Palanca Awards
They've announced the winners of the 65th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in the Philippines -- selected from 895 entries in 22 categories. The English-language novel grand prize went to...
View ArticleRainer Kirsch (1934-2015)
(East) German poet Rainer Kirsch has passed away; see, for example, the (German) report at DeutscheWelle. Not as well-known in English translation as Sarah, to whom he was married for...
View ArticleSagan, Paris 1954 review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Anne Berest's Sagan, Paris 1954 -- the story around the publication of Françoise Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse, sort of .....
View ArticleMy Struggle - the play
Karl Ove Knausgaard's six-volume My Struggle would seem an unlikely candidate for a play-version, but ... hey, sold as a potted version, why not ? So, yes, there's now a stage version --...
View ArticleJohn Nathan on Japan and the Nobel
In The Japan Times Damian Flanagan recounts how Literature critic John Nathan dissects Japan's Nobel Prize laureates, as the Mishima- and Oe-translator (among others) opines on the Nobel-worthy...
View ArticleInnocence review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Heda Margolius Kovály's Innocence or, Murder on Steep Street -- a rare (almost-)example of Communist-era Eastern European crime...
View ArticleAntiquarian books in ... Thailand
In The Bangkok Post Kaona Pongpipat reports that: 'The market in Thailand for rare and antique books is thriving like never before', in A new chapter -- an interesting overview (not least in...
View ArticlePrettiest German books
They've selected the 25 schönsten deutschen Bücher -- the prettiest German books of the year.
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Michel Houellebecq profile
With Michel Houellebecq's Submission due out in the UK this week (and in the US next month), the publicity machine gets properly rolling with Angelique Chrisafis' profile of the author in The...
View ArticlePrize: Nelly-Sachs-Preis
They've announced that Self-Portrait in Green-author Marie NDiaye will receive (on 13 December) this year's prestigious, biennial €15,000 Nelly-Sachs-Preis. Previous winners include...
View ArticlePrize: Nagrada vilenica
They've announced that The Devil's Workshop-author Jáchym Topol has won this year's Vilenica International Literary Prize. The list of previous winners is very impressive --...
View ArticlePrize: Premio FIL de Literatura
The Premio FIL de Literatura en Lenguas Romances is a US$150,000 lifetime achievement award for a romance-language writer that they'll hand out on 28 November, at the Guadalajara International...
View ArticleHow Economics Shapes Science review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Paula Stephan's How Economics Shapes Science, just out in paperback from Harvard University Press.
View ArticlePrix Renaudot longlists
They've announced the longlists for the prix Renaudot, the second most prestigious French literary prize, after the Goncourt. No real official site for them to post the information at, but see,...
View ArticleVolker Braun archive
The German Akademie der Künste has announced the acquisition of the archive of the great Volker Braun (Rubble Flora, etc.). (No word as to how much they paid -- and it's unclear whether the...
View ArticlePrize desperation
Apparently the desperation of authors for prize-recognition knows no bounds: one would think the estimable Dazai Osamu would have both known better and not shown quite such obvious desperation,...
View ArticleThe Private Lives of Plants review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Lee Seung-U's The Private Lives of Plants, forthcoming from Dalkey Archive Press in their Library of Korean Literature.
View ArticleDayton Literary Peace Prize finalists
They've announced the finalists for this year's Dayton Literary Peace Prizes, in fiction and non. The $10,000 prize is for books: "that have led readers to a better understanding of other...
View ArticleGiller Prize longlist
They've announced the longlist for this year's C$$100,000 (Canadian) Scotiabank Giller Prize. None of the titles are under review at the complete review; indeed, I haven't seen any of...
View ArticleScarlett Thomas, not in the US
Scarlett Thomas has been among the more interesting British authors to follow in recent years, and several of her books are under review at the complete review: Dead Clever The End of Mr. Y...
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