Why so much hype? Being on Granta’s best young novelists list has its drawbacks | Sarah Hall

In 2013, I was one of the chosen 20. Today, I still question the accolades and gimmickry around making the gradeIn 2013, the fourth Granta Best of Young British Novelists (BYBN) list was published, and I was among the 20 writers selected. I was 39 and had published four novels and received several award. To what extent I was chosen or was a “ready-made” for the judges, I don’t know. When the 2003 list came out, my debut, Haweswater, had been published and The Electric Michelangelo was in manuscript form. Living in North Carolina, agentless and clueless about the industry or submission process, I doubt I was under consideration.In compiling these once-in-a-decade lists, Granta’s judges and influencers claim to foresee “big names” in the future British literary scene. A writer must be under 40, resident or citizen and have published a literary novel or be about to. I wasn’t registering the 2013 list. Some writers live in a dim cave, some anticipate calendars, some network. When the news came, I was pleased. It’s nice to be spotlit, validating to have work endorsed by critical experts, especially other novelists. Then things became uncomfortable. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-16 10:00:08 UTC ]
News tagged with: #north carolina #submission process #novelists

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With Russia at war, fascism has taken hold of its young people, Canadian researcher finds

While his assessment has its detractors, Canadian author and Russia expert Ian Garner believes fascist views now permeate Russia's young people to such a degree that the chances of a lasting peace following the war in Ukraine are remote. ... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-15 08:00:00 UTC ]
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What happened to all the war vet novelists? They've moved on, and so have we

Kevin Powers was among the best in a wave of novelists on Iraq and Afghanistan. His new thriller, "A Line in the Sand," signals their slow fade from relevance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-12 13:00:10 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show 2023: Kim Coleman Foote and Sarah Jessica Parker

Author Kim Coleman Foote and her publisher, Sarah Jessica Parker, will discuss Coleman Foote's forthcoming book, 'Coleman Hill,' with Well-Read Black Girl executive director Glory Edim on May 24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Copiers, Cubicles and Colleagues: A Reading List of Office Novels

I am nostalgic for the bygone office life, for that first real job in our twenties when the word “colleague” encompassed both friend and coworker, when work meant hanging out with them during the day, and social life meant hanging out with them late into the night. It was with those peers that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-05 08:53:59 UTC ]
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This Alaska bookstore in Sarah Palin’s hometown isn’t backing down about its drag story time.

Respect and support to Wasilla, Alaska’s Black Birch Books, who’re getting a lot of online flack for announcing a drag story time in June. But despite a slew of negative, and sometimes threatening, comments and reviews, Black Birch owner Taylor Jordan is going on with the show. As she told... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-04 15:21:17 UTC ]
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10 books to add to your reading list this May

Bethanne Patrick's 10 recommended books for May include fiction from Emma Cline, R. F. Kuang and Abraham Verghese as well as a giant history of everything. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-04-29 13:00:28 UTC ]
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Literary Lovers: A Sapphic Reading List for Every Mood

As a lesbian, I might be biased, but I think sapphic literature is the best kind of literature. Where else can you get this kind of desperate pining and unabashed yearning? Where else can you find women in such open and raw relationships to other women? I enjoy reading books by all kinds of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-27 08:54:10 UTC ]
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Literal Star-Crossed Lovers: A Reading List of Space Operas with Romance Subplots

I have loved reading science fiction since age ten, when my school librarian handed me a copy of Jill Patton Walsh’s The Green Book. I fell in love with romance after reading Jane Eyre, which my uncle gave me. When I became a writer, my focus was on the former, but my stories often include […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-26 08:52:31 UTC ]
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Novelist Celeste Ng: ‘There was a period when I thought I’d never write again’

The award-winning author on how Trump, Covid and anti-Asian rhetoric inspired her latest novel, digging her way out of ‘post-book fatigue’, and learning to touch type using UlyssesCeleste Ng, 42, is the award-winning author of three novels, including Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-22 17:00:15 UTC ]
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Double Vision: A Reading List of Twins in Literature

Sometimes, the most powerful stories to read are the ones you see yourself, or a part of yourself, reflected back in. Growing up as a quadruplet, I always knew there was something rare about me and my sisters. Strangers at the mall would stop our stroller procession and ask questions like, Hold... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-19 08:51:36 UTC ]
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Girls to the Front: A Reading List of Provocative Feminist History

My particular variety of feminism has long been one devoted to the idea that women’s lives are not solely defined by their familial roles (wife, mother, sister, etc). Women’s lives are shaped by the communities they build, run from, collide within, and redefine. Communities of women, those whom... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-18 08:52:31 UTC ]
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Are these the most influential novelists of 2023?

This week, TIME magazine published its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023. And . . . it’s surprisingly literary! I mean, it’s not that literary, but considering that the TIME editors typically limit themselves to a single novelist among the 100, books seem to be coming up in the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-14 15:34:40 UTC ]
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A Feminist Before Feminism: A Reading List in Honor of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Boston

How funny to curate a list about Boston when I never really considered it my home—possibly not until my new novel, The Lioness of Boston. I moved a lot as a kid—house to apartment, town to city, out of the country, back in, out again, until I finally moved back to the US and my […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-13 08:52:53 UTC ]
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Five Folklorists You’ve Never Heard Of: A Reading List of Overlooked Fairy Tales

I have imbibed fairy tales ever since I was six years old. I used to sneak into the public library and scatter several books on the floor to read, even if I couldn’t read them. My mother used to read the Grimms and Andersen tales aloud to me every night until I could read them […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-06 08:53:02 UTC ]
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James Patterson has questions about the provenance of the NYT bestseller list.

Bestseller juggernaut James Patterson has sold over 425 million copies of his books, per Fox Business, but his latest, Walk the Blue Line: No right, no left―just cops telling their true stories to James Patterson, has broken with tradition. The title, he says, is conspicuously absent from the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-03 13:46:35 UTC ]
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10 books to add to your reading list in April

Bethanne Patrick's 10 recommended books for April involve tales of mutiny, poison and more, including work by David Grann, Nicole Chung and Don Winslow. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-03-31 13:00:41 UTC ]
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Intimacy Exposed: A Reading List of Diary-Themed Fiction

There’s a reason that people hide their diaries: they’re private conversations with close, and silent confidants. That’s also the reason people want to read them. No self-respecting teenager who discovers a sibling’s secret diary under a loose bedroom floorboard opens it hoping to discover what... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-27 08:52:31 UTC ]
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Sarah Jessica Parker Will Headline the U.S. Book Show

Authors Elizabeth Acevedo, Mitch Albom, Roz Chast, Lauren Groff, Meg Medina, and Kiley Reid will also speak at the 2023 U.S. Book Show, presented by PW from May 22 to 25. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Books We Need Now: A Reading List of Heroines Who Are Hot Messes

As long as you aren’t a sociopath, there’s a good chance you spend a lot of time in your head, thinking about all the dumb stuff you do. Maybe you ruminate about the message you sent to the bachelorette party thread that no one ‘liked’ for the last half-hour, which obviously means the Kristen... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-24 08:52:19 UTC ]
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Braving a blizzard to meet the most promising (and most offline) young writer in the West

In a writer-as-brand era, Taylor Koekkoek's obscurity is almost as refreshing as the hilarious, stealthily profound stories in his debut, 'Thrillville, USA.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-03-22 13:00:29 UTC ]
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