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 writer, this is both exciting and unsurprising. These days Trinidad is producing world-class female writers hand over fist. Allen-Agostini’s shortlisting comes on the heels of the announcement, two weeks ago, that Trinidadian writer Amanda Smyth had made the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction shortlist, the only woman on the list, and the first Caribbean writer ever to be chosen. Meanwhile, Celeste Mohammed has become the fifth woman (and third Trinidadian woman) to win Trinidad’s regional OCM Bocas prize.Something has happened in Trinidad, in our small but dense hothouse of a literary world. Perhaps it’s 12 years of the Bocas literary festival, or five waves of feminism, or maybe it’s to do with the internet opening up opportunities for those from developing countries, but in the last decade Trinidad has produced a host of outstanding female writers. It’s a trend that anyone in Caribbean literary circles knows about. Myself, Smyth, Allen-Agostini, Mohammed and others are part of a “lit-boom”, and most of this boom is female. We are finding ourselves on the global stage, on prestigious shortlists in North America and the UK. This huge generational and gender shift would have been... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-05-03 13:03:34 UTC ]
This essay isn’t about World War II. But like any historical fiction writer publishing in 2023, it’s impossible to ignore the recent wave of WWII novels that fill bookstore shelves at the moment. As someone who reads and enjoys many of these books but has no desire to write one, I have a theory... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-17 08:45:05 UTC ]
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From haunting historical fiction to poetic contemporary fiction, these 10 Haitian books in translation are worth picking up. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-11 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Encompassing a wide range of genres from historical fiction to fantasy to poetry to investigative journalism to memoir, this exciting abundance of books published in 2023 by emerging and acclaimed Native writers speak to the rich diversity of the Indigenous experience. From meditations on the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-09 11:00:00 UTC ]
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October brings the spookier YA reads, but also be on the look out for historical fiction and even a holiday romance. Start with Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-06 10:35:00 UTC ]
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The literary world knows Iowa City as home to America’s first creative writing program and a UNESCO City of Literature, but it’s also a landmark city for cinephiles. In the early 1960s, Refocus debuted in Iowa City as one of the largest cinematography and still photography festivals in the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-29 08:25:20 UTC ]
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Queer people have been writing historical fiction since before queerness existed—by which I mean, since before it was hammered into an antithesis to heterosexuality during the long nineteenth century. By the turn of the twentieth, queers looking to write about the past had to grapple with new,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-09-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A look at the great hoax that was I, LIBERTINE, the book that took the literary world by storm but (sort of) never was. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-09-18 10:39:00 UTC ]
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From the dark heart of a misguided follower to the young hand of a diarist whose words outlived her, these novels encompass the full spectrum of humanity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-15 16:58:33 UTC ]
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Every fall season, bookseller enthusiasm builds for certain subjects, and novels—notably high-stakes historical fiction and immersive work in translation—are extra hot for 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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From the Pulitzer and Booker to the Walter Scott Prize and more, these award-winning historical fiction books are the best in the genre! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-08-24 10:36:00 UTC ]
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These novels remind us of old-fashioned human connections that can’t be severed, for better or worse. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-28 09:01:35 UTC ]
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Rioters share the best books they read last quarter, from historical fiction featuring badass lady pirates to essays by disabled parents. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-26 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Want to read more historical fiction set in Mexico? We've got you covered with these 20 absolute must-read books! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-11 10:31:00 UTC ]
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Before you say it, I know: there are so, so many books about the Second World War. And when I set out to write my most recent novel, The Paris Deception, the thought crossed my mind—do we really need another book about Paris during the war? But historical fiction is a rich field, and there […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-30 08:55:14 UTC ]
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Two giants of the literary world died last week. In this episode, the Book Review celebrates their lives. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-23 22:11:22 UTC ]
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The literary magazine will be back in print in August, with a new publishing partner: The Nation. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-22 10:10:16 UTC ]
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Barbara Kingsolver and others are no longer oppressed – they dominate book salesThere is a point at which all special treatment becomes patronising. And we have reached that point, I think, when it comes to giving women a leg-up in the business of writing fiction.Genghis Khan sacked and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-18 06:31:35 UTC ]
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India is a land of great linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity. Here are 20 of the best examples of historical fiction set in India. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-06-15 10:32:00 UTC ]
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Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints‘As you get older you realise that all these things – prizes, reviews, advances, readers – it’s all showbiz, and the real action starts with your obituary.”Martin Amis first started spinning in favour of his future... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-27 17:31:09 UTC ]
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These books rewind time, depositing readers in the Cumbrian countryside, coastal Maine, rural Wyoming and beyond. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-26 15:30:50 UTC ]
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