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 ]
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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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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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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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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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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“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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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 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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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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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 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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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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“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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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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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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