What We're Reading – December 2019

Text Me When You Get Home: the Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen SchaeferIt’s a non-fiction book about the change in perspective around female friendship over the last few years, featuring interviews with a huge range of people including Judy Blume. The book looks at the radical potential of female friendships, how women support one another in a way that runs counter to the often one-dimensional representations of these friendships in the media. The bit I’ve found most interesting so far is an examination of how the idea that ‘girls are mean’ became mainstream. Many of Schaefer’s interviewees point out that if you tell a group repeatedly that they are a certain way, it becomes self-fulfilling, whether it has any basis in fact originally or not.It’s a very interesting book which sparks lots of thoughts and further discussions.Harriet Williams, Literatutre Programme ManagerThe Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodriques FowlerThis month I’ve been reading The Stubborn Archivist, by Yara Rodrigues Fowler which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writers Award. It’s a really sophisticated debut novel set in London and Brazil, exploring the intricacies of the relationship between the narrator who is a ‘third-culture’ half British half Brazilian young woman, her family, and their histories. The author plays with form in such a way that connects fragments of memories together or makes them jar against each other revealing trauma that lives across the... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-12-17 09:49:28 UTC ]

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A Sudden Tragedy Leads to Unsinkable Family Secrets

Set in Atlantic City in the 1930s, Rachel Beanland’s debut novel wades through heartbreak. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-07-07 09:00:11 UTC ]
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Baggaley acquires Nagamatsu debut for Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury editor-in-chief Paul Baggaley has acquired an "extraordinarily prescient" debut novel by Sequoia Nagamatsu, How High We Go in the Dark. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-06 10:17:28 UTC ]
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Leigh Stein’s ‘Self Care’ chronicles the rise and reckonings of the girlboss era

The author’s debut novel presciently captures the girlboss era right as it seems to be coming to an end. Whether you loved them or hated them, few entrepreneurs generated more buzz in the 2010s than so-called “girlbosses”—young, mostly white, female founders who disrupted industries including... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-06-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Evaristo and Carty-Williams become first black authors to win top British Book awards

Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
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'Fleabag' star Clifford to narrate Gannon's Olive

“Fleabag” star Sian Clifford is narrating the audiobook of Olive, the debut novel by author and broadcaster Emma Gannon. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 08:42:04 UTC ]
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HarperCollins wins six-way auction for debut from S&S's Pronovost

HarperCollins has triumphed in a heated six-publisher auction for the debut novel by Nita Prose, the pen name for vice president and editorial director at Simon & Schuster in Canada, Nita Pronovost. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-25 11:27:10 UTC ]
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Review: A wicked debut novel about a levitation cult occasionally lifts off

Emily Temple's "The Lightness," about a seeker who loses more than she finds, is a beguiling novel after Donna Tartt's heart, if not her plotting. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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Paid to Seduce Another Man’s Wife, He Fell Violently in Love With Her

“What’s Left of Me Is Yours,” a debut novel by Stephanie Scott, is inspired by the events surrounding an unlikely murder that occurred in Japan. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-06-23 09:00:07 UTC ]
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Two Roads pre-empts debut novel from Mary Karras

Hachette imprint Two Roads has pre-empted a debut novel from Mary Karras, in a two-book deal.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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A Teenager Plays With Fire and Family Secrets in ‘The Margot Affair’

As Sanaë Lemoine’s debut novel progresses, its narrator falls increasingly in thrall to the only people who seem interested in her inner life. Continue reading at The New York Times

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‘The Jane Austen Society’ will especially delight the kinds of Austen fans who can recite ‘Persuasion’ from memory

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel is no Jane Austen work, but it does offer plenty of delights. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Literature on Lockdown 8: #BlackLivesMatter

The sadness, exhaustion, anger and frustration that have been expressed by Black people across social media this week have, of course, been felt for centuries.But, by living so much through our screens right now, observing video footage, scrolling through reposted statements and infographics,... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-06-05 16:46:27 UTC ]
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Parakeet Brings out the Delightfully Weird, Unexpectedly Wise Side of Marie-Helene Bertino, by Taylor Hickney

Cultural Cross Sections Taylor Hickney In this profile, one of Marie-Helene Bertino’s students at the New School provides a personal glimpse of the author, whose new novel, Parakeet, was published June 2. On the evening of the National Book Awards,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

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Dolan's Exciting Times optioned for TV after 'highly competitive' auction

Black Bear Pictures has optioned Naoise Dolan's debut novel Exciting Times for television. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Latest Irish literary phenom Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times is coming to TV.

It’s the kind of timing a publisher dreams of. Less than one week out from its U.S. release, latest Irish literary phenom Naoise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times (Ecco, June 2) has been optioned for TV. Yes, following a hugely successful release in the UK and Ireland back in April, when it... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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This Week's Bestsellers: May 25, 2020

‘The Henna Artist’ Alka Joshi’s debut novel the Reese’s Book Club pick for May, debuts at #16 in hardcover fiction. Plus pair of backlist titles offering advice on coping with adversity have seen renewed interest since Covid-19 took hold in the U.S., and Scott Turow returns for ‘The Last Trial.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Latitudes of Longing: An Epic of Ghosts and Glaciers

A debut novel reminds us that the earth itself is alive, and that even in our isolation we are members of a changing world. Continue reading at Guernica

[ Guernica | 2020-05-19 12:00:21 UTC ]
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Finding your literary voice - with a working class accent

At the beginning of 2020, well before my debut novel was published, I was invited to an evening soiree in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library – a kind of preview event for authors performing at a well-known literary festival.  I changed quickly in the toilet at the car salesroom I worked in and navigated... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-15 16:53:37 UTC ]
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'It's a real battle': African authors fight for publishing independence

Francophone African books are still very often published by French imprints, which can make them hard to get at home. But there is a growing push for changeWhen Cameroonian author Daniel Alain Nsegbe first saw his debut novel for sale in his home city of Douala, the price was so high “you would... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-05-14 09:59:14 UTC ]
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A Novel About the Absurdity of the Gig Economy

It’s fitting—maybe even a little on-the-nose—that the last book I finished on my commute to work was Hilary Leichter’s Temporary. Now that my twice-daily train ride has been indefinitely suspended alongside the commutes of millions of others, it’s tempting to claim Leichter’s debut novel is even... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-05-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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