What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright

Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her, What composes a life and what makes of life art? What makes of memory history, and whose history, and how do we survive loss? We might expect the author of five books of poetry and two children’s books to incorporate the lyric in her first book of nonfiction, but Chang goes further. If her memories arrive at times as poetry, she denies them the protection of a poem. For instance, at the end of a letter that begins, “Do you remember those Fridays in gym class . . . ,” she realizes that memory may be “the exit wound of joy.” Such insights pierce us before we can register surprise. Elsewhere, she covers her mother’s mouth with three Mandarin characters in the photo on her certificate of naturalization, inserting her reservation into the official record along with her daughter’s grief. I reached out to Chang, moved by this book’s innovative form. “It was always my goal as a writer to be able to make whatever I want,” she told me via Zoom video hosted by the low-residency MFA program at Antioch University, which she directs. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Voelcker Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]
News tagged with: #human emotions #toxic masculinity #daily basis #curly hair #times book #memoir

Other Publishing stories related to: 'What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright'


Autofiction is Cheating, and You Cannot Change My Mind

What am I supposed to do with autofiction? Where is it shelved, literally and mentally? Is it memoir or fiction? Pick a lane. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-04-16 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


W&N pre-empts Thankam Mathews' 'extraordinary' debut

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has pre-empted a debut from Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate Sarah Thankam Mathews.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-15 11:02:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #weidenfeld nicolson #iowa writers


Knopf's Jackson Sells Debut Novel for Rumored Seven Figures

In a deal rumored to be in the seven figure-range, Knopf editor Jenny Jackson sold her debut novel to Pam Dorman, who has an eponymous imprint at Penguin Random House. 'Pineapple Street' follows three sisters who are members of a wealthy family, and is slated to be released in early 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eponymous imprint #pineapple street #debut novel


Suited to Change: Spotlight on the Jerusalem International Book Forum

Known for its mix of intellectual and informal gatherings, the forum embraces cultural diversity and fosters inclusion and open dialogue. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


S&S wins auction for 'relatable' debut from Rebecca Ryan

Simon & Schuster UK has acquired My (Extra)Ordinary Life, a "funny, heart-warming and relatable" debut by author Rebecca Ryan, after winning a three-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-10 01:19:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Rights Roundup: The Pandemic Changes the Book Fair Calendar Again

Titles in our Rights Roundup come from Japan by way of Finland, as well as Slovakia, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, the United States, and France. The post Rights Roundup: The Pandemic Changes the Book Fair Calendar Again appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-09 16:27:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rights roundup #book fair


‘The Final Revival of Opal & Nev’ is a dazzling debut full of unforgettable characters

Dawnie Walton’s novel is framed as an oral history about two musicians who got their start as an interracial duo in the 1970s. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-31 15:48:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #final revival #dawnie walton #oral history


Pacing the Lion’s Path in Cuba: A Conversation with Carlos Manuel Álvarez, by Anderson Tepper

Interviews Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s debut novel, The Fallen—a withering portrait of a Cuban family with conflicting visions of their country and their roles within it—was published in June 2020 and has helped establish Álvarez as one of the leading... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-29 21:52:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary community #publishing houses


Tuning into Radio You: A Conversation with Writer-Songwriter Ellen Adams, by Wendy Call

Interviews   Ellen Adams is a singer-songwriter and prose writer who splits her time between Seattle and Montreal. She has been a Lambda Literary Fellow for nonfiction and a Fulbright Fellow researching politically engaged contemporary art in Thailand.... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-29 13:25:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kyo maclear #seeking answers #bookstore #nonfiction book


Personnel Changes Announced at PRH Canada

Following the splitting of their two imprints in December, Random House Canada publisher Sue Kuruvilla and Knopf Canada Publisher Martha Kanya-Forstner have announced a number of roles for their team members. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prh canada #team members #random house


A debut novel about migration, family and survival is everything 'American Dirt' wasn't

"Of Women and Salt," tracking generations of Latinas, comes out of Gabriela Garcia's family story, life experience and advocacy for migrants. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-03-23 19:20:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family story #american dirt #gabriela garcia #life experience #debut novel


Embla Books acquires 'laugh-out-loud' debut in first deal

Bonnier Books UK's new digital-first imprint Embla Books has bought Laura Starkey's debut, Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions, as its first acquisition.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-22 11:15:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bonnier


The Tibetan Resistance Movement and Windhorse: In Conversation with Kaushik Barua, by Koushik Goswami

Interviews Born and brought up in Assam, Kaushik Barua is an emerging Indian English author. He completed his degree in economics from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, and then studied political economy at the London School of Economics. In his day... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-15 20:37:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #human costs #contentious issues #nonfiction book #harpercollins #libraries #bookseller


In the ’80s, she wrestled as Mad Maxine. Now her debut novel takes readers inside the ring.

Writer Jeannine Mjoseth was looking for adventure when she turned to professional wrestling. She got plenty of that. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut novel


Dialogue snaps up Ofori's debut challenging 'monolithic narrative about Black women'

Dialogue Books has aquired A Word from the Margins: The Intersections of Race, Gender, Class and Ambition by Lennina Ofori.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-14 04:33:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black women


Question of the Day: How did data shape content creation in a year of change?

In 2021, Digiday and Connatix teamed up to ask experts at the Digiday Publishing Summit how the past year’s unprecedented online audience surge fundamentally changed the ways publishers use data to create content. In this installment of the Question of the Day, Joetta Gobell, vice president of... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2021-03-10 02:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post question #ways publishers #create content #vice president #publishing summit


Picador lands Mulvey's stories and debut novel

Picador has landed a story collection and debut novel from Niamh Mulvey, writer of publishing newsletter “In the Read” and a former Quercus commissioning editor. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-04 22:15:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #story collection #debut novel #picador


Vintage editor Lily Lindon's 'wild ride' debut goes to Head of Zeus

The debut novel of Vintage editor Lily Lindon has gone to Head of Zeus in a four-way auction, as part of a two-book deal.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-04 09:59:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wild ride #debut novel


PRH Audio Debuts Voiceover Casting Platform, Ahab

Penguin Random House Audio has launched Ahab, a global online casting platform for voiceover actors in any business. The platform was originally developed as an internal tool for PRH's audiobook producers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #voiceover actors #audiobook #penguin random house