Sofia Samatar on Collage, Literary Community, and the Stunning Loneliness of Publishing

After publishing my first novel Catalina I spiraled into strange despair. Writing, for me, had always been about connection, yet I felt both disconnected from what I’d written and by how it was being received. Had I written a noir? I hadn’t set out to. Was my protagonist unlikeable? I liked her—and no, she wasn’t […] Continue reading at 'Literrary Hub'

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-19 08:56:33 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Sofia Samatar on Collage, Literary Community, and the Stunning Loneliness of Publishing"


Clare Pooley | 'It is a book about the importance of community in a world where we are more connected than ever but more lonely than ever'

The sought-after first novel by former blogger Clare Pooley exposes the need for connection in the age of social media Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-20 07:25:26 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: March 17, 2020

THESE TIMES: How to support your local bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic · What China’s literary community is reading during the pandemic · The first lines of 10 classic novels rewritten for social distancing · Can’t decide what to read? Tell us your favorites and we’ll recommend a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 10:30:26 UTC ]
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A Stirring Family Saga Tells a Taboo History of Vietnam

“The Mountains Sing,” the first novel in English by the Vietnamese poet Nguyen Phan Que Mai, imagines her country’s traumatic 20th century through the stories of three generations of women. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-03-17 09:00:13 UTC ]
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What China’s Literary Community is Reading During the Coronavirus Pandemic

I had a fight with my mother the other day. In the past we had argued on many things but never politics, because we’d seldom talked about it. The video call, which started with her asking me about the outbreak in the US, ended up opening my eyes to the chasm between me and the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 08:49:21 UTC ]
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Editor’s Note: Literary Community in a Time of Global Pandemic

We are at the beginning of a frightening and difficult time in America. Though we glimpse—in the overflowing hospitals of Milan, the shuttered plazas of Madrid—that which may come to pass, it is impossible to know just how hard hit the United States will be by the novel coronavirus. This nation... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 14:00:35 UTC ]
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Five years after Henning Mankell’s death, his gritty first novel makes a welcome appearance

Mankell’s 1972 book, “The Rock Blaster,” now available in English, explores the struggles of a working-class man. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-05 17:00:00 UTC ]
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On Shrinking Linguistic Biodiversity and Embracing the Fragmentary: A Conversation with Ottilie Mulzet

Interviews Veronica Esposito Ottilie Mulzet is the principal English-language translator of Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, winner of numerous international honors. Together, they received the 2019 National Book Award in Translation for Mulzet’s... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-02-20 14:05:36 UTC ]
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Julia Alvarez and the Female Book of Job

The National Medal of Arts recipient reflects on the immigration crisis in Afterlife, her first novel for adults in almost 15 years. The post Julia Alvarez and the Female Book of Job appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2020-02-20 11:00:47 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times announces its 2019 Book Prize finalists and a new award for science fiction.

It’s an exciting year for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes! This will be its 40th year of celebrating the literary community. The Times announced their 2019 Book Prize finalists today; the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 17th. Additionally, bestselling crime... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 17:41:26 UTC ]
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Beyond Jokha al-Harthi: Women Writers from the Gulf

When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]
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10 new books to get you through the week.

Every week, the TBR pile grows a little bit more. It’s getting precarious. It’s taking up your whole nightstand. It’s threatening to crush you in your sleep. Well, what are you waiting for? Get cracking. What are you reading this week?   FICTION Brandon Taylor, Real Life (Riverhead) Brandon... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-18 16:20:28 UTC ]
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Author Gish Jen explains why she created a family of 'Resisters'

'The Resisters,' Gish Jen's first novel in nine years, imagines a class-based dystopian United States. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-06 15:00:56 UTC ]
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Alasdair Gray, Scotch Author of Daring Prose, Dies at 85

He didn’t publish his first novel (which he illustrated himself) until he was 46. But his impact, as both a writer and an artist, has lasted. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-01-11 01:15:42 UTC ]
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Hiding the Body: My Susan Sontag Story, by John Weir

Essay John Weir Adapted from a photo by Jake weirick on Unsplash Like a dead pop star, Susan Sontag left behind a lot of fans who claim they knew her. After the release last September of Benjamin Moser’s new biography, Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-07 22:09:56 UTC ]
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Kiley Reid’s Sharp First Novel About Race, Careers, and Parenthood

Such a Fun Age is Franzenesque in its interest in how we live now—but in a quieter register. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2020-01-07 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Collins and Coe triumph at Costa Book Awards 2019

Sara Collins has won the Costa First Novel Award for her gothic romance, The Confessions of Frannie Langton (Viking), in a stellar year for début authors after three out of the five award categories were won by first-time writers.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 21:35:49 UTC ]
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Telling the Story of Hong Kong, by Will Hagle

Cultural Cross Sections Will Hagle Photo courtesy of the author Following decades of British colonial rule to the rapidly tightening grip of mainland China and all the stories told about that chunk of land along the way, Hong Kong has grown accustomed... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-17 15:28:20 UTC ]
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De’Shawn Charles Winslow wins 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Huge congratulations to De’Shawn Charles Winslow, who last night took home the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize for his acclaimed debut In West Mills. Winslow was presented with the prestigious prize—which has in previous years been awarded to Junot Diaz, Tiphanie Yanique, Viet Thanh Nguyen,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-11 17:00:27 UTC ]
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Creating Literary Community for Writers Raising Children

On November 12, at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon in Lower Manhattan, I hear author Jimin Han say something I’ve never heard a writer admit before. “I didn’t really commit to being a writer until I had children,” Han says to a room of 20 or so writers, all of whom are parents. There is […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-06 09:47:14 UTC ]
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