their trophy presented to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-17 14:45:47 UTC ]
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The Brooklyn Book Festival, After the Storm

After a tough year, the biggest free literary festival in New York City looks toward the future. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Here’s the shortlist for the 2022 T. S. Eliot Prize.

The T. S. Eliot Prize, the prestigious literary prize that honors new poetry collections in the UK, has announced its shortlist of 10 books. Judges Jean Sprackland, Hannah Lowe and Roger Robinson determined the shortlist from a record submission pool of 201 books; each of the poets on the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-13 16:59:04 UTC ]
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Here are the bookies’ odds for the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Do you enjoy gambling—but, you know, in a cultured way? None of that racetrack nonsense or three card monte for you? Well you’re in luck: the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced next Thursday, October 6, and the bookies have begun taking bets. (You know literary prize season has... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-26 15:42:09 UTC ]
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Mario Vargas Llosa on Looking Back, a Novel of Never-Ending War That Resists Easy Answers

Translated by Charlotte Whittle The novel, Looking Back by Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vázquez, which has won a major literary prize in Mexico, will have many readers. It is one of the great novels to have been written in Spanish and its author tells us that the events it portrays also... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-23 08:52:19 UTC ]
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Samiya Bashir to Lead Lambda Literary as Executive Director

Poet, associate professor at Reed College, and two-time Lambda Literary Award honoree Samiya Bashir has been selected as Lambda Literary's next leader. She spoke with 'PW' about her hopes for the organization. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucy Sante on Writing with the Back Brain

The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. At a literary festival a few years ago, during question time after a panel discussion, an audience member told me, “You’re one of those intuitive writers,” stepping hard on the adjective. Aren’t we all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-12 08:52:32 UTC ]
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U.S. Authors Dominate Booker Prize Nominees

Six of the 13 writers in contention for the prestigious British literary award are from the United States, with novelists from Britain, Ireland and Zimbabwe also on the list. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-07-26 14:51:57 UTC ]
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The Ever-Shifting Challenge of Promoting Literature in Translation

An industry roundtable, held at the Multipli Forti literary festival in New York on June 6, addressed how independent publishers can get works of translated literature to readers in an era marked by media saturation and increased dominance by major companies over the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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David Albahari Wins Serbia’s Aleksandar Tišma International Literary Prize

The Serbian-Canadian author David Albahari wins the €10,000 biennial Aleksandar Tišma International Literary Prize. The post David Albahari Wins Serbia’s Aleksandar Tišma International Literary Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-06-06 18:45:34 UTC ]
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