The new Scandi noir: the Korean writers reinventing the thriller

The country has emerged as a surprising literary force as a novel by the ‘Korean Henning Mankell’ bags a six-figure deal and sparks a global bidding warLast December, Korean novelist Un-su Kim set out on an eight-month deep-sea fishing trip as part of research for his next book. Unreachable by phone or email until next August, when his boat docks in Fiji, he has no idea that his thriller The Plotters has been the subject of a wildly enthusiastic auction in the US, where it recently sold to Doubleday for a six-figure sum. German publisher Europa Verlag has called Kim “the Korean Henning Mankell”, while publishers in the UK, Czech Republic and Turkey have placed offers, and international film companies are also battling for rights.His agent, Barbara Zitwer, who plans to meet him in Fiji to reveal the news, believes Kim’s novel, about an organisation that masterminds assassinations, has caught a wave of interest in Korean thrillers – a previously unknown quantity. “The world is finally embracing them. Korean thriller writers are invigorating the genre,” she said. “They are pumping new life into it. Readers are tiring of Scandinavian thrillers – they crave something new.”Human Acts by Han Kang Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #six-figure sum #czech republic #barbara zitwer

Other news stories related to: "The new Scandi noir: the Korean writers reinventing the thriller"


Writers keep returning to Biggie. We may know as much as we ever will.

Journalist Justin Tinsley revisits the life and times of a hip-hop star gone too soon. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-11 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A Sci-Fi Writer Returns to Earth: ‘The Real Story is the One Facing Us.’

Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the most acclaimed living science fiction writers, is done with deep space narratives. His focus now is on solving real problems — like climate change. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-11 09:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #science fiction #climate change #real story


Science fiction, fantasy, thriller? Books we love but can’t define.

Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’ is one great book that’s hard to categorize. What hard-to-classify novels do you enjoy? Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-07 12:00:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #great book #susanna clarke #science fiction


When You Learn Your Mother Was a Serious Writer Only After She’s Gone

In March 2021, my mother, Nancy Bourne, a lifelong nonsmoker, died of lung cancer. Two weeks before that, though, as she cycled in and out of hospital wards, she was on her laptop sending off a flurry of query letters to literary agents asking for their help in selling her first novel. Six... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-06 08:52:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #literary agents #query letters #lung cancer


‘The pendulum has swung’: Why we female Trinidadian writers are having our moment

Monique Roffey, the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, on the lit-boom that’s happening on the Caribbean islandLast week, Trinidadian writer Lisa Allen-Agostini’s novel The Bread the Devil Knead landed a coveted spot on the Women’s prize shortlist. As a fellow Trinidadian... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-05-03 13:03:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #historical fiction #global stage #developing countries #literary world #prize shortlist #coveted spot #black conch


Historical Novelists and Fantasy Writers Should Be Friends

Author Christopher M. Cevasco says there's a surprising lack of crossover between the two. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2022-04-29 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #novelists #fantasy writers


Best Mystery Writers Honored at In-Person Edgars Ceremony

The mood was celebratory as mystery publishers and authors honored the best in the genre, live and in-person, for the first time since 2019 at a ceremony last night at New York Marriott Marquis Times Square. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #mystery publishers


What is it Like to Be a Blind Writer Writing for Sighted Readers?

What is it like to be blind in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by sighted individuals? Jessica Powers, founder and publisher at Catalyst Press, spoke to George Mendoza and Kristen Witucki about crafting stories for sighted readers, finding community and release in fiction, and battling... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-28 08:58:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #traditional publishing


Distancing: On the Writers Who Saved My Marriage

No couple ever recovered from infidelity by only reading books, even the books written for that purpose. But books are what kept me from falling apart. The post Distancing: On the Writers Who Saved My Marriage appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-04-21 10:00:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #books written #reading books


A Call to Southern Writers: Register People to Vote at Literary Events

Dear Literary Community, We write to you from the Texas and North Carolina chapters of Writers for Democratic Action, a national organization committed to “bringing together the literary community to demand racial and economic justice, champion suffrage for all people, oppose impediments to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-21 08:49:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #literary community #economic justice #democratic action #literary events


The problematic white, male Southern writer who inspired a diverse generation

Why did Penguin decide to reissue a memoir and a novel by Harry Crews, a dead white Southern writer? His influence — and his truths — run deep. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-15 13:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #memoir


‘The Love of My Life’ is a masterful domestic thriller with a doozy of a plot

In Rosie Walsh’s new novel, husband and wife think they know each other, but do they? Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-12 13:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #rosie walsh


4 great new mysteries and thrillers — and one to skip

Jane Pek’s ‘The Verfiers’ and Peter Swanson’s ‘Nine Lives’ are two of our picks this month Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-06 13:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #peter swanson #jane pek


How do you choose a book? Book lists by other writers are a great place to start

Critic Michael Dirda explores book compilations and how they can steer readers to great books. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-02 17:00:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #great books #great place #book lists


Awards: Cal Flyn Wins the £10,000 Young Writer of the Year Honor

Frequently given shortlist and longlist attention, Cal Flyn's socio-ecological study 'Islands of Abandonment' wins Young Writer of the Year. The post Awards: Cal Flyn Wins the £10,000 Young Writer of the Year Honor appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-01 17:30:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #young writer #cal flyn #post awards #year honor


Is Adaptation a Feminine Act? On the Women Writers Who Worked on Alfred Hitchcock Presents

As women writers adapted to a changing post-WWII job market, so too did they adapt in their work, translating their skills into writing suspense for television and turning short stories into screenplays. In her essay on adaptation and “gendered discourses,” Shelley Cobb writes that “feminist... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:50:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short stories #women writers


10 Riveting New Sci-Fi Thrillers

Rob Hart, author of the new novel 'The Paradox Hotel,' recommends 10 exciting new SF thrillers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Announcing The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award shortlist

Photo credit: Nigel DaviesSunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award marks the 30th anniversary with one of it's most decorated shortlists to date:• Irish novelist Megan Nolan for her darkly funny debut novel Acts of Desperation;• US-based writer Anna Beecher for her novel... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2022-02-16 14:40:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #young writer of the year award #debut novel #award-winning author #literary editor #british council #digital edition #london library #prize money #decision made #cal flyn #30th anniversary #photo credit


Cards on the Table: Three Contemporary Italian Women Writers Open the Doors of Their Workshops

Interviews The creative writing of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having sanctioned the passage of text from paper to digital support. But is it really true that the author’s cards have disappeared? And how do contemporary authors write... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-08 20:43:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book fair #favorite book #published book #short stories #digital format #tough spot #marketing team #guiding light #additional information #entire experience


Great thrillers abound this month. Here are five of the best.

Escape into the twisty tales by Joseph Kanon, Calla Henkel, Bonnie Kistler, Lan Samantha Change and Danya Kukafka. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-01 12:00:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #danya kukafka