What We're Reading: Hay Festival

Take a look at previous What We’re Reading blogs for more reading inspiration. Hungry Ghosts, by Kevin Jared HoseinI'm thoroughly enjoying Hungry Ghosts, the debut novel by Kevin Jared Hosein, who won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018, and whom I had the pleasure of hearing read at the Bocas Lit Fest in Trinidad and Tobago. It's 1940s rural Trinidad, and there's a storm brewing. Quite literally, in the shape of torrential downpours which impact the lives of the ensemble cast of characters: Hansraj and Shweta, who dream of escaping their leaky barrack for a plot in the nearby town; their son Krishna, who gets into trouble again while out searching flooded paddy fields for fish; and the wealthy businessman Dalton Changoor who mysteriously disappears during the storm, leaving his wife Marlee piecing together his disappearance. But bigger change is also in the air, with the arrival of an American military base and the resulting displacement of families and communities.I’m only a short way in – so no spoilers here – but this novel has already grabbed my attention with its highly sensory depictions of its characters, its energetic interweaving narratives, as well as the comprehensively portrayed historical backdrop of Trinidad on its journey from a colony to an independent republic. I’m looking forward to more of Kevin Jared Hosein’s writing.Matthew Beavers, Literature Relationship Manager The New Life, by Tom CreweThere is a much quoted line in Tom Crewe’s exquisite... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2023-06-01 06:19:41 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading: Hay Festival "

A Debut Novel Reimagines the C.I.A.’s Efforts to Promote ‘Doctor Zhivago’

In Lara Prescott’s “The Secrets We Kept,” young women participate in a covert plan to influence the Cold War using Boris Pasternak’s censored love story. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-09-02 18:51:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Rewriting the ‘Boy Genius’

Caitlin Horrocks’s debut novel builds on a rich tradition of women writers who complicate the myth of male virtuosity until it crumbles. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-09-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘The Ventriloquists’: Featured Fiction from E.R. Ramzipoor

An excerpt from a debut novel that Booklist calls a "compelling historical thriller." The post ‘The Ventriloquists’: Featured Fiction from E.R. Ramzipoor appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-27 19:00:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this

“Wicked Fox” is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

Kat Cho’s debut novel “Wicked Fox” is a little complicated, but the poignantly rendered family relationships and fantasy drama are worth the ride. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

A Nigerian American in Utah Strives to Be ‘A Particular Kind of Black Man’

Tope Folarin’s debut novel is all at once a search for identity, an immigrant story, and a bildungsroman. A Particular Kind of Black Man follows Tunde Akintola, a Nigerian American in a small town in Utah. Torn between the culture of his Nigerian parents, and the white Mormon culture of Utah,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-21 11:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this

John Murray signs Gallen's 'darkly comic' debut

John Murray will publish Michelle Gallen's "darkly comic" debut novel set on the Irish border. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-20 14:25:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Shaun Hamill Has a Scary Story to Tell You

His debut novel ‘A Cosmology of Monsters’ is both a horror novel and a rich love story, told with tenderness and brimming with darkness. The post Shaun Hamill Has a Scary Story to Tell You appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-16 10:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Revisiting ‘The Tiger’s Wife’ and the Balkan Wars

In Téa Obreht’s 2011 debut novel “The Tiger’s Wife,” a young doctor untangles the peculiar circumstances of her grandfather’s recent death. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-16 09:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this

O'Keeffe debut goes to Coronet

Coronet has snapped up the “big-hearted” debut novel from journalist Alice O’Keeffe, inspired by her experience of becoming a parent. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-14 11:36:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this

NAPCO Media Acquired by Printing Industry Trade Association

The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA), a printing industry trade group, announced this week that it has acquired NAPCO Media—the Philadelphia-based B2B publisher of Book Business, Printing Impressions and Publishing Executive, among a handful of other titles—for an undisclosed... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-08-08 18:53:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Two Families Linked By Secrets, Deaths, and Regrets

Regina Porter’s debut novel The Travelers includes short chapters, photos, and a compendium of voices—a full cast is listed in the front matter. This includes the Vincents, with patriarch “the man James” and his son Rufus; the Christies, headed by Eddie and Agnes with their daughters Claudia... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-05 11:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Kissick wins W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize

Lucy Kissick’s debut novel Plutoshine has won the inaugural Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 19:06:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this

7 Books About Past Decades That Feel Like Traveling Back in Time

The Amazon review for my debut novel was glowing, including words like “compelling” and “fun.” And then there was this: “If you love historical fiction, you’ll love The Last Book Party.” Say what? How could my novel, which is set during the 1980s—a decade of my own youth—be historical fiction?... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-01 11:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this

S&S UK pre-empts Bishop's debut in two-book deal

Simon & Schuster UK has pre-empted journalist Caroline Bishop’s "uniquely beautiful" debut novel in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-31 22:16:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Murder? Poachers? What the hell is going on with Where the Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens?

A few days ago, Publishers Weekly reported that Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens’ debut novel and the September 2018 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club, topped a million in print sales in 2019. Today, Laura Miller at Slate had a much juicier story about Owens: her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-30 15:00:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Center for Fiction Names 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist

The Center for Fiction announced its 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist yesterday. The award is given to the “best debut novel published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of the award year,” and the prize-winning author receives $10,000. Here is the 2019 longlist (featuring many titles from our 2019 Book... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-07-25 17:22:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this