John Banville profile
In The Guardian Stuart Jeffries has a solid profile of John Banville: a life in writing. Banville's Ancient Light is just out in the UK (get your copy at Amazon.co.uk) but only due out...
View ArticleJulian Barnes' bibliophilia
In The Guardian Julian Barnes recounts My life as a bibliophile. He seems to have long been a pretty diehard one, recognizing (just) how far his obsession went (goes ?): I also bought...
View ArticlePopular in ... India
Sure, the complete review has a decent amount of Indian literature under review -- but in June five of the six most popular reviews were Indian novels. Yes, the site gets a lot of...
View ArticlePrize winners under review
I've added a new index, of prize-winning fiction under review at the complete review, for a few of the major international and national literary prizes.
View ArticleWriting at a rate of 35 words a day ?
China Daily note that Wang Wen-hsing [王文興] is giving a Literary lecture -- in which he's going to discuss his unusual approach to writing: He locks himself in his house, reading and thinking,...
View ArticleThe Hindu Literary Prize
They're inviting submissions for the third annual The Hindu Literary Prize; see the pdf for the eligibility requirements; it appears you have until 15 August to submit. The Hindu...
View ArticleThe Neruda Case review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Roberto Ampuero's The Neruda Case. Amazing (and yet not ...) that this is the first of longtime US-resident (and...
View ArticleJuly issues
Among the July issues of online periodicals now available are those from Words without Borders, July 2012: New Writing from Japan (with some pieces 'On the Crisis in Greece' as well), and the...
View ArticlePaul Theroux Q and A
At Reuters Nick Olivari talks with Paul Theroux about his new novel, The Lower River, in Book Talk: Former Peace Corp volunteer finds Africa changed.
View ArticleWriting in ... Sri Lanka
In the new issue of The Caravan Anjum Hasan wonders: 'How do Sri Lankan writers recreate their country in their fiction ?' in What We Talk About When We Talk About Sri Lanka. Among the...
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Mahmoud Dowlatabadi profile
I've long been telling readers that Mahmoud Dowlatabadi is an author worth seeking out, and it's great that he's been getting a bit more English-language attention. Today he gets a lot more...
View ArticleShimmer Chinodya profile
In The Herald they profile Zimbabwean author Shimmer Chinodya. He explains: My fiction seeks to explore and extend the borders of reality, to question and tease matters of identity,...
View ArticleBookselling in ... India
In The Hindu S.Anandan reports on the rapidly changing Indian retail market, speaking with Harper Collins India publisher and chief editor, V.K.Karthika, in 'Retail bookstores need to reinvent...
View ArticleCaine Prize for African Writing
They've announced that the Caine Prize for African Writing -- the leading African short story prize -- goes to 'Bombay's Republic', by Rotimi Babatunde (not yet at the official site, last I...
View ArticleThe President review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Georges Simenon's 1958 novel, The President, recently re-issued by Melville House.
View ArticlePremio Internacional Carlos Fuentes
Conaculta -- the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts -- has announced the endowment of a new prize in honor of the recently deceased Mexican great, the Premio Internacional Carlos...
View ArticleFestival of German Language Literature
The Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur -- the Festival of German Language Literature -- has started. The centerpiece is, of course, the Bachmann Preis -- where authors read their...
View ArticleManual of Painting and Calligraphy review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of José Saramago's early novel, Manual of Painting and Calligraphy, now out in a US edition.
View Article'Best of Young Brazilian Novelists'
Granta has announced their Best of Young Brazilian Novelists-list. Not exactly familiar names, but maybe we'll see some translations now .....
View ArticleAndrea Camilleri profile
In The Guardian Mark Lawson profiles Andrea Camilleri: a life in writing -- and you have to like his approach to finishing off his Montalbano-series: I finished him off five years ago. That's...
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