We seek inspiration, consolation – and the unvarnished truth. And we know that all the best stories are trueCaroline Knox is director of the Boswell book festivalMy love affair with biography began aged nine, when my subscription book club sent me a compendium of “true life” adventure stories. It is a passion I have carried into adulthood: before moving to the great biographer and diarist James Boswell’s home county of Ayrshire and founding a festival in his name, I had enjoyed commissioning biography, memoir and travel writing – all genres at which Boswell excelled – as a senior editor at the renowned publisher John Murray. It was then still housed in the family’s London mansion in Albemarle Street, where one of the great lost memoirs in literature, Lord Byron’s, had been burnt in the drawing-room grate.Visiting Boswell’s burial place for the first time, in the churchyard in Auchinleck, a former mining village in Ayrshire, I was shocked to discover that Boswell’s literary legacy had also seemingly been laid to rest. His exquisite neoclassical mausoleum stood derelict, with not even a sign to mark his last resting place. I immediately determined to launch a book festival of biography.Caroline Knox is director of the Boswell Book festival. The Boswell book festival will take place at Dumfries House, Ayrshire, from 12 to 14 May 2023, with a children’s festival taking place at the same time Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-09 08:00:15 UTC ]
IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Archive of American Folk Song dispatched its field workers in 10 different regions across the United States to solicit average Americans’ opinions about the bombing and FDR’s ensuing proposal for a declaration of war. A second round... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-01-08 18:00:08 UTC ]
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In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This time we’re talking to Abeer Hoque, author of the memoir Olive Witch, who’s teaching a two-week seminar on one of the most... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Scribe is publishing a new B-format paperback edition of US president-elect Joe Biden’s 2007 memoir, Promises to Keep. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-08 03:07:33 UTC ]
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Bette Howland’s 1974 memoir, recently reissued, recounts her time in a psychiatric ward and the people she met there. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-06 20:50:30 UTC ]
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THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT is the opening section from chapter three of my book in progress, Unpacking My Father’s Bookstore, a memoir and critical study about growing up in my father’s Jewish bookstore. As Harelick and Roth Books and then J. Roth / Bookseller of Fine & Scholarly Judaica, the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-01-06 16:00:43 UTC ]
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“W-3,” Bette Howland’s account of her institutionalization, in 1968, proceeds according to a simple binary: those who suffer are patients; those who don’t are not. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2021-01-05 20:23:25 UTC ]
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Looking for a memoir by a Latinx author for the Read Harder challenge? This is a list of recommendations to get you started! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-05 11:31:00 UTC ]
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'Maybe there are lessons to be learned from rule-breaking,' writes Richard Charkin, with a new memoir as his case in point. The post Richard Charkin: ‘Thank Goodness for the Rule-Breakers’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-04 13:04:57 UTC ]
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In a year dominated by a global pandemic and American politics, some might find it fitting that the library book most likely to be checked out across Ontario was a hopeful memoir written by the former first lady of the United States. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2020-12-31 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Want to feel hungry? Read Bryan Washington on his year in takeout orders. | The New Yorker “In the end, Chang’s trauma, and the trauma he inflicted on other people, becomes part of his public persona, while we simply carry ours.” Hannah Selinger on what—and who—David Chang’s memoir leaves out. |... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-23 11:30:13 UTC ]
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New fiction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Barack Obama’s accent game, a Wilco frontman’s memoir and romance by Vonnegut. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-12-22 23:58:19 UTC ]
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The Thursday Murder Club sees off titles by Barack Obama and David Walliams in chaotic week for Britain’s book tradeRichard Osman’s cosy mystery about a group of elderly sleuths, The Thursday Murder Club, has become the first debut novel ever to become the Christmas No 1, selling a remarkable... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-22 15:00:18 UTC ]
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Greystone Books will publish Édith Blais’ memoir of being kidnapped and held hostage for 450 days in Burkina Faso at the hands of a militant group. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-22 06:56:14 UTC ]
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Continuing on the Barack Obama’s Favorite Media end-of-year march, the former President has released a 20-song playlist to accompany his memoir A Promised Land, composed of songs that recall memories of his time on the campaign trail and in the White House. There’s some Beyonce, some John... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-21 17:24:57 UTC ]
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Some good news to close out the year! Recently, Roxane Gay announced on Twitter that she’s starting a book club, and anyone can participate. The Audacious Book Club will span at least one year, and the reading list for 2021 has already been finalized: Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew, Black... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-21 15:31:37 UTC ]
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In this Read Harder Challenge post, we're recommending books for the task asking you to read a a food memoir by an author of color. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-21 11:31:00 UTC ]
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The age-old issue around what can be done to encourage boys to read has been brought into sharper focus over recent weeks with the announcement that Marcus Rashford, supported by MacMillan, is launching a book club. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-20 22:26:17 UTC ]
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Book club and literary community Rebel Women Lit aims to ‘showcase the amazing range’ of Caribbean literature with the newly launched Caribbean Readers' Awards. The post In Jamaica, Rebel Women Lit Launches the Caribbean Readers’ Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-18 19:25:33 UTC ]
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The Radio 2 Book Club, now marking 10 years on air, is moving to a prime-time daytime slot on Steve Wright's show. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-18 12:29:27 UTC ]
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Dialogue Books has acquired A Working-Class Family Ages Badly: A Memoir of Love and Life Between Two Pandemics by Juno Roche. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 17:09:37 UTC ]
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