What We're Reading – April 2019

Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado I've absolutely loved this collection of short stories, which floats between the weird and the queer, passing horror, black comedy and feminism along the way. Doubles and others are especially important: a wife enters her wife’s dream when they are apart; a girlfriend fades until her girlfriend accidentally falls through her in bed. Most noticeably, in the magnificent story ‘Especially Heinous’, detectives Stabler and Benson from Law & Order: SVU meet Abler and Henson, who always get to the crime scene first but do nothing about the beautiful murdered girls whose deaths fuel most episodes of Law & Order: SVU. Machado’s stories are direct, fast-paced, and funny, yet there’s always a slow-moving malevolence to them, a hidden seriousness, a careful confusion, and a sense of meaning that’s just out of reach for the characters. I can’t wait for her second book – a memoir – to be published later this year. Swithun Cooper, Research and Information Manager   Ordinary People, by Diana Evans Just shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. Ordinary People is the story of two couples in the second flush of marriage, wondering about where their lives together are going and what compromises they’ll have to make along the way. It’s also a love-letter to London, and to the music of John Legend. I’m enjoying Diana Evans’ lyrical writing style and in depth exploration of her characters inner lives, their frustrations and complex... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-04-11 08:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – April 2019"


Abi Morgan's 'devastating' memoir goes to John Murray in six-figure deal

Award-winning screenwriter Abi Morgan’s memoir, which follows family life after her partner's sudden illness, has gone to John Murray for “a strong six-figures". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-20 19:48:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Penguin Michael Joseph pre-empts Lim's 'poetic' memoir of family secrets

Teresa Lim’s multi-generational memoir about a long-buried family tragedy set against the Second World War in Singapore has gone to Penguin Michael Joseph.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-19 12:40:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cinelle Barnes Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Soft

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Barnes is a regular... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


DoJ Drops Case Against John Bolton

The Department of Justice has dropped its legal claims against former President Trump's one-time national security adviser over his bestselling memoir 'The Room Where It Happened.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘On Juneteenth’: A Black historian reflects on Texas and emancipation

Annette Gordon-Reed’s “On Juneteenth” combines history, analysis, and memoir to explore the significance of the holiday and its Texas roots. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-16 22:19:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Monster' Kody Scott, former L.A. gang member who became a bestselling author, found dead at 57

Former Eight Tray Gangster Crip member's memoir brought attention to the sobering truth of gang life in South L.A. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-15 23:57:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Q&A: An ‘everyday’ life in dance proves something quite extraordinary

Gavin Larsen’s ballet memoir “Being a Ballerina” opens up the dance world to show the determination, camaraderie, and physical strength at its core. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-15 15:51:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins signs memoir by The Jonas Brothers

HarperCollins has signed a "funny, irreverent, and eye-opening" memoir by pop band The Jonas Brothers, which will publish on 11th November 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 11:06:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A prickly mother-daughter bond sustained by Korean food

In an interview, Michelle Zauner describes how writing the memoir “Crying in H Mart” helped her cope with losing her mother. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-08 19:50:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Michelle Zauner will score the film adaptation of her own memoir, Crying in H Mart.

It’s been a big year for Michelle Zauner. This spring, her much-lauded memoir Crying in H Mart was published, and last week her band Japanese Breakfast released Jubilee, another critically acclaimed album. And the excitement continues: yesterday, the Hollywood Reporter announced that Crying in H... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-08 14:46:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘Dear Senthuran,’ by Akwaeke Emezi

“Dear Senthuran” is an epistolary memoir of gender identity, diaspora and the solitude of success. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:08:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Grindr Advice Column That Became a Memoir of Modern Queer Life

In “Hola Papi,” the writer John Paul Brammer mines his own experiences and traumas to deliver wisdom for queer readers. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 09:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pride Was Hard-Won: PW Talks with Julie Rodgers

For nine years, Rodgers was a celibate gay Christian speaking about the benefits of conversion therapy, and in her forthcoming memoir 'Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story,' she chronicles her journey into peace, a loving marriage, and advocacy for LGBTQ Christians. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: Spellbinding novelist Rivka Galchen's new book is a hysterical witch hunt

'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch,' historical fiction about Kepler's mother, is Galchen's first novel since 2008's 'Atmospheric Disturbances.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-03 14:00:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘If publishers become afraid, we’re in trouble’: publishing’s cancel culture debate boils over

Publishing staff, in rows over authors from Mike Pence to Woody Allen, are voicing their reluctance to work on books they deem hateful. But is this really ‘younger refuseniks’, or a much older debate?In the 1960s, Simon & Schuster’s co-founder Max Schuster was facing a dilemma. Albert Speer,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-03 12:12:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Poetry and Nursing in the Filipino Diaspora: A Conversation with Romalyn Ante, by Marianne Chan

Interviews Photo by Oluwaseyi Johnson / Unsplash I was lucky to meet Romalyn Ante when I was invited to read at a virtual event organized by R. A. Villanueva and hosted by Books Are Magic in August 2020. Ante was the guest of honor at the event,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-02 11:57:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this


I Thought This Memoir Wasn’t “Taiwanese Enough”—Because That Was My Fear About Myself

In March of 2004, my family and I were at home in Taiwan for the national election, and I got into my first-ever screaming match with a perfect stranger. The election choice, as always, was between the Kuo Ming Tang, which favors reunification with China; and the Democratic People’s Party, which... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Katherine Johnson of ‘Hidden Figures’ tells her story in her own words

“I always pushed myself to go higher,” Johnson wrote in her posthumous memoir “My Remarkable Journey” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-29 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Deborah Harkness’s Witches, from Page to Screen, by Camille Thompson

Book Reviews Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer in the TV adaptation of A Discovery of Witches (2018) / IMDB Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy has taken a new life through the Sundance dramatic series, A Discovery of Witches. The novels... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-05-27 13:42:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Roxane Gay Starts Publishing Imprint With Grove Atlantic

Roxane Gay Books will focus on underrepresented fiction, nonfiction and memoir writers, with or without agents. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-05-26 09:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this