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 "


Growing Up in Between White and Black America

Davon Loeb’s debut memoir The In-Betweens follows the story of his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as a biracial young man growing up between various cultures, races, and identities. Loeb grows up with a Black mother and a white, Jewish father. In school, he is one of the few Black... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


In “I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself,” a Cruel Form of Public Shaming Has Replaced Prisons

Marisa Crane’s debut novel I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is set outside of our reality: in an America where a cruel form of public shaming has taken the place of prisons. In Exoskeletons we meet Kris, a new mother struggling to see a future for herself and her kid in the wake of her partner’s... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-02-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3,” by Kira Yarmysh

A debut novel from Kira Yarmysh, a longtime critic of Vladimir Putin, offers an intimate look at political imprisonment. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-06 10:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Laura Warrell on Publishing While Black

The young Black woman giggles behind her hands as she sits in the furthest corner of the lecture hall at the DC public library where I’m launching Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, my debut novel about a cast of women, of all ages and backgrounds, who become entangled with a freedom-loving jazz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-06 09:55:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When everything breaks down, what does it take to survive?

On an isolated island in Maine, a woman is pushed to the brink to save her family, in Meghan Gilliss’ debut novel “Lungfish.” Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-01-19 22:19:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The last satirical novel from a tech-world alum? It's got a bug

Josh Riedel's debut novel 'Please Report Your Bug Here' tries to be both a sendup of circa-2010 Silicon Valley and a futuristic sci-fi cautionary tale. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-18 14:30:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Manhattan on the rocks: A novel's dual homage to '90s New York and a legendary author

In his debut novel 'Vintage Contemporaries,' Dan Kois tracks two friends with big dreams in '90s New York and pays homage to late author Laurie Colwin. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-13 14:00:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of January 2, 2023

Restless Books buys Immigrant Fiction Prize winner Praveen Herat’s debut, Penguin Press nabs a debut novel about generational trauma, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Exclusive Cover Reveal: Here’s the cover for Elysha Chang’s A Quitter’s Paradise

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Elysha Chang’s A Quitter’s Paradise, the first book on Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint at Zando, forthcoming in June 2023. This debut novel examines the grief of a young woman desperate to detach from the reality of her mother’s death and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-08 14:30:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


What Running Has Taught Me About Writing (and Vice Versa)

I’m a daily runner. When I run varies, depending on the day’s contours, but I always lace up and head out. Earbuds in, audiobook on, running app ready to track my slow miles along semi-rural roads. Often, I don’t want to go. No matter how much I practice, I find running difficult. When I was […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-08 09:53:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch is coming to the screen.

The Fall of Tess Gunty (I speak of Autumn, not ruination) continues apace with news that the Indiana author’s much-ballyhooed debut novel The Rabbit Hutch—the story of a group of residents of a low-income housing community in a fictional Indiana town over the course of one sweltering summer—has... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-29 16:36:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Will Self: ‘I’m seen as a still-walking dead white man’

The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard“I’ll see your eidolon next Tuesday,” writes Will Self, 61, when I email to arrange a video call to discuss his new collection of journalism, Why... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-26 18:00:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


“You Can’t Hurt Like Me”: A First Look at ‘Bark On’

An exclusive excerpt and cover reveal for 'Bark On,' the debut novel by Mason Boyles. The post “You Can’t Hurt Like Me”: A First Look at ‘Bark On’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-11-25 11:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of November 21, 2022

The editor-in-chief of Electric Literature sells a debut novel to Random House, Europa takes on a novel by the director of the Turin Book Fair, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Louise Kennedy’s Debut Novel Taps Into Her Childhood Amid the Troubles

The book, “Trespasses,” captures the texture of life in Northern Ireland — details, objects and images that carry “incredible emotional weight.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-10-31 16:21:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of October 31, 2022

William Morrow bets on a debut novel from Victoria Benton Frank, Harlan Coben re-ups at Grand Central, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cover reveal: Stephen Buoro’s The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa.

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Stephen Buoro’s debut novel The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, which will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2023. Here’s how the publisher describes the novel: Andrew Aziza is a fifteen-year-old boy living in Kontagora in Northern... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 13:30:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Just Sayin’ by Malorie Blackman review – against the odds

The former children’s laureate shares her sometimes enraging story of rejection, determination and resilienceAt the beginning of Malorie Blackman’s engrossing and often shocking memoir, the former children’s laureate asks: “Why am I an author?” What she goes on to tell us certainly shows how she... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-10-19 06:30:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tom Hanks announces ‘wildly ambitious’ first novel

The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece spans 80 years and is said to be ‘thoughtful, poignant and hugely entertaining’Oscar winner Tom Hanks’s debut novel has been announced, and is due out next year. The book, Hanks’s second foray into fiction – he published a short story collection... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-09-27 14:01:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: The follow-up to Namwali Serpell's debut novel is less grand — and better for it

Critics raved over 'The Old Drift,' Namwali Serpell's epic debut novel. Our critic prefers her more difficult, intimate follow-up, 'The Furrows.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-27 13:00:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this