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The Literary Saloon Archive

1 - 10 September 2019

1 September: Online literature readers in ... China | Literaturpreis Alpha shortlist
2 September: V. Ramaswamy profile | From the Shadows review
3 September: DETECt | Translating Central Asian literature | Prix Renaudot longlists | Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize shortlist
4 September: Booker Prize shortlist | National Translation Awards longlists | Prix Goncourt long(est)list | Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist | The Reproductive System review
5 September: JCB Prize for Literature longlist | Embargo-busting Amazon | Nada review
6 September: Kiran Nagarkar (1942-2019) | Ottaway Award | BookSpot Literatuurprijs longlists | The Chestnut Man review
7 September: Sunday Times Literary Awards | Prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne | Österreichischer Buchpreis longlist | Prix Sade shortlist
8 September: Translating Anniversaries
9 September: Enrique Vila-Matas Q & A | Welcome to America review
10 September: Prix Médicis longlists | aspekte-Literaturpreis finalists | German-Israeli Literature Days

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       Prix Médicis longlists

       They've announced the longlists for the prix Médicis, with fifteen novels in the French category, and thirteen in the foreign category; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       Always interesting to see what translated fiction is attracting notice abroad, and beside several English-language titles -- novels by Joyce Carol Oates and Regina Porter, and Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's Kintu -- they also have works by Mircea Cărtărescu, Christian Kracht, and Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, among others.
       This is another four-round prize -- i.e after this they'll announce a shortlist (30 September), shorter list (29 October), and only then the winner (8 November).

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

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       aspekte-Literaturpreis finalists

       They've announced the five finalists for this year's aspekte-Literaturpreis, a German debut-prose prize.
       They've been awarding this since 1979, and the roster of winners is quite impressive -- including Herta Müller, who won for her 1984 debut -- but the only winning title under review at the complete review is Eugen Ruge's In Times of Fading Light (2011).

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

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       German-Israeli Literature Days

       They recently held German-Israeli Literature Days (4 and 8 September), and at Deutsche Welle Sabine Peschel reports on them, and on how Authors react to growing populism at the German-Israeli lit fest

       (Updated - 11 September): See now also the Q & A with Dov Alfon and Friedrich Ani at Deutsche Welle.

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

       Enrique Vila-Matas Q & A

       At the Los Angeles Review of Books Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi has a Q & A with Enrique Vila-Matas.
       They discuss his recent Mac's Problem (published in the UK as: Mac and His Problem, because ...); there are seven other Vila-Matas titles under review at the complete review, including Because She Never Asked.

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

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       Welcome to America review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Linda Boström Knausgård's Welcome to America, just out in English from World Editions.

       This was a finalist for the leading Swedish literary prize, the Augustpriset, in 2016, when the prize went to Lina Wolff's The Polyglot Lovers; I liked that one too, but this is an even finer work.

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

       Translating Anniversaries

       Damion Searls' translation of Uwe Johnson's great novel, Anniversaries, was one of the major translation-events (and -accomplishments) of recent years.
       Though not eligible for either the Best Translated Book Award (because there was a previous -- though criminally abridged -- translation of the work) or the Man Booker International Prize (because author Johnson is dead), it was awarded the 2019 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize -- and at Words without Borders you can now read Searls' acceptance speech, Vitality Enough: Translating "Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl".

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

       Sunday Times Literary Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's (South African) Sunday Times Literary Awards, with The Theory of Flight, by Siphiwe Ndlovu, winning the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize; see, for example, the Penguin publicity page.

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

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       Prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne, awarded to the best European novel translated into French in the last year, and it is Le assaggiatrici by Rosella Postorino, published as At the Wolf's Table in the US (see the Flatiron publicity page) and forthcoming as The Women at Hitler's Table in the UK (because god forbid they'd use the same title in two English-language markets ...; see the HarperCollins publicity page). It beat out Robert Menasse's The Capital, and books by Gonçalo M. Tavares, Julian Barnes, Graham Swift, and Bernhard Schlink, among others.
       Previous winners of this prize include Antonio Tabucchi's Pereira Declares (1995), Harry Mulisch's The Discovery of Heaven (1999), Angel Wagenstein's Farewell, Shanghai (2004), and Christoph Ransmayr's Atlas of an Anxious Man.

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

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       Österreichischer Buchpreis longlist

       They've announced the ten title strong longlist for this year's Austrian Book Prize, selected from 140 titles.
       It includes books by Norbert Gstrein, Gerhard Roth, and Clemens J. Setz; the only title also longlisted for the German Book Prize is Marlene Streeruwitz's Flammenwand.
       The shortlist will be announced on 8 October, and the winner on 4 November.

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

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       Prix Sade shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's prix Sade -- noteworthy not only because Sade romancier by Dominique Dussidour didn't make the cut, but because two titles that were not on the longlist did make the shortlist (this happens with some French literary prizes), including a second Pierre Louÿs title; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       The winner will be announced 14 September.

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

       Kiran Nagarkar (1942-2019)

       Indian author Kiran Nagarkar has passed away; see, for example, the Scroll.in report, Kiran Nagarkar (1942-2019): A writer both bawdy and lyrical, both irreverent and political.
       Seven Sixes are Forty-Three is the only one of his books under review at the complete review, but by an odd coïncidence, his Cuckold is among a batch of used books I ordered online a couple of days ago; it is in the mail as I write this.

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

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       Ottaway Award

       Words without Borders have announced that their Ottaway Award -- which: "recognizes an individual whose work and activism have supported WWB's mission of promoting cultural understanding through the publication and promotion of international literature" -- will go to translator and Why Translation Matters-author Edith Grossman this year.
       She gets to pick it up at the Words Without Borders Gala on 29 October, with Daniel Hahn presenting the award.

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

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       BookSpot Literatuurprijs longlists

       The longlists for the Dutch BookSpot Literatuurprijs, awarded in both fiction and non categories, have been announced, fifteen titles each.
       Previously known as the ECI Literatuurprijs, and before that as the AKO Literatuurprijs, this remains one of the leading Dutch literary prizes, and continues to pay out €50,000 to the winners; several previous winning titles are under review at the complete review -- Marcel Möring's The Great Longing (1993), Arnon Grunberg's Phantom Pain (2000) and De asielzoeker (2004), and A.F.Th.van der Heijden's Het schervengericht (2007) --, and several others have also been translated into English.
       Admirably -- and like all prizes should -- they reveal the groslijst (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) of all the titles considered for the prize.
       The shortlists will be announced 25 September, the winners on 14 November.

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

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       The Chestnut Man review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Søren Sveistrup's thriller, The Chestnut Man, now just out in a US edition as well.

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

       JCB Prize for Literature longlist

       The Indian JCB Prize for Literature has announced its ten-title longlist -- though not very conveniently at the official site; see, instead, for example, The Wire report, Four Debutants in 2019 JCB Prize for Literature Longlist.
       Books written in six languages were considered, but only two translations made the longlist -- Manoranjan Byapari's There's Gunpowder in the Air, translated from the Bengali (by Arunava Sinha) and Perumal Murugan's Trial by Silence and Lonely Harvest, translated from the Tamil (by Aniruddhan Vasudevan) -- while: "Several "fine novels," said Krishen were let down by their poor translations"
       The shortlist will be announced on 4 October and the winner on 2 November.

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

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       Embargo-busting Amazon

       One of the fall season's most anticipated titles is Margaret Atwood's The Testaments -- her sequel to The Handmaid's Tale -- and it has an on-sale date of 10 September, with Penguin Random House imprint Nan A. Talese insisting booksellers hold back on selling it until then. One bookseller didn't -- Amazon.com, sending out a few hundred copies more than a week early -- and everyone else is ... not pleased.
       Claire Kirch reports in Publishers Weekly that Indie Booksellers Incensed as Amazon Breaks 'Testaments' Embargo, where Rachel Cass of the Harvard Bookstore sums up the problem:

"It makes us look bad," she told PW. "This is bigger than just this book. Customers will see that people who ordered online got their books. They will come into our store and see that we don't have it yet. They won't know or care about embargoes; they will just see that Amazon can supply them a book and we can't. They might not come in next time."

       The American Booksellers Association has also issued a statement.
       It will be interesting to see how Penguin Random House reacts -- but, given Amazon's market dominance, they might well think they can't afford to punish them as they would an independent bookseller. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if in future Amazon doesn't bother even with the pretense of sticking to publication dates and simply starts shipping out books as soon as they are in stock, since they have no real incentive not to.

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

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       Nada review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Jean-Patrick Manchette's Nada, just out in English from New York Review Books as they continue to bring out translations of his books.
       Claude Chabrol directed the film-version, The Nada Gang.

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

       Booker Prize shortlist

       They've announced the six-title shortlist for this year's Booker Prize:

• Ducks, Newburyport, by Lucy Ellmann
• Girl, Woman, Other , by Bernardine Evaristo
• An Orchestra of Minorities, by Chigozie Obioma
• Quichotte, by Salman Rushdie
• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, by Elif Shafak
• The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood

       The only one of these I have seen -- and have -- is Ducks, Newburyport, which does look intriguing; I don't see myself seeking out or getting to any of the others before the winner is announced on 14 October (the same day they're announcing the German Book Prize ...).

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

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       National Translation Awards longlists

       The American Literary Translators Association has announced the longlists for this year's National Translation Awards
       Amazingly, there are as many longlisted poetry titles under review at the complete review -- two: Decals by Oliverio Girondo, translated by Rachel Galvin and Harris Feinsod, and War Songs by ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād, translated by James E. Montgomery with Richard Sieburth -- as prose titles: Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson, translated by Damion Searls, and In Black and White by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, translated by Phyllis I. Lyons.
       The shortlists will be announced later this month.

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

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       Prix Goncourt long(est)list

       They've announced the première sélection -- the first of the four (rather than more usual three) rounds -- of the prix Goncourt, the leading French literary prize.
       Authors with longlisted titles who have (other) works available in English include Nathacha Appanah, Jean-Paul Dubois, Léonora Miano, Hubert Mingarelli, Amélie Nothomb, and Olivier Rolin.
       The next selection will be announced 1 October, with the finalists to be announced 27 October, and the winner on 4 November.

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

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       Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist

       They've announced the twelve-title longlist for this year's (Canadian) Scotiabank Giller Prize, selected from 117 (unfortunately not revealed ...) submitted titles.
       I haven't seen any of these.

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

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       The Reproductive System review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of John Sladek's 1968 novel, The Reproductive System.

       This is one of those fill-in-the-blanks (or rather: gaping voids) at the site titles; I recently picked up a three-book Sladek omnibus, and so I should be covering more of these; certainly of some interest (and interesting to compare the reviews of the day with his slide from much present-day view ...).

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

       DETECt

       Via I learn of DETECt -- Detecting Transcultural Identity in European Popular Crime Narratives -- which:

investigates the topics of identity and popular culture and aims to show how, from 1989 to the present, the transnational circulation of crime narratives from various European countries has contributed to the formation of a plural, shared European identity

       Could be interesting -- especially given the scope, and institutions involved. (And: it must be nice to have EU funding, sigh .....)
       They're also holding a conference soon, about: 'Producers, distributors and audiences of European crime narratives': Euronoir at Aalborg University, Denmark, 30 September to 2 October.
       I look forward to hearing more about this, as well as to seeing some of the resulting work and research.

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

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       Translating Central Asian literature

       As longtime readers know, I frequently complain about the lack of translated fiction from Central Asia -- one of the last frontiers ... (though honestly, there are so many languages from which so little is translated ... but, yes, Central Asia has been particularly poorly represented) -- so it's neat to see this Q & A by Filip Noubel at Global Voices with translator of Uzbek and Kazakh literature Shelley Fairweather-Vega who is working at Decolonising and demystifying Central Asian literature through translation.

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

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       Prix Renaudot longlists

       French prize season starts up in serious now, and the first big longlists to be announced are those of the prix Renaudot -- sixteen titles in the fiction category and nine in the non category; see the Livres Hebdo report.
       Authors in the fiction category who have had previous works translated into English include: Nathacha Appanah, Hubert Haddad, and Abdourahman A. Waberi.
       The (non-fiction) title I really want to see is Charles Dantzig's Dictionnaire égoïste de la littérature mondiale (see the Grasset publicity page); I have, and have long enjoyed, his Dictionnaire égoïste de la littérature française and so this complementary international volume -- only 1248 pages ! -- sounds like a must-have.

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

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       Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize shortlist

       At Scroll.in they report on the just-announced Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2019 shortlist: Three Indian writers, one Pakistani, one Bangladeshi, with brief descriptions of the five finalists.

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

       V. Ramaswamy profile

       In The Telegraph (India) Chandrima S. Bhattacharya profiles "probably the only Tamil person who is translating serious Bengali fiction into English" -- such as Subimal Misra's Wild Animals Prohibited --, and rotameter-maker V. Ramaswamy in 'Translation needs silencing of my mind'
       The piece closes:

"Translation is torture. Translation is a solitary and lonely enterprise," says Ramaswamy.

As is life. But both have their rewards.

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

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       From the Shadows review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Juan José Millás' From the Shadows, just out in English from Bellevue Literary Press.

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

       Online literature readers in ... China

       Xinhua reports that the Number of China's online literature readers hits 455 mln -- up: "by nearly 23 million from December 2018".
       And so:

With the advancement of procedure-based development of online literature, China has seen diversified business models for online literature, laying a sound foundation for the sector's sustainable development

       Okay .....

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

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       Literaturpreis Alpha shortlist

       The Alpha literary prize -- an Austrian book prize for promising young authors -- has announced its shortlist of nine titles, selected from 46 entries.
       This is only the tenth year they're awarding this, but it has a pretty decent track record, with two of the previous winners available in English -- both from New Vessel Press, and both under review at the complete review: Milena Michiko Flašar's I Called Him Necktie (2012) and Marjana Gaponenko's Who is Martha ? (2013).
       The winner will be announced 30 October.

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

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