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the Literary Saloon at the Complete Review
opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review


18 February 2025 - Tuesday

Geoff Nicholson (1953-2025) | Simon Mawer (1948-2025)
Perspective(s) review

       Geoff Nicholson (1953-2025)

       English author Geoff Nicholson has passed away; see, for example, Richard Lapper's obituary in The Guardian. (Apparently, he died 18 January, but this is the first I heard of it -- and the first obituary I've seen.)

       I've been a big and long-time fan, and twenty of his books are under review at the complete review -- making him one of the most-reviewed authors at the site --; his work still seems very underappreciated to me.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Simon Mawer (1948-2025)

       English author Simon Mawer has passed away; see, for example, Heloise Wood's report in The Bookseller.
       His The Fall was longlisted for the Man Booker, and The Glass Room was shortlisted.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Perspective(s) review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Laurent Binet's epistolary nove, Perspective(s) -- out in English in the UK now (albeit as Perspectives, sigh) and coming to the US in April.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



17 February 2025 - Monday

Sunday Times Young Writer Award shortlist
Czechoslovak PEN Club turns 100

       Sunday Times Young Writer Award shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award -- "given annually to the best work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by a British or Irish author of 35 or under" --; Johanna Thomas-Corr also introduces the authors in the Sunday Times.
       The winner will be announced 18 March.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Czechoslovak PEN Club turns 100

       The Czechoslovak PEN Club is celebrating its centenary; see, for example, the Radio Prague International report, From Čapek to the Present: 100 Years of the Czechoslovak PEN Club.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



16 February 2025 - Sunday

Profiles: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Anne Tyler

       Profile: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

       In The Guardian Charlotte Edwardes profiles ‘Cancel culture? We should stop it. End of story’: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on backlash, writer’s block – and her new baby twins.
       Among the observations:
Writing fiction is when she is happiest. “You should talk to my husband: he would say, ‘She becomes a different person.’ It’s like a high. I don’t do drugs, but I imagine that it is that absolute high. I’m struck by how much time passes and I don’t realise. Then when I am done – whatever it is, a character that I’ve finally got – the rest of the day is joyful floating. I’m so much fun to be around. And that is not always the case.”
       Adichie has a new novel coming out in March, Dream Count; see also the publicity pages from Knopf and 4th Estate, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Profile: Anne Tyler

       In The Guardian Lisa Allardice has a profile of the author, in ‘It seemed wrong to write about normal life after that horrendous election’: US novelist Anne Tyler.
       Interesting to hear that:
When she downsized, she didn’t keep a copy of any of her own books. “What would I do with them ?” She has them all on a Kindle, but only so she can check if she’s repeating herself.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



15 February 2025 - Saturday

Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A | The Magpie at Night review

       Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A

       In the Hindustan Times Chintan Girish Modi has a Q & A with Jenny Erpenbeck: “There is a place in the world for socialism”.
       Among her responses:
When I started writing seriously, and considering myself an author, I did not expect so much social interaction. I have learnt, over time, that half of the work is going to events, speaking at sessions, participating in discussions, and giving interviews like this one.
       Also: "Sometimes, people want to talk about your grandmother rather than your book" .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       The Magpie at Night review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Wendy Chen's new translation of The Complete Poems of Li Qingzhao (1084-1151), The Magpie at Night.

       This will be out from Farrar, Straus and Giroux shortly in the US; the UK edition, from Penguin Classics,, is only due in September.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



14 February 2025 - Friday

Swiss national literature prizes | Israel Prize for Literature

       Swiss national literature prizes

       They've announced that Sweet Days of Discipline-author Fleur Jaeggy has been awarded the Grand Prix for Swiss Literature award; they've also announced the seven winners of this year's Swiss Literature Prize.
       See also the swissinfo report.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Israel Prize for Literature

       The Ministry of Education has apparently announced that Devora Gilola will get this year's Israel Prize for Literature -- though not yet at the official site, last I checked; see, for example, the report in The Jerusalem Post.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



13 February 2025 - Thursday

Translation Prizes | Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist | Amy Tan archive
Usedomer Literaturpreis | Saara review

       Translation Prizes

       The Society of Authors has announced the winners of their eight translation prizes.
       The only winner under review at the complete review is of the Premio Valle Inclán, awarded to Chris Andrews, Edith Grossman, and Alastair Reid for their translation of Álvaro Mutis' Maqroll's Prayer and Other Poems

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Women's Prize for Non-Fiction -- sixteen titles.
       I haven't seen any of these.
       The shortlist will be announced 26 March, and the winner on 12 June.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Amy Tan archive

       The Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan's archive has been acquired by The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; see, for example, Dan Vaccaro's UC Berkeley News report, Amy Tan archive lands at UC Berkeley, offering a bird's-eye view of a singular literary life.
       No word on how much they paid (sigh), but it amounts to 62 boxes, which include:
Tan’s personal journals spanning several decades, correspondence with other writers and historical family photographs. There is also a substantive amount of unpublished and never-before-seen writing, including works she created during childhood.
       In The New York Times Jennifer Schuessler also reports on the purchase, in Why Amy Tan Decided Not to Shred Her Archive (presumably paywalled) -- noting that:
Until recently, she had left written instructions for everything except photographs to be shredded after her death, lest she be subjected to the posthumous ordeal of scholars “going through the equivalent of my underwear drawer.”
       But:
So why the change of heart ? In a recent telephone conversation, Tan listed acceptance of “posterity,” coaxing by her longtime editor, and, well, the need to clear out space in her garage.
       The dollar-signs maybe also helped ?

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Usedomer Literaturpreis

       The Usedomer Literaturpreis only pays out €5,000 but has an impressive list of winners, including Olga Tokarczuk (2012), Ilija Trojanow (2018), Jenny Erpenbeck (2019), Georgi Gospodinow (2021), Tanja Maljartschuk (2022), and Sofi Oksanen (2023) -- and they've now announced this year's winner -- though not at the official site, where they seem to be years behind the times -- and it is Szczepan Twardoch; see, for example, the NDR report.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Saara review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Mbarek Ould Beyrouk's Saara, the latest in the Dedalus Africa-series, which is coming along very nicely.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



12 February 2025 - Wednesday

Prix Jean Monnet | Salomé first editions

       Prix Jean Monnet

       They've announced the longlist for this year's prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne -- though unfortunately not in very easily accessible form at the official site, so see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       Among the eight finalists are works by Alessandro Baricco, Mircea Cărtărescu, Andreï Makine, Pascal Quignard, and Josef Winkler.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Salomé first editions

       At Christie's in London they are auctioning Barry Humphries: The Personal Collection tomorrow -- and among the items are two first editions of Oscar Wilde's Salomé -- the French original (1893) -- Lot 148, previously owned by Lord Alfred Douglas and Gertrud Eysoldt, among others (estimate: GBP 40,000-60,000), and Lot 149, inscribed by Wilde to Léon Daudet (estimate: GBP 20,000-30,000).
       Looks pretty good:

Salome; first edition

       My Salome in Graz of course deals extensively with the play, in this and many of its later editions and translations ..... (If you buy direct from Lulu -- here -- the promotional code VALENTINE15 at checkout gets you 15% off through 14 February.)

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



11 February 2025 - Tuesday

Amitav Ghosh Q & A

       Amitav Ghosh Q & A

       In The Indian Express Cherry Gupta has a Q & A with the The Glass Palace-author, in Amitav Ghosh on the Salman Rushdie attack: ‘Horrified yet awed by his resilience; we’ve forgotten our shared humanity’.
       Among his responses:
The lines between fiction, non-fiction, and poetry are becoming increasingly blurred, and I believe this is a healthy development. In my work, I often find myself blending different genres, drawing on elements of history, memoirs, and even travel writing. These hybrid forms allow for greater flexibility, greater freedom to explore different modes of expression, and engagement with the world in more nuanced and multifaceted ways.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



10 February 2025 - Monday

Tom Robbins (1932-2025) | First Love review

       Tom Robbins (1932-2025)

       Popular American author Tom Robbins has passed away; see, for example, the obituaries in The Los Angeles Times and at npr.
       Somewhat surprisingly, I haven't read any of his books.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       First Love review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Shimamoto Rio's Naoki Prize-winning novel, First Love, now in English, from Honford Star.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



9 February 2025 - Sunday

'Chinese contemporary literature in the Portuguese-speaking world'
Michael Dirda Q & A | Sunderland Lit and Phil Society

       'Chinese contemporary literature in the Portuguese-speaking world'

       In Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Xin Huang and Xiang Zhang report on Translating culture: the rise and resonance of Chinese contemporary literature in the Portuguese-speaking world, based on a total of 274 Chinese literary works translated into Portuguese between 1979 and 2024 -- of which: "nearly half consists of translations of classical Chinese antiquity".
       Also:
84 contemporary Chinese novels have found their way into Portuguese translation including 43 by Chinese mainland authors such as Liu Cixin, Su Tong, Yan Lianke, Mai Jia, Yu Hua, and Chen Zhongshi. Some works have multiple versions, showing the evolving landscape of Chinese literature in the Portuguese-speaking world.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Michael Dirda Q & A

       At The Washington Post John Williams has a Q & A as Post critic Michael Dirda turns a page, as Dirda: "has decided to step away from his weekly cadence of reviewing".
       Among his observations:
W.H. Auden convinced me that writing snarky negative reviews -- which, by the way, is dead easy -- was bad for one’s character, so I’ve tried to avoid doing so as much as possible.
       And while I'm intrigued by the project that he describes as:
I’m trying to rework a long manuscript — currently 200,000 words — that is tentatively titled “The Great Age of Storytelling.” It focuses on popular fiction in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
       what I'm really looking forward to is: "a memoir about working at The Post".

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Sunderland Lit and Phil Society

       As reported at, for example, the BBC Literary society relaunches after 150 years.
       Apparently:
The original Lit and Phil Society closed its doors in 1873 after investing in the Athenaeum on Fawcett Street.

"Unfortunately, they bankrupted themselves," Ms Langley said.

"But the ideas lived on."
       Ah, yes.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



8 February 2025 - Saturday

John Dos Passos Prize | Uketsu profile

       John Dos Passos Prize

       Longwood University has announced the winner of the John Dos Passos Prize -- awarded to: "a writer whose work offers incisive, original commentary on American themes, experiments with form and encompasses a range of human experiences" -- and it is Angie Cruz.
       None of her work is under review at the complete review.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Uketsu profile

       Thu-Huong Ha profiles the Strange Pictures-author in the The Japan Times , in 'Uketsu': The internet phantom haunting Japan's bestseller lists (possibly paywalled ?) .
       Among the observations:
Uketsu believes that a key to his success is that his readers skew young, as young as children and teenagers, and he prides himself on hearing that for many readers, his novels are the first they’ve ever read.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



7 February 2025 - Friday

Taiwan literature abroad | Geetanjali Shree Q & A

       Taiwan literature abroad

       In New Lines Magazine James Baron finds Taiwan's Literature is Having a Moment in Central and Eastern Europe -- suggesting that the: 'Publication of contemporary fiction in Slavic languages is a sign of growing political support for Taipei'.
       See also the sites of publishers Mi:Lu -- 'a publisher of translated literature from Taiwan' -- and Safran -- 'an oriental publishing house, the first of its kind in Ukraine'.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Geetanjali Shree Q & A

       At CNBC TV18 Sneha Bengani has a Q & A with Geetanjali Shree: 'Not just my writing, all literature is about protest'.
       Among her responses:
How can we revive Hindi, especially among the urban youth ?

You can't force a language down people's throats. If it comes as a state policy or just as a compulsory subject to be taught in schools, it is not going to work. It has to become a very natural, spontaneous part of our daily life

[...]

For the common people, we need to find ways to start enjoying the language more and make it a part of our daily life. But unfortunately, in our everyday lives, people like you and me use Hindi only when we talk to the shopkeepers, vegetable sellers, and gardeners. We speak it only in utilitarian conversations. That is not going to do great things for the language.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



6 February 2025 - Thursday

Com Lit 2BW | Kate Atkinson profile

       Com Lit 2BW

       In LAist Julia Barajas wites about how Instead of banning AI, this UCLA literature class embraces it -- writing about COM LIT 2BW: Survey of Literature: Middle Ages to 17th Century.
       Elizabeth Landers notes that it's not all AI: "Everything has been guided by humans, checked by humans, imagined by humans".
       Meanwhile one student apparently: "appreciates an AI feature that turns sections of the Comp Lit 2BW textbook into podcasts".

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Kate Atkinson profile

       At El País Rafa de Miguel profiles Kate Atkinson, the unclassifiable bestseller: From crime fiction to the magical world of Yorkshire.

       The only Atkinson title under review at the complete review is Case Histories.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



5 February 2025 - Wednesday

PEN Translates grants | Near Distance review

       PEN Translates grants

       English PEN has announced the latest batch of winners of its PEN Translates grants -- 19 titles, translated from 13 languages.
       Among the projects is a new translation of Yasutaka Tsutsui's Paprika.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Near Distance review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Hanna Stoltenberg's Near Distance, now also out in a North American edition, from Biblioasis; it came out in the UK in 2023.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



4 February 2025 - Tuesday

Oskar Pastior Preis | Hilary Mantel estate | Mahmoud Saeed (1939?-2025)

       Oskar Pastior Preis

       The Oskar Pastior Prize is a big-money (€40,000) but perhaps not so well-endowed literary prize, by the o du roher iasmin-author, awarded to an author whose work is 'in the tradition of the Wiener Gruppe, the Bielefelder Colloquium Neue Poesie, and the Oulipo'.
       Pastior had hoped for it to be awarded every two years, but the cash hasn't been there so so far they've only managed to award it in 2010 (to Oswald Egger), 2024 (Marcel Beyer), 2016 (Anselm Glück), and now, finally, again -- to Dagmara Kraus; see, for example, the Börsenblatt report.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Hilary Mantel estate

       Apparently they're settling Hilary Mantel's estate, and so the numbers are out: she left it all to her husband, "having amassed a fortune of £4,677,327, which later reduced to a net sum of £4,182,353."; see, for example, the Daily Mail report.
       Not bad for an author.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Mahmoud Saeed (1939?-2025)

       Iraqi author Mahmoud Saeed has passed away; see, for example, the Iraqi News Agency report or Thomas Frisbie's obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times.
       Several of his works have been translated into English, including Saddam City (see the Saqi publicity page) and The World Through the Eyes of Angels (see the Syracuse University Press publicity page).

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



3 February 2025 - Monday

Bhashavaad | Salome in Brooklyn

       Bhashavaad

       Ashoka University has announced the launch of "India’s first non-profit, open-access, and crowd-sourced database of Indian translations", Bhashavaad -- already with more than 14,000 entries.
       Certainly, a useful resource.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Salome in Brooklyn

       Having written the novel Salome in Graz I'm always curious about new Salome-variations, especially of the Wilde play and the Strauss opera, and tomorrow through 16 February Heartbeat Opera is putting on a new production, in a: "10-instrument orchestration by Dan Schlosberg" -- a lot smaller orchestra than Strauss had.
       Apparently theirs is a: "radical take on an iconic work" -- where: " it's not just about the severed heads but about the desires and cages that define us all". Not sure what the protagonists of my novel would make of that .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



2 February 2025 - Sunday

Han Kang profile | The Lily in the Valley review

       Han Kang profile

       Nobel laureate Han Kang has a new novel out -- We Do Not Part; I haven't seen it yet -- and at The Guardian Lisa Allardice has a profile of her, ‘I want to be hopeful’: Nobel prize-winning novelist Han Kang on the crisis in South Korea.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       The Lily in the Valley review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Honoré de Balzac's The Lily in the Valley, recently out in a new translation from New York Review Books.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



1 February 2025 - Saturday

Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A | Book markets 2024: UK - Austria

       Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A

       In The Indian Express Aishwarya Khosla has a Q & A with the author at the Jaipur Literature Festival, in ‘All already in the Mahabharata’: Booker Prize winner Jenny Erpenbeck on war and human struggles.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Book market 2024: UK

       The Bookseller has a couple of (presumably paywalled ?) 'Reviews of the Year' (2024), including for fiction sales and non-fiction sales in the UK in 2024.
       Non-fiction sales (as counted by BookScan) were down 6.3% by volume and 4.9% by value. Meanwhile, fiction sales were up 6.2% by volume and 9.8% by value.
       Of the top fourteen fiction categories twelve saw increases, with declines only in the categories: 'Graphic Novels: General' and 'War Fiction'. Meanwhile, 'Science Fiction and Fantasy' was up 41.35 -- a "TikTok/romantasy-aided" leap, apparently.
       I was surprised to see that the top non-fiction category was 'Food and Drink: General' -- generating almost twice as much cash as the also surprising runner-up, 'Travel and Holiday Guides: General'.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Book market 2024: Austria

       The Hauptverband des Österreichischen Buchhandels has issued an overview (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) of the Austrian book market in 2024 -- albeit avoiding revealing a lot of the actual numbers.
       They do reveal that sales were up 3.1%, with turnover up 4.75.
       'Belletristik' -- basically, trade fiction -- turnover was up 9.7%.
       The Austrian market did better than the Swiss (1.3% more books sold) and German (1.7% fewer sales -- though turnover was up .8%, thanks to higher prices).
       The average price for a book was €16.27 -- up 1.5%, which was considerably less than the rate of inflation.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



31 January 2025 - Friday

Sapir Prize | Republic of Consciousness longlist | Susan Barker Q & As

       Sapir Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Sapir Prize, a leading Israeli book prize paying out NIS 150,000, and it is שלושה ימים בקיץ by Yossi Avni-Levy; see, for example, Neria Barr's report in The Jerusalem Post, Yossi Avni-Levy wins Sapir Prize for Literature.
       See also the Kinneret Zmora Dvir publicity page for the book.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Republic of Consciousness longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses (the original UK/Ireland prize; there's also a US/Canada version now).
       Certainly an interesting selection -- though I haven't seen any of these.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Susan Barker Q & As

       Susan Barker's Old Soul is now out -- and there are now Q & As with the author at CrimeReads and Writer's Digest.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



30 January 2025 - Thursday

Ockham NZ Book Awards longlists | “Human Authored” certification
'Audio-based digital narratives in literature' | Sarah McNally profile

       Ockham NZ Book Awards longlists

       They've announced the longlists for this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, 43 books in four categories, selected from 175 entries.
       Three of the categories have ten titles each on their longlists, but: "General Non-Fiction judges have longlisted 13 titles, a discretionary allowance that reflects the greater number of entries and range of genres in this category".
       The shortlists will be announced on 5 March, and the winners on 14 May.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       “Human Authored” certification

       The (American) Authors Guild has announced, sigh, that: Authors Guild Launches “Human Authored” Certification to Preserve Authenticity in Literature -- "a first-of-its-kind official certification system that writers and publishers will be able to use in their books and in marketing to indicate if the text of a book was human-written".
       Yes:
The Human Authored logo and name will be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office and supported by a registration system that will create a verifiable chain of trust between author and reader through a public database where anyone can verify a book’s human origins.
       Yes, this is what it's come to .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       'Audio-based digital narratives in literature'

       In Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Bhuvaneshwari Palanisamy & Rajasekaran V offer The listening renaissance: a theoretical exploration of audio-based digital narratives in literature -- arguing that:
The rise of audio-based digital narratives represents not just a shift in how individuals listen to stories, but a fundamental reimagining of what literature can be and how it can function in society.
       I'm afraid my own literary consumption remains entirely text-based, but, hey, maybe there's something to this.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Sarah McNally profile

       At Vulture Matthew Schneier profiles the McNally Jackson-founder, in Sarah McNally's Book Club.
       Among the titbits of interest: numbers ! "The McNally Editions imprint, despite the positive press, made a mere $10,000 last year".

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



29 January 2025 - Wednesday

Q & As: Bonnie Marranca - Rohan Murty

       Q & A: Bonnie Marranca

       Disappointing to hear that PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art has finished its run after forty-eight years -- and at The MIT Press Nick Lindsay has a Q & A with its longtime editor, in Saying farewell to PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art with editor Bonnie Marranca.
       It was an impressive journal -- just check out the Plays/Performance Texts Published in PAJ 1976-2024.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Q & A: Rohan Murty

       In the New Indian Express Vidya Iyengar has a Q & A with Rohan Murty, founder of the Murty Classical Library of India, in My mother instilled a deep respect for history, Literature: Rohan Murty.
       Good to hear also that: "We aim to expand into additional eastern-Indian languages, such as Odia, Bengali, and Assamese, among others".
       Several Murty titles are under review at the complete review -- and I will certainly be getting to more.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



28 January 2025 - Tuesday

Libris Literatuur Prijs longlist | Volker Schlöndorff (wants) to film Visitation
Premio Pepe Carvalho | Uketsu profile

       Libris Literatuur Prijs longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Libris Literatuur Prijs, a leading Dutch literary prize.
       This prize admirably reveals all the titles submitted for consideration -- as all literary prizes should.
       The shortlist will be announced 10 March, and the winner on 19 May.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Volker Schlöndorff (wants) to film Visitation

       Börsenblatt reports -- via a Märkische Allgemeine report that's unfortunately paywalled -- that German film director Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum, The Handmaid's Tale, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, etc.) has plans to film Jenny Erpenbeck's Visitation.
       Filming is to begin in August -- if the financing works out .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Premio Pepe Carvalho

       They've announced the winner of this year's Premio Pepe Carvalho -- a mystery author prize named after the Manuel Vázquez Montalbán-character, and it is Dead Man's Share-author Yasmina Khadra.
       The prize has a very solid list of winners, ranging from Jo Nesbø last year and Leonardo Padura in 2023 to P.D.James in 2008 and Henning Mankel in 2007.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       Uketsu profile

       Uketsu's Strange Pictures is now out in English, and in The Guardian Ella Creamer profiles the author, in ‘Am I a Cyclopian monster?’ How masked writer Uketsu went from asparagus videos to literary sensation.
       Yes, apparently Uketsu:
first gained fame posting surreal videos on YouTube: clips of asparagus that turns into fingers when chopped; strips of meat pegged out on a washing line; eight ears spinning on a wheel.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



27 January 2025 - Monday

Zadie Smith Q & A | 'Best new novelists' ?

       Zadie Smith Q & A

       In the Sunday Times they have a Q & A with the author, in Zadie Smith on White Teeth: ‘I’ve never reread it. I never will’.
       Among her responses:
As a reader I’m a great admirer of philosophical fiction, novels of ideas, science fictions, avant-garde novels concerned with language. But as a writer my business is human beings in their everyday mode.
(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



       'Best new novelists' ?

       At The Observer they have a feature on what they consider The best new novelists for 2025 -- though limited to writers living in the UK or Ireland.
       They include Q & As with the authors, so of some interest.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -



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