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 ]

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

Legend bags 'warm and poignant' Morrall debut

Legend Press has bagged a “warm and poignant” debut novel exploring identity, race and mental illness by writer and painter Alex Morrall. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-22 16:25:02 UTC ]
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W&N lands 'virtuoso' debut novel from Riviere at auction

W&N has landed the "virtuoso" debut novel from poet Sam Riviere in a multi-publisher auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 05:10:37 UTC ]
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Zephyr pre-empts debut from Aardman's Hawkins

Head of Zeus imprint Zephyr has pre-empted the debut novel from Aardman Animations creative director Finbar Hawkins in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-11 03:38:34 UTC ]
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An Unsolicited Manuscript Becomes a Hot Pre-Frankfurt Property

The debut novel ‘A Kindness,’ which literary agent Helen Heller received a little over a week ago after responding to an unsolicited pitch letter, is gaining pre-Frankfurt Book Fair buzz after being preempted in the U.S. by Pamela Dorman for high six figures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Crowdfunder for 'best non-fiction book club in world' smashes £100,000 target

A pair of friends crowdfunding to build the “best non-fiction book club in the world” have surged past their £100,000 target. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-09 18:14:15 UTC ]
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Transworld scoops 'heartwarming' debut from Paris in two-book deal

Transworld has scooped the debut novel from performer, writer and Faber Academy alumna Helen Paris in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-09 13:58:41 UTC ]
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'Very British' debut novel goes to Louise Walters

Indie press Louise Walters Books has signed a "very British" novel by debut author S J Norbury in a one-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-09 13:20:19 UTC ]
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No Direction Home: On Ben Lerner’s “The Topeka School”

AN ADOLESCENT NAMED Adam Gordon is the protagonist of Ben Lerner’s new novel, The Topeka School. He shares this name with the narrator of Leaving the Atocha Station, Lerner’s debut novel from 2011. Leaving the Atocha Station was about the quarter-life crisis of a talented misanthrope;... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-09 12:30:44 UTC ]
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Mantle signs Shipping Forecast-inspired debut in two-book deal

Pan Mac imprint Mantle has landed the Shipping Forecast-inspired debut novel from Sue Teddern in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-09 03:27:54 UTC ]
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Uber Can Go Fuck Itself

The Older Brother in Mahir Guven’s debut novel drives for a ride-sharing service in Paris while his Syrian-born father is an old-school taxi driver. Their Uber politics conflict is further sullied by their religious divergence. Into this, Guven adds a Younger Brother, a talented nurse who could... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-08 11:00:58 UTC ]
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Doubleday makes 'substantial' six-figure pre-empt for 'exceptional' debut

Doubleday has made a “substantial” six-figure pre-empt on a debut novel by academic and comedian Marianne Cronin about two women who meet at an art class. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 09:03:45 UTC ]
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Headline Review pre-empts 'remarkable' Druart debut as international offers flood in

Headline Review has pre-empted world rights to the debut novel from Ruth Druart, with 11 international rights deals following for the "remarkable read". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 05:26:17 UTC ]
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PRH stands by Prescott in Pasternak plagiarism row

Penguin Random House says claims by Boris Pasternak’s great niece that parts of Lara Prescott’s debut novel plagiarise her work are “unfounded” and will be “robustly defended”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-01 13:11:52 UTC ]
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HQ snaps up insider's account from David Cameron’s former deputy chief of staff

HQ has acquired the debut non-fiction book from Kate Fall, David Cameron’s former deputy chief of staff, to provide "an insider’s account of life at the heart of Number 10". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-01 06:34:06 UTC ]
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Cape pre-empts Megan Nolan's 'exhilarating' debut about toxic relationships

Irish writer Megan Nolan's debut novel has just sold to Jonathan Cape in a pre-empt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-26 16:21:35 UTC ]
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Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Debut Novel Mingles History and Fantasy

In “The Water Dancer,” which examines the psychological effects of slavery, a 12-year-old field hand discovers he has magical gifts. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-09-24 09:00:11 UTC ]
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Lorna Cook triumphs with debut novel to win Joan Hessayon Award

Essex author Lorna Cook has won the Romantic Novelists' Association's (RNA) prestigious Joan Hessayon Award for new writers with her debut novel The Forgotten Village (Avon). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-16 02:19:21 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: September 16, 2019

‘Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum’ is the #9 book in country, and one of three new titles at the top of our picture book list. Plus ‘This Tender Land’ sells well in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, and debut novel ‘The Secrets We Kept’ gets the nod from Reese’s Book Club. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador snaps up Scottish author Armstrong's 'blistering' debut

Picador has snapped up a "blistering" debut novel about youth culture, violence and gang life in Scotland by Graeme Armstrong. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-11 13:33:42 UTC ]
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