The Story of the Impossible Island

To read a Helen Oyeyemi novel is to willingly enter a tangled wood, where the paths wander and circle, and the way out isn’t always clear, but the scenery is full of an alarming and brilliant beauty. A one-time prodigy (the British daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she published her first novel, The Icarus Girl, in her teens), Oyeyemi has always been interested in how people, especially women, arrive at their identities, a journey shaped by relationships that define and, more often than not, confine them. The fairy tale is the native language of this theme: Its princesses, stepmothers, witches, and yes, even its princes and shoemakers, are facets of a single questing psyche. But while fairy tales have a sequestered inward-looking quality, Oyeyemi’s novels are wide-ranging. She browses the globe in search of motifs and milieus; her fiction has drawn on Yoruba legends, Emily Dickinson, Cuban folklore, American race relations, and ghost stories. She currently lives in Prague, and her splendid, witty new novel, Gingerbread, has a distinctive flavor of Mitteleuropa. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2019-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #fairy tale #fairy tales #ghost stories

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Story of the Impossible Island'


Story of de Beauvoir love affair to Myriad

Myriad Editions has signed a “stunning” novelisation of the love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and American writer Nelson Algren. Fiction editor Holly Ainley bought UK and Commonwealth rights, including Canada, to Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago by Chicago-born author Douglas Cowie, from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hitting bookstores soon: J.R.R. Tolkien's first fantasy story

'The Story of Kullervo,' a dark retelling of the 19th-century Finnish poem 'The Kalevala,' is the latest in a number of previously unpublished works by J.R.R. Tolkien. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Galley Beggar launches short story comp

Independent publisher Galley Beggar Press is launching a short story competition this weekend. The Norwich-based publisher, which originally published Eimear McBride’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction winner A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, said the competition built on the success of its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gillian Flynn short story to be published

Weidenfeld & Nicolson is to publish Gillian Flynn’s short story The Grownup as a standalone book for the first time. The Grownup first appeared under the title What Do You Do? in Rogues (Titan Books), an anthology of short stories edited by George R R Martin and Gardner Dozois. It will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins to publish Tolkien 'legend' story

HarperCollins is set to release The Story of Kullervo by J.R.R. Tolkien as a novel for the first time later this month. The publisher confirmed that it will release the story on the 27th August, although no further details have yet been given. The story has been published once before – as part... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Asks: Shakespeare, King, and Austen Are Your Desert Island Authors

We asked you what three authors you'd take to your desert island. You said William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Stephen King. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Empire of Fear’ Author Shares Inside Story On ISIS

BBC reporter Andrew Hosken builds a comprehensive picture of the Islamic State, their ideology, and what life is like under their regime. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Asks: Who Are Your Three Desert Island Authors?

Which three authors' collected works would you take to your proverbial desert island? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Paulo Coelho's Best Story' skims surface of author's life

Paulo Coelho's mega-selling novels and memoirs - allegorical, abounding in aphorisms and supplemented by a prolific social-media output - have made him a revered figure for millions of modern-day seekers. The screen version of the Brazilian author's life, a period-hopping attempt to shatter the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Laws to publish 'inside story' of Coalition

Former Liberal Democrat MP David Laws has written a book exposing the ‘inside story’ of the Cameron-Clegg coalition. Biteback Publishing m.d. Iain Dale acquired world rights to Coalition by David Laws, which will be published in Spring 2016. The book, which will be supported by a ‘major press... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Warren Mundine: Fairfax Media to apologise over Indigenous mining story

Fairfax and Warren Mundine have reached an out-of-court settlement over ‘inflammatory allegations’ Mundine says were made against himWarren Mundine says Fairfax Media will apologise to him over an article that claimed a company he had an interest in lobbied for an Indigenous body to drop... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top editors at Gawker resign over deleted story

Two of Gawker's top editors resigned Monday after management deleted a story about an executive at Conde Nast who allegedly tried to book an escort. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PP Call for Stories: Leadership, Europe, Asia and Frankfurt

We're actively seeking great stories about leadership, European and Asian publishing, rights, education and any tied to the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair. The post PP Call for Stories: Leadership, Europe, Asia and Frankfurt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Jersey buys Fifa story

Yellow Jersey editor Frances Jessop has bought The Fall of the House of Fifa by Guardian columnist David Conn, to publish in spring 2017. Jessop acquired world all language rights from Bill Hamilton at A M Heath. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Seven Good Years' collects quirky, touching family stories by Israeli writer Etgar Keret

Etgar Keret presents his memoir: a series of raw and witty stories that document seven years of a father-son relationship. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virago to publish Aiken’s Armitage stories

Virago Modern Classics will this August publish a collection of the Armitage Family stories by Joan Aiken. The Complete Armitage Family Stories will be the first collection of the stories ever printed, and will be published in paperback on the 8th August (£8.99). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seven Stories to host Foreman exhibition

Children’s book centre Seven Stories will this July open an exhibition dedicated to illustrator Michael Foreman.   ‘Painting with Rainbows – a Michael Foreman Exhibition’ will open on 19th July and will stay at the Seven Stories centre in Newcastle for a year, before going on tour around the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British children's stories startup Lost My Name tells a $9m funding tale

After 600k personalised picture-book sales, London firm secures investment from Silicon Valley firms Google Ventures and GreycroftChildren’s storytelling startup Lost My Name raised its first $100k of funding in 2014 on TV show Dragon’s Den. Now the London-based firm is turning to Silicon Valley... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Short story writers lament profile problem

Short stories are gaining ground in the UK, but authors working within the format are finding it more difficult to break into the public consciousness than novelists, writers have told The Bookseller. Awards that cover all forms of fiction such as The Folio Prize, won in 2014 by George... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Narcissism works really well': Why Time magazine created a site for its interactive stories

For better or for worse, news sites’ most popular digital offerings have been interactive games and quizzes. Now Time magazine has created a new home for its interactive stories -- like its quiz to see how much time you wasted on Facebook -- which have been the site’s most popular for the past... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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