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 ]

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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... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2023-06-01 06:19:41 UTC ]
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World Literature Today Announces 2023 Student Translation Prize Winners

World Literature Today Announces 2023 Student Translation Prize Winners News and Events [email protected] Tue, 05/30/2023 - 09:42 Katie Kassam and Vala Thorodds, winners of the 2023 Student Translation PrizesWorld Literature Today, the University... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-30 14:42:03 UTC ]
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Amis, Hitchens and Larkin: bad behaviour and a messy personal life were once a gift for authors. Not any more | Martha Gill

Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints‘As you get older you realise that all these things – prizes, reviews, advances, readers – it’s all showbiz, and the real action starts with your obituary.”Martin Amis first started spinning in favour of his future... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-27 17:31:09 UTC ]
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What We're Reading: Hay Festival special

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... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2023-05-25 16:57:18 UTC ]
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Rita Chang-Eppig on Researching Pirates for Her Debut Novel

This week on The Maris Review, Rita Chang-Eppig joins Maris Kreizman to discuss Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, out May 30 from Bloomsbury. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts. * Maris Kreizman: Rita, your debut novel is not the typical debut novel that I usually... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-25 12:53:16 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of May 22, 2023

Park Row bets on a debut novel about love and death, actor Ione Skye sells a memoir to Gallery, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Femmes and Three Mascs Go to the Woods, What Could Go Wrong?

Jenny Fran Davis’ debut novel Dykette is indisputably, vibrantly, hilariously queer. Dykette follows three couples (and a charismatic pug) on a ten day, pressure-cooker trip to Hudson, New York. The oldest of the couple, Jules Todd (a news anchor who reads like a fictional Rachel Maddow) and her... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-18 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Secret Reverberates Across Four Generations of an East African Indian Family

In her debut novel A History of Burning, Janika Oza gives us the story of a family, one migration journey at a time. Beginning with indentured labor that leads the first member of the family, Pirbhai, from his home in India to East Africa, we follow four generations across several continents and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-12 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Dead Ink wins Republic of Consciousness prize with Missouri Williams’s ‘astonishing’ debut

The award, championing small presses with fewer than five staff, was won by The Doloriad – an audaciously original novel set in a post-apocalyptic dystopiaDead Ink Books has won the Republic of Consciousness prize for small presses for Missouri Williams’s “astonishing” debut novel The Doloriad.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-26 08:35:38 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘The Weight,’ by Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd’s searching debut novel portrays a Black musician alienated from his city, his faith and his past. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-10 09:00:16 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of April 10, 2023

Actor Millie Bobby Brown sells a debut novel to William Morrow, and S&S buys a memoir from Sheila Johnson, cofounder of BET. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Susanna Hoffs Has a Dollar Bill Signed by William S. Burroughs

“I queued up to get his autograph with nothing but a dollar bill for him to sign,” says the pop star, whose debut novel is “This Bird Has Flown.” “He glanced up, amused, gave me a mischievous half-smile and said, ‘Ah, defacing U.S. currency,’ and proceeded to sign it.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-06 09:00:12 UTC ]
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The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs wrote her debut novel about a pop star. It's not her

Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs has written a novel, 'This Bird Has Flown,' about an 'over-the-hill' one-hit wonder finding love — and it kind of rocks. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-04-03 13:00:21 UTC ]
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Millie Bobby Brown's debut novel is inspired by grandma's 'very personal' WWII story

Millie Bobby Brown of 'Stranger Things' will release her debut novel later this year. 'Nineteen Steps' is inspired by her grandma's experiences during WWII. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-03-24 22:14:27 UTC ]
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A Young Woman’s Perspective on Being With an Older Man

Formative love affairs and sentimental educations are classic novelistic territory. And for good reason— these connections serve as catalysts, tell stories taut with tension, and leave characters forever changed. Madelaine Lucas’s debut novel Thirst for Salt describes such a relationship, set in... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-03-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
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A Debut Novel Creates a World From Pages Taken From the Past

When Alice Winn stumbled on the archives of her British boarding school’s newspaper, she discovered a world, only to see it “destroyed and dismantled” during World War I. She brought it back in her novel, “In Memoriam.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-03-05 14:54:05 UTC ]
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Tracey Rose Peyton: Exploring Six Stories of Motherhood for Enslaved Women

Tracey Rose Peyton is the guest. She is the author of the debut novel Night Wherever We Go, available from Ecco Books. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts!  From the episode: Brad Listi: This book really brought into focus for me the awful risks and costs of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-03 09:53:42 UTC ]
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Knopf Bets on 'West Heart Kill'

Alfred A. Knopf will publish the debut novel by Dann McDorman, the executive producer of MSNBC’s 'The Beat with Ari Melber,' this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-24 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘The Applicant,’ by Nazli Koca

“The Applicant,” a debut novel by Nazli Koca, features a worldly-wise 20-something Turkish writer who works as a cleaner at a Berlin hostel while struggling to figure out what kind of life she wants to lead. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-14 10:00:12 UTC ]
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7 Long-Awaited Follow Ups to Beloved Books

The last few months have been an exciting time in the world of publishing, not only for the litany of debut novel and short story collection releases, but also for the publication of two long gestating, highly anticipated projects by Cormac McCarthy and Katherine Dunn. The 89-year old’s first... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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