(Hindi) literature in ... India
In the Hindu Business Line Kalyani Prasher wonders: Is Hindi literature back in fashion ? finding: The new Hindi reader is someone who reads in both English and Hindi, because she cares (or...
View ArticleReading in ... Thailand
In the Bangkok Post Saengwit Kewaleewongsatorn reports that Thais read books for 28 minutes a day, says Pubat -- shockingly down from 37 minutes in 2013. Okay, this is all anecdotal,...
View ArticleTypographical Translation Award
Typographical Era has its own 'Typographical Translation Award' and they've now announced the winner for best 2014 translation -- Texas: The Great Theft, by Carmen Boullosa, in Samantha...
View Article'Library of Bangladesh'
Sounds good: the Dhaka Tribune reports that Dhaka Translation Centre to create 'Library of Bangladesh' [via]. Having Arunava Sinha as the series editor makes it sound promising; the...
View ArticleSami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature
The Jewish Book Council has announced the winner of this year's (US$100,000) Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature -- and it goes to The Best Place on Earth, by Ayelet Tsabari. This...
View ArticleWho is Martha ? review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of German-writing Ukrainian-born Marjana Gaponenko's Who is Martha ? recently published by New Vessel Press.
View ArticleWalter Scott Prize longlist
They've announced the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction -- fifteen titles, including ones by authors such as Martin Amis and Damon Galgut. They note that: In a...
View ArticleForthcoming German edition of Mein Kampf
The copyright on Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf is running out in Germany, and so they've been debating for quite a while now what the hell to do about that. Apparently they've settled on a...
View ArticleWindham-Campbell Prizes
They've announced the 2015 recipients of the Windham-Campbell Prizes, three each in fiction, non, and drama, each winner receiving US$150,000 unrestricted grants. Among the winners are...
View ArticleThe Blood of Angels review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Johanna Sinisalo's The Blood of Angels. Although published by UK publisher Peter Owen, and despite her two previously...
View ArticleNew issue of World Literature Today
The March/April issue of World Literature Today is now available, with much of the content accessible online. Among other things, there's: "a special section featuring four writers from the...
View ArticleSociety of Authors' Translation Prizes
They've announced the winners of this year's Society of Authors' Translation Prizes -- five of them, this year (it varies), for translations from the Arabic, French, German, Italian and...
View ArticleDavid Cohen Prize for Literature
At £40,000 the biennial David Cohen Prize for Literature is one of the leading British author prizes (they're not that big on author-prizes in the UK, preferring to honor specific titles (with...
View ArticleJiang Rong Q & A
At The New York Times' Sinosphere weblog Amy Qin has a Q & A with Jiang Rong on Wolf Totem, the Novel and Now the Film. The author's Wolf Totem -- get your copy at Amazon.com or...
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Blurb ethics
Much as I love Open Letter's books, and thrilled as I was to see Georgi Gospodinov's The Physics of Sorrow, I do have to wonder about the prominent placement of this blurb on the (front) cover...
View ArticleThe Physics of Sorrow review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Georgi Gospodinov's The Physics of Sorrow, coming out soon from Open Letter Internationally acclaimed, this is definitely...
View ArticleDiagram Prize shortlist
They've announced the shortlist for this year's Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. A fairly entertaining selection -- and readers have until 21 March to vote for the...
View ArticleGerman March/spring best-of lists
The German-critics-best list for March is out, the SWR-Bestenliste, where 26 prominent literary critics vote for their top title of the month: Ian McEwan's The Children Act tops the list,...
View ArticleYaşar Kemal (1923-2015)
Turkish great Yaşar Kemal has passed away; see, for example, The New York Times' obituary. The New York Times suggests he was Turkey's "first novelist of global stature"; whether he was...
View ArticleThe Faces of God review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Mallock's thriller, The Faces of God -- part of his 'Chroniques barbares'-series (though US publisher Europa editions is going...
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