Walter Scott Prize longlist
They've announced the twelve-title longlist for this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Only one of the titles is under review at the complete review: Ferdia Lennon's...
View ArticleFrankétienne (1936-2025)
Haitian author Frankétienne has passed away; see, for example the obituary in The Haitian Times and Dánica Coto's AP obituary (here at ABC). Several of his works have been translated...
View ArticleDulat Issabekov (1942-2025)
Kazakh author Dulat Issabekov has passed away; see, for example, the Kazinform News Agency report, Kazakh classic literature author Dulat Issabekov passes away. Several of his works have...
View ArticleBooks in fashion-advertising
In the Wall Street Journal Katie Deighton writes about The Hottest Thing in Fashion Advertising ? Books. As one 'brand consultant' explains: Reading -- not being always online, not...
View ArticleAnime and Manga
At nippon.com Nakano Haruyuki considers Anime or Manga ? Examining the Different Hit Formulas in Japan and Abroad. Among the observations: Despite Astro Boy making its US debut as an...
View ArticlePercival Everett Q & A
At The Observer Tim Lewis has a Q & A with James-Writer Percival Everett: ‘Deciding to write a book is like knowingly entering a bad marriage’. Among Everett's repsonses re. James:...
View ArticleMass-market paperback distribution
At Publishers Weekly Jim Milliot reports that Readerlink Will Stop Distributing Mass Market Paperbacks at the End of 2025 (paywalled) -- a major blow, as: "Readerlink’s customers [...] account...
View ArticleKrasznahorkai László Q & A
At The Yale Review Hari Kunzru has a Q & A with Krasznahorkai László. Krasznahorkai concludes: Only the ordinary person exists. And they are sacred.
View ArticleDie Trying review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Lee Child's Die Trying -- the second of his Jack Reacher-novels (and the twelfth under review here).
View ArticleIran's Book of the Year Awards
They've announced the winners of this year's Iran Book of the Year Awards, in its many categories -- see the full list here or, for example, the Tehran Times report, Iran's Book of the Year...
View ArticleInternational Booker Prize longlist
They've announced the longlist for this year's International Booker Prize -- thirteen books (11 novels; 2 short story collections), selected from 154 (unfortunately not revealed) submissions....
View ArticleThe Hashish Films of Customs Officer Henri Rousseau and Tatyana Joukof...
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of A Novel against Psicho-Analise by Emil Szittya, The Hashish Films of Customs Officer Henri Rousseau and Tatyana Joukof Shuffles...
View ArticleThe book market in ... Russia
At Realnoe Vremya "Director General of AST-Azbuka Publishing House Tatyana Gorskaya spoke about who reads and buys books the most, how literary niches have changed in 2024 and how the low birth...
View ArticleRepublic of Consciousness Prize shortlist
The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses (in the UK and Ireland) has announced their shortlist for this year's prize -- though not yet at the official site, last I checked -- but...
View ArticlePierre Joris (1946-2025)
Poet and translator Pierre Joris has passed away; see, for example, Claudia Kollwelter's report, De Lëtzebuerger Auteur Pierre Joris ass gestuerwen at RTL (as Joris was also Luxembourgeois)....
View ArticleNordic Council Literature Prize nominees
They've announced the nominees for this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize, the leading Scandinavian book prize, with entries from all the countries and territories in the region --...
View ArticleThe Aesthetics of Resistance - the play
With the third volume of Peter Weiss' The Aesthetics of Resistance finally coming out in English later this month -- 25 March; mark your calendars ! see the Duke University Press publicity page...
View ArticleAndrey Kurkov's 'books of my life'
The latest The Guardian 'The books of my life'-column features Death and the Penguin-author Andrey Kurkov: ‘At 17, I got my hands on an illegal copy of The Gulag Archipelago’. Among his...
View ArticleMartin Puchner Q & A
In The Harvard Crimson Kate J. Kaufman has Fifteen Questions: Martin Puchner on Philosopher Chatbots, AI Writing, and the Future. Among Puchner's responses: FM: What advice would you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Salome in Riga
The protagonists in my novel Salome in Graz discuss and debate any number of Salome-variations, especially versions (translations, editions, performances) of the Wilde play and the Strauss...
View ArticleBanu Mushtaq Q & A
Banu Mushtaq's Heart Lamp was longlisted for this year's International Booker Prize; it's apparently not out yet -- see the And Other Stories publicity page -- but the Times of India has...
View ArticleAcademy Awards - Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The big American film awards, the Academy Awards (the Oscars®) were held yesterday, and Peter Straughan's screenplay of the Robert Harris novel Conclave took the prize in the Writing (Adapted...
View ArticleNon-fiction (not) in paperback
In the Wall Street Journal Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg reports that: 'Publishers increasingly give nonfiction authors one shot at print stardom, ditching paperbacks as priorities shift', in Waiting...
View ArticleShortlists: PEN/Faulkner Award
They've announced the five finalists for this year's PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction -- selected from 414 (unfortunately not revealed) eligible novels and short story collections.
View ArticleShortlists: Sheikh Zayed Book Awards
They've announced the shortlists for this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Awards -- "One of the Arab World's most prestigious and well-funded prizes" -- though: "Sheikh Zayed Book Award decided to...
View ArticleSono Ayako (1931-2025)
Japanese author Sono Ayako has passed away; see, for example, the nippon.com report. Several of her works have been translated into English, but her Maximilian Kolbe-novel Miracles seems...
View ArticleOckham NZ Book Awards shortlists
They've announced the shortlists for this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The winners will be announced 14 May.
View ArticleWomen's Prize for Fiction longlis
They've announced the sixteen title-strong longlist for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction. I haven't seen any of these. The shortlist will be announced 2 April, and the winner...
View ArticleThe Peach Blossom Fan review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of a new translation of Kong Shangren's The Peach Blossom Fan, recently out in a bilingual edition in Oxford University Press'...
View Article(Not) reading in ... the UK
YouGov reports that: In the last year, the median Briton has only read or listened to three books, with 40% of the public not reading or listening to a single book in that time....
View ArticlePreis(e) der Leipziger Buchmesse
They've announced the shortlists for this year's prize(s) of the Leipzig Book Fair -- five books each in the three categories. The Fiction ('Belletristik') finalists include books by...
View ArticleZadie Smith Q & A
At npr Rachel Martin has a Q & A with the author, in Zadie Smith is learning to accept the limits of time. Among Smith's responses: I just wish I was less selfish. Writing is a very...
View ArticleUS State Department axes IWP funding
As the University of Iowa's Office of Strategic Communication now reports, US Department of State halts International Writing Program funding. *Sigh*. As the U.S. Department of...
View ArticleZettels Traum/Bottom's Dream editions
Tom Ghostly writes On Arno Schmidt’s Zettel(‘)s Traum / Bottom’s Dream: A phenomenology of editions, offering an invaluable overview (with pictures !) of (editions of) Arno Schmidt's classic...
View ArticleNew Books in German spring 2025 selections
New Books in German has announced its jury recommendations for spring 2025 -- a useful overview of recent German-language publications.
View ArticleEUPL Prize finalists
They've announced the finalists for this year's European Union Prize for Literature. This prize is awarded in a three-year cycle, with thirteen or fourteen European countries nominating...
View ArticleSalome-film
Yet another take on Salome: this time a film on the mounting of a production of the Strauss opera, Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils, starring Amanda Seyfried, as the director putting on the...
View ArticleKazuo Ishiguro profile
It's apparently the twentieth anniversary of Never Let Me Go, and so at The Guardian Alex Clark has a profile of the author, ‘AI will become very good at manipulating emotions’: Kazuo Ishiguro...
View Article