The comic novelist takes aim at the industry’s elitism, but his story of a farcical literary festival is dated – and overly focused on Will SelfFunny ha-ha is tricky. For every reader who cackles with laughter at an author writing “this person was making plans to micturate upon one’s pommes frites”, there’s one who will wince. Some will feel the universe joyfully lighten as they read: “There’s a personage at the parsonage.” Or: “I believe it was Roland Barthes who said I love it when a plan comes together.” I can’t pronounce this unfunny, since funny is so largely in the hi-de-hi of the beholder. I cannot, however, report that any laughter issued from my own personal hilarity hole.Dan Rhodes’s half-dozen comic novels have their fans, and he is upfront in Sour Grapes that a falling-out with his publisher (what he calls his “ongoing scrap with the biz”) prompted a satire on the industry. Some of the barbs here, about publishing’s exploitation of young workers and the inertial classism, hit home. But the actual story, concerning a literary festival in a picturesque English village, feels like something out of the 1950s. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-12 09:00:32 UTC ]
Stewart Collins says support for the Petworth literary festival in West Sussex is growing, and Kathryn Streatfield suggests local events are the solution for a changing festival worldLaura Barton’s piece paints an understandably downbeat picture of where we are now in the world of the literary... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-29 16:25:30 UTC ]
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It’s been a rough year for the literary festival. Sparked by a campaign from Fossil Free Books (FFB), nine festivals that previously relied on support from the Baillie Gifford Foundation dropped or lost that company’s sponsorship after the firm failed to divest from fossil fuel companies and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-19 16:14:49 UTC ]
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Although the 2024 election season won’t shift into high gear until after Labor Day, booksellers across the country are making plans for what Lissa Muscatine, co-owner of Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., describes as a “dramatic and historic” presidential campaign. Not only are... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A public-facing event, the September Macondo Literary Festival will feature authors and culture from across Africa. The post Kenya: Nairobi’s Macondo Festival Plans for Its Fourth Iteration appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-08-02 19:13:35 UTC ]
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The second annual Queen’s Reading Room Festival at Hampton Court Palace celebrated what Queen Camilla has called the “great adventure” of the written word. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-07-03 09:01:09 UTC ]
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Now in its seventh year, the Deep Water Literary Festival will return to Narrowsville, N.Y., in the Catskills June 21–23. This year, it has added a new independent book fair and expanded its programming to year-round. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Journalist Maria Ressa named Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk in speech at Hay literary festival in Powys“Tech bros” such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are “the largest dictators”, Maria Ressa, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2021 for her defence of media freedom, has said.The American-Filipina... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-27 15:11:47 UTC ]
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The Lviv BookForum was vibrant this year, but still there is the backdrop of conflict and the need to find a place for storytellingLast year’s Lviv BookForum, a literary festival in the elegant western Ukrainian city, was mostly an online affair, held in a basement lecture theatre that might... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-21 05:00:38 UTC ]
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More than 150 writers and industry professionals are asking the firm, which is a leading sponsor of UK literary festivals, to drop their investmentsMore than 150 authors and books industry professionals including Naomi Klein, Robert Macfarlane, Emma Dabiri and Geoff Dyer have signed a statement... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-13 11:35:41 UTC ]
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The author describes the book, subtitled Meditations After an Attempted Murder, as ‘a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art’Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife, about being stabbed last year, will be published on 16 April next year, Penguin Random House has announced.The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-11 13:36:53 UTC ]
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An open letter signed by more than 50 authors including Zadie Smith, Ali Smith and Katherine Rundell calls for investment firm Baillie Gifford to be dropped as main sponsor for 2024Authors including Zadie Smith, Ali Smith and Katherine Rundell have called on the Edinburgh International book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-11 12:45:25 UTC ]
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As the government passed landmark legislation for the arts, it was jarring to see the national broadcaster take steps in the other directionGet Guardian Australia’s weekend culture and lifestyle emailIt’s been a momentous week for the arts in Australia: a nation electrified by creative work... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-16 15:00:05 UTC ]
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Author tells Hay literary festival he needs to ‘get past’ the knife attack he suffered before writing anything elseSalman Rushdie is writing a book about being stabbed on stage in New York last year, an attack which left him without sight in one eye, the author told the Hay literary... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-01 20:20:47 UTC ]
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World Literature Today Announces Finalists for 2024 Neustadt International Prize for Literature News and Events [email protected] Wed, 05/24/2023 - 13:17 Top row (left to right): Angie Cruz, Ananda Devi (credit: J.F. Paga (Grasset)), Jenny... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-24 18:17:59 UTC ]
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One size does not fit all when it comes to rights selling, as a Reykjavik Literary Festival conference on translation trends pointed out. The post Rights in Reykjavik: An International Literary Festival’s Discussion appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-05-12 21:46:21 UTC ]
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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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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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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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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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More than 50 signatories, including Bonnier Books UK c.e.o. Perminder Mann and the Society of Authors, have urged literary festival organisers to keep festivals hybrid as part of a new campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-10 07:38:14 UTC ]
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