What we're reading August 2019

Lowborn by Kerry HudsonKerry Hudson is best known for her award-winning fiction. Her first book, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, won the Scottish First Book Award and earned her a place on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. Her latest book, Lowborn, is a non-fiction account of poverty in the UK today, told from a personal perspective. She recounts a journey across the UK, visiting the seven places she lived as a child. She describes memories of time in care as a looked after child, then with her young and struggling mother, and the all-encompassing poverty which pervaded her childhood, which is still sadly ever visible in the places she visits. Hudson is a masterful storyteller, and this is a brave and honest book that has much to say about the times and society we live in.Sinead Russel, Director LiteratureHend and the Soldiers by Badriah alBeshr, translated from the Arabic by Sanna Dhahir.This beautiful and troubling novel by Saudi novelist and journalist Badriah al Beshr charts a young woman’s childhood and early adulthood, from village life, social ascent during the economic boom, early marriage and divorce. While al Beshr rejects the tag of ‘feminist’ novelist, the picaresque story she weaves lucidly depicts the way gender roles are enforced with martial rigidity by the titular ‘soldiers’ - husband, brothers, extended family, neighbours, and local gossips, who stand guard at the gates of Hend’s world, armed with notions of... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-08-30 08:51:45 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What we're reading August 2019"


‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up

In this post-Fleabag world, publishing has become obsessed with the inner turmoils of messy millennials – but isn’t it time they pulled themselves together? Meet the novelists subverting the clichesYou’ve probably come across this woman: she is unfulfilled in her career, has been abandoned by at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 15:19:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Award Categories We Wish Existed

From Best Book with a Cat on the Cover to Best Book to Read in a Dark, Dark Place, these are the book award categories we really want to see! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-08-07 10:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Here is the 2023 Booker Prize longlist!

The freshly announced “Booker’s dozen” of titles longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize is making its way around the literary internet, so let’s see what the morning tides have brought in. There are four debut novelists on the list, and Irish writers nabbed a record four out of the 13 nominations... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-01 14:43:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Booker prize reveals ‘original and thrilling’ 2023 longlist

Previously nominated authors Sebastian Barry, Tan Twan Eng and Paul Murray join 13-strong field including four debuts• Irish writers, debuts – and groundbreaking sci-fi: the Booker longlist in depthA longlist of 13 “original and thrilling” books offering “startling portraits of the current” are... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-01 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Married to the mob: the rise of the smartphone in fiction

They interrupt narrative and disrupt plot – no wonder novelists have been slow to warm to mobile phones. But a new generation is putting technology at the heart of their workWhat do you call a phone when it rings in a fictional world? “Mobile” and “cell” are old, “smartphone” is almost a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-22 10:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


RIP to one of the great horny novelists of the 20th century, Milan Kundera.

I was surprised to read this morning that Milan Kundera, the eminent Czech novelist best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died yesterday at the age of 94. Mainly because I thought he was already dead. For a generation of literary types (Gen X in particular), Kundera was the cool,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:34:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Morning After: The Amazon Prime Day deals worth your time and money

It’s back and here to ruin our savings and increase the gadgets in our homes. Yes, Amazon Prime Day isn’t entirely about headphones, tablets and wearables, but for Engadget staff… well, it feels like it is. Prime Day deals on tech are typically only matched by Black Friday and Cyber Monday... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-07-11 11:15:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sarah Silverman sues OpenAI and Meta over copyright infringement

Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI. On Friday, the comedian and author, alongside novelists Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey, filed a pair of complaints against OpenAI and Meta (via Gizmodo). The group alleges the firms trained their large language models on copyrighted materials, including... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-07-10 17:53:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bestselling authors Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay sue OpenAI over copyright infringement

Two bestselling novelists filed a suit against OpenAI, claiming the company used intellectual property to 'train' its artificial intelligence chatbot. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-01 14:28:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this


French newspaper staff strike after ‘far-right personality’ made editor

Public figures back strike at Le Journal du Dimanche to protest against appointment of Geoffroy LejeuneActors, novelists and leftwing politicians have joined support for major strike action at France’s flagship Sunday newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, to protest against the appointment, ahead... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-27 15:32:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Robert Gottlieb obituary

American editor who worked with many celebrated authors including Anthony Burgess, Doris Lessing and Joseph HellerRobert Gottlieb, who has died age 92, was the outstanding literary editor of the second half of the 20th century. Among the renowned novelists he worked with were Doris Lessing, Toni... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-26 16:14:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Who Is Nora Roberts?

A look into Nora Roberts one of the most popular romance novelists of all time who helped redefine the genre in the 1980s and beyond. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-06-21 10:37:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Female novelists don’t need their own prizes. Let’s abolish them | Martha Gill

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 ]
More news stories like this


Michael Caine’s novel will most likely be rubbish, but I’m glad he’s found his happy ending | Xan Brooks

Most actors make terrible novelists – but writing the ‘cracking thriller’ Deadly Game was life-affirming for the veteran star, so never mind the finished productGod spare us another millionaire actor who fancies themself as a bestselling author –unless the actor is Michael Caine, in which case... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-08 12:30:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Reading at Full Volume: Seven Books That Feature Rock Music

I’ve been working on a theory about novelists lately: most of us wish we were rock stars. I’m basing this on a few things, like, for example, who wouldn’t want to be a rock star? Also, with all our anonymity, social anxiety disorders, and how we tend to be at our best while wearing sweatpants […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-07 08:52:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Martin Amis, era-defining British novelist, dies aged 73

The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


What happened to all the war vet novelists? They've moved on, and so have we

Kevin Powers was among the best in a wave of novelists on Iraq and Afghanistan. His new thriller, "A Line in the Sand," signals their slow fade from relevance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-12 13:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'His Name Is George Floyd,' 'Demon Copperhead' Among 2023 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Novelists Barbara Kingsolver and Hernan Diaz tied for the Fiction prize, and 'Washington Post' journalists Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa's took home the Nonfiction prize at this year's Pulitzer Prize ceremony on May 8. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this