Prix Médicis
French literary award season is winding down, and yesterday it was the prix Médicis that announced its winner(s); see, for example, the report in Le Monde. The Médicis has three...
View ArticleWriting from ... South Korea
In The American Prospect Craig Fehrman finds Korean Lit Comes to America, an overview of South Korean literature, especially in translation -- with a focus on the just-inaugurated Dalkey...
View ArticleTranslation in ... India
In Frontline K.Satchidanandan writes at length about Translating India -- well worth your time.
View ArticlePrizes: GGs
They've announced the (Canadian) Governor General's Literary Award, which are awarded in several genres, for both French and English works. The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton, took the...
View ArticlePrize: Goldsmiths Prize
The Goldsmiths Prize is a new literary prize, £10,000 to be awarded to, as they explain: "a book that is deemed genuinely novel and which embodies the spirit of invention that characterises the...
View ArticlePrize: Jan Michalski Prize for Literature
The Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, a book prize for a work of world literature, regardless of language or genre, is admirably far-reaching -- and it's no surprise that they again have a...
View ArticleThe Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Hwang Sun-mi's The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly -- a: "#1 International Bestseller - More than 2 Million Copies Sold", as the...
View ArticleSaltire Society literary awards
The Scottish Saltire Society has announced its literary awards, and, as Brian Ferguson sums up in The Scotsman, Gaelic science fiction novel wins literary prize, as Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach by...
View ArticleMurnane archive
Gerald Murnane's Barley Patch is one of the most impressive books I've read in recent years. The current issue of Music & Literature devotes considerable space to this still...
View ArticleMuseum Strauhof to be shut
The Zurich Museum Strauhof has been a center of literary activity and exhibits for a while now (it also currently houses the Zurich James Joyce Foundation), but now the city has decided to...
View ArticleBook reviewing in ... Finland
There's an interesting recent 'Letter from the Editors' at Books in Finland, where they consider Truth or hype: good books or bad reviews ? as writing and publishing are apparently flourishing...
View ArticleThe King of China review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Tilman Rammstedt's The King of China, just out in English from Seagull Books.
View ArticleLuis Goytisolo wins Premio Nacional
Brother Juan won the Premio Nacional de las Letras Españolas -- a leading Spanish- (as opposed to Spanish-language) author prize --, but this year it's the turn of Luis Goytisolo; see, for...
View ArticleFrench literary prize male/female divide
With the major French literary prizes now announced, Anne Brigaudeau offers, at the Biblio Thérapie weblog, Prix littéraires 2013: en cinq graphiques et deux photos, la part faite aux...
View ArticleWilliam Weaver (1923-2013)
Translator William Weaver has passed away; see, for example, the Hillel Italie's AP report, William Weaver, Acclaimed Translator, Dies at 90, as well as Susan Bernofsky on Remembering William...
View ArticleFinlandia shortlist
They've announced the shortlist for the (30th) Finlandia-palkinnon -- the leading Finnish book prize (and worth a decent €30,000). See, for example, the Books from Finland report -- and...
View ArticleFestus Iyayi (1947-2013)
Sad to hear that Nigerian author Festus Iyayi was recently killed in a car accident ("hit by a police escort vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State governor", as The Sun report, Adieu, Festus...
View ArticleAnthea Bell profile
In The Guardian Claire Armitstead profiles translator Anthea Bell: 'It's all about finding the tone of voice in the original. You have to be quite free'. Interesting to learn a bit more...
View ArticleThe Mongolian Conspiracy review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Rafael Bernal's 1969 Mexican international intrigue noir, The Mongolian Conspiracy, just out from New Directions (and good fun).
View ArticlePopular fiction in ... Indonesia
In The Jakarta Post Niken Prathivi reports on the Popularization of literature in Indonesia. (With Indonesia 'Guest of Honour' at the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair we should (I hope) be hearing a...
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