opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 October 2021

11 October: Seoul International Writers' Festival | Ahab (Sequels) review
12 October: Feminism in Urdu literature | Lemon review
13 October: Abdulrazak Gurnah reactions | Leo-Perutz-Preis | Be as Children review
14 October: K-Lit in Japan | Sally Rooney (not) in Israel
15 October: Shortlists: GGs - Österreichischer Buchpreis - T.S.Eliot Prize | Chi Ta-wei Q & A
16 October: Premio Planeta | Gordon Burn Prize | The Daughter of Time review
17 October: (American) National Translation Awards | Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist | Dictionary collections | Mita Kapur Q & As
18 October: Premio Strega Europeo | Translation credit
19 October: German Book Prize | Everything and Less review
20 October: Albertine Prize shortlist | The Believer shutting down | Grand Prix de Littérature américaine | Ex Libris review

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       Albertine Prize shortlist

       The great NYC French bookstore Albertine has an annual prize, recognizing: "American readers' favorite French-language fiction title that has been translated recently into English", the Albertine Prize, and they've now announced the five-title shortlist.
       Only 'Albertine Members' will be able to vote for the winner; I've seen two of the titles but haven't reviewed any of them.

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

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       The Believer shutting down

       The Believer was founded in 2003, and just four years ago moved to Las Vegas, becoming part of UNLV's Black Mountain Institute -- but BMI has now decided they've had enough of it and are shutting it down. Apparently, finding: "The Believer consumed a significant proportion of BMI's resources", they've decided enough was enough and they are pulling the plug in the spring.
       See also, for example, Dorany Pineda's report in The Los Angeles Times, The Black Mountain Institute will cease publishing venerable Believer literary magazine.
       Sad news. It will certainly be missed.

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

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       Grand Prix de Littérature américaine

       The French prize for best American novel, the Grand Prix de Littérature américaine, has announced its three finalists; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       The winner will be announced 8 November.

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

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       Ex Libris review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Matt Madden's new book, Ex Libris.

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

       German Book Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's German Book Prize, and it is Blaue Frau, by Antje Rávik Strubel; see also the S.Fischer foreign rights page.

       The only one of her works translated into English appears to be Snowed Under; see the Red Hen Press publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
       The only of her books under review at the complete review is Tupolew 134.

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

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       Everything and Less review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Mark McGurl on The Novel in the Age of Amazon, in Everything and Less, just out -- today -- from Verso.

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

       Premio Strega Europeo

       They've announced the winner of this year's Premio Strega Europeo, an Italian prize for a work in translation, and it is the Italian translation of Georgi Gospodinov's Времеубежище.
       This is coming out as Time Shelter in English next spring, from Liveright in the US and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK; pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

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

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       Translation credit

       At Publishers Weekly Sophia Stewart picks up the story of how Translators Fight for Credit on Their Own Book Covers, reporting on the #TranslatorsOnTheCover open letter calling on: "every writer to ask their publishers for cover credits for the people who translate their work".
       As Stewart notes:

Of the 368 English-language translations of fiction and poetry published in 2021 that are in the Translation Database hosted by PW, only 162, or 44%, credited translators on their front covers, while 206 did not.

       Interesting to read the different reactions -- including:

One small press publisher of literary translations, who spoke with PW on the condition of anonymity, took issue not with crediting translators but with the #TranslatorsOnTheCover campaign itself. “I think the issue is more complicated,” the publisher said, “and that the campaign is conflating not being on the front cover with not being recognized at all,’ which I think is kind of disingenuous. I think translators’ names should be on the cover -- just not always on the front.” The publisher feels there “are better ways to highlight and support the translators” by focusing on issues like royalties, rights, and pay -- as echoed in the Authors Guild’s statement—rather than using cover credits as “the centerpiece of some sort of PR campaign.”

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

       (American) National Translation Awards

       The American Literary Translators Association has announced the winners of this year's National Translation Awards.
       The winner of the prose award is Tejaswini Niranjana's translation (from the Kannada) of Jayant Kaikini's story-collection, No Presents Please -- published by Tilted Axis Press in the UK and Catapult in the US; get your copy at Amazon.com. (I haven't seen this one.)
       The winner of the poetry award is Geoffrey Brock's translation of Giuseppe Ungaretti's Allegria.
       They also announced the winner of this year's Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, Archana Venkatesan's translation (from the Tamil) of Nammāḻvār's Endless Song -- a book I'd really love to see but which hasn't been published in the US yet; see the Penguin Random House India publicity page.

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

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       Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction -- a £50,000 prize.

       I can't help but note that this sounds like a rather dark-mysterious list, the subtitles and title of these works including:

• 'the End of History'
• 'Life in the Post-Human Landscape'
• 'Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich'
• 'The Mystery'
• 'The Secret History'
• 'Things I Have Withheld'

       The winner will be announced 16 November.

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

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       Dictionary collections

       Yesterday was apparently "National Dictionary Day" in the US, and: "In celebration, the Lilly Library announces the establishment of the Merriam-Webster Archive, as well as the acquisition of the complete Madeline Kripke Dictionary Collection, of which the archive is a part", as Michelle Crowe reports in IU is America's Dictionary Destination.
       Kripke's: "stockpile of more than 20,000 linguistic books and ephemera was often referred to as the world’s largest and finest dictionary collection"; so far, they've inventoried about a third of it.
       Very impressive !

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

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       Mita Kapur Q & As

       In the Hindustan Times Simar Bhasin has an Interview: Mita Kapur, Literary Director, JCB Prize for Literature - “I want to make the JCB Prize a true representation of what India reads”, while last week in The Hindu Anusua Mukherjee also had a Q & A with her, Art will always rise up to face adversity and succeed’: Mita Kapur.

       The winner of this year's JCB Prize for Literature is to be announced on 13 November.

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

       Premio Planeta

       They announced the winner of this year's Premio Planeta de Novela last night, but earlier in the day they already dropped a bombshell about this prize which has long been by far the richest single-book-prize going: while they've paid out €601,000 to the winner in recent years, they've now topped-up the prize money, with the winner from now on getting a cool million. Very cool -- at yesterday's exchange rate that's about US$1,160,000 (or about 116 times what an American National Book Award winner-gets, or 77 times what a Pulitzer Prize-winner collects), and, at least this year, that's more than the Nobel Prize pays out. (The euro/dollar value of the krona-denominated Nobel varies year to year, depending on the exchange rate.) See, for example, the El Mundo report.

       Manuscripts for the prize are often submitted under pseudonyms -- among this year's finalists, pseudonyms included: 'Yuri Zhivago' and 'El Arlequinado' -- and this was also the case for the winning title, submitted as Ciudad de fuego by 'Sergio López'. It turns out there's a well-known name behind Sergio López -- Carmen Mola, who has published several popular books in Spanish (none of which appear to have been translated into English yet); see, for example the Hanska agency information page, or 'her' official site. But ... 'Carmen Mola' is, itself, a pseudonym ! And the three -- yes, three -- authors behind the name revealed themselves for the first time with the Premio Planeta win: Jorge Díaz, Antonio Mercero, and Agustín Martínez. So they'll have to divide the (record) prize money by three .....
       Not only was the name they submitted the manuscript under fake, so was the title: it will be published as La bestia.
       See also, for example, the EFE report, El Planeta del millón de euros acaba con el secreto de Carmen Mola.

       The winner was selected from 654 entries, including 13 from the US, 2 from Israel, 1 from Romania, and 389 from Spain. There was only 1 entry from Cuba, but 39 from Mexico, 41 from Argentina, and 18 from Colombia.

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

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       Gordon Burn Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Gordon Burn Prize -- which celebrates: "those who follow in Gordon Burn's footsteps by recognising literature that is fearless in both ambition and execution" --, and it is the essay-collection A Little Devil in America, by Hanif Abdurraqib.

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

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       The Daughter of Time review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Josephine Tey's classic mystery, The Daughter of Time.

       This regularly features high on 'top mysteries of all times'-lists -- including the top spot on the 1990 Crime Writers' Association list of the top 100 crime novels of all time.

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

       Shortlists: GGs

       The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the shortlists for this year's Governor General's Literary Awards, one of the leading Canadian literary prizes.
       There are fourteen categories, seven each in English and French.
       The winners will be announced on 17 November -- the same day as the American National Book Awards ceremony .....

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

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       Shortlist: Österreichischer Buchpreis

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Austrian Book Prize -- and one of the five titles is already under review at the complete review: Raphaela Edelbauer's Dave.
       The winner will be announced 8 November.

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

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       Shortlist: T.S.Eliot Prize

       They've announced the (not-so-)shortlist for this year's T.S.Eliot Prize, a leading poetry prize, ten titles selected from 177 submissions.
       The winner will be announced 10 January 2022.

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

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       Chi Ta-wei Q & A

       At The Paris Reviews's The Daily Chris Littlewood has Never Prosthetic: An Interview with Chi Ta-wei.

       See also my review of Chi Ta-wei's excellent novel, The Membranes.

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

       K-Lit in Japan

       In the United States, (South) Korean literature hasn't achieved the popularity of K-pop or Korean movies and TV shows -- Squid Game etc. -- yet, but it definitely has taken off quite a bit over the past decade or so. Closer to home now, Kawakatsu Miki reports at nippon.com After K-Pop, K-Lit ? Why Young Korean Writers Are Creating a Stir in Japanese Publishing.

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

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       Sally Rooney (not) in Israel

       I had not thought that Sally Rooney (or any author) could possibly get more (over-heated) press coverage, good and bad, than she recently has after the publication of her new, very bestselling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, but oh how wrong I was .....
       As you've no doubt heard, Rooney has, as she puts it: "for the moment, chosen not to sell these translation rights [for Beautiful World, Where Are You] to an Israeli-based publishing house"; you can find her full statement here, for example.
       This has ... elicited reactions.
       No way am I weighing in on this, thank you very much, but I am impressed by how quickly everyone seems to have formed an opinion (and, in most cases, published it), and obviously it's a 'big' story; if you do want to wade in, here are some links:
       [Note: links are not to be considered endorsements of the opinions or the framing of the facts and/or arguments in these pieces. I've collected what I could find and thought might be of interest; I'm sure I've missed many insightful takes and the fact that that (or your) perceptive piece/take is not linked to should be considered an oversight, or attributed to hitting paywalls, or simply my laziness or carelessness; any and all snubs are not intentional.]

• Sally Rooney turns down an Israeli translation on political grounds by Lucy Knight in The Guardian
  
  
• The Sally Rooney Hebrew row -- explained by Emily Tamkin in the New Statesman
  
  
• The Sally Rooney Translation Boycott, Explained by Claire Lampen at The Cut
  
  
• Everything you need to know about the Sally Rooney/Israel controversy. by Walker Caplan at The Literary Hub
  
  
• Sally Rooney Won't Let Israel-Based Publisher Translate Her Latest Book by Justin Curto at Vulture
  
  
• How to have a conversation with friends about the Sally Rooney translation boycott by Karl Quinn in The Age
  
  
• The Sally Rooney boycott brouhaha is right out of a Sally Rooney novel by Talya Zax in Forward
  
  
• I fought South African Apartheid and the Israeli occupation. Sally Rooney's decision is wrong by Todd Gitlin in Forward
  
  
• 'A hypocrite': Israelis in publishing say Sally Rooney is turning her back on Hebrew readers by Michele Chabin in Forward
  
  
• 'What she's doing is anti-translation.' Why Israeli translators are upset about Rooney's boycott. by PJ Grisar in Forward
  
  
• Sally Rooney's empty Israel boycott by Sam Leith at UnHerd
  
  
• Sally Rooney and cultural boycotts by Alexander Larman in The Critic
  
  
• Sally Rooney's Israel boycott distressed me. I take solace in knowing that a Jewish reader schooled Charles Dickens on antisemitism. by Erika Dreifus at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
  
  
• Sally Rooney's Israel boycott over publication of her new book will only backfire by Evan Fallenberg at NBC
  
  
• Woke posturing by Sally Rooney on Israeli publisher ban by Niall O'Dowd at IrishCentral
  
  
• Sally Rooney's novels don't deserve to be translated into Hebrew by Julie Burchill in The Spectator
  
  
• Sally Rooney and the bigotry of the BDS movement by Brendan O'Neill at spiked
  
  
• We Need to Talk About Sally Rooney. Or Do We ? by Flora Moreau in The University Times
  
  
• Sally Rooney Is Right to Boycott Israel by Daniel Finn at Jacobin

       And for some laughs (okay, yes, I do presume to judge at least this piece ...), check out Harriet Johnston's *thorough* spin on/take-down of Rooney in the Daily Mail with the breathless and very, very long headline, Normal Marxists ! How Sally Rooney loaded bestselling books with communist ideas -- from saying the 'world's beauty died with the fall of the Soviet Union' to money being a 'social construct'.
       Shocking !

       About any and all of this: no e-mails, please; thank you.

       Oh, yes, also: I haven't read or reviewed (or indeed seen) any Sally Rooney titles (or TV-miniseries adaptations), but if you're interested in Beautiful World, Where Are You, see the official site, or the publicity pages at Faber and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. (It's also been widely -- to say the least -- reviewed.)

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

       Abdulrazak Gurnah reactions

       Last week, they announced that Abdulrazak Gurnah will get this year's Nobel Prize in Literature -- see also my mention -- and there have been a fair number of reactions now. Some of interest include:

• At Brittle Paper Ainehi Edoro collects: 103 African Writers Respond to Abdulrazak Gurnah's Nobel Prize Win
  
  
• At Africa is a Country Bhakti Shringarpure writes But, first we'll take this W -- noting, among much else, that: "The truth is crystal clear: US publishing is truly hostile to African literature"; see also her piece at Scroll.in (with some overlap), Why Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah's Nobel Prize for Literature is important
  
  
• At Africa is a Country Nicole Rizzuto writes about Abdulrazak Gurnah's skepticisms
  
  
• At The New Yorker Kristen Roupenian considers The Impact of Abdulrazak Gurnah's Nobel Prize

       See now also David Shariatmadari's profile in The Guardian, ‘I could do with more readers!’ – Abdulrazak Gurnah on winning the Nobel prize for literature.

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

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       Leo-Perutz-Preis

       The Leo Perutz Prize is a prize for the best Viennese mystery -- named after the great Leo Perutz; see, for example, the Pushkin Press editions -- and they've now announced this year's winner: Alle kleinen Tiere, by Anne Goldmann; see also the Argumente publicity page.

       This is a nice little local prize -- and one of the previous winners, by Alex Beer, has been translated into English; see the Eruopa Editions publicity page -- but what struck me is that it is funded: "mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Bestattung Wien". That's the municipal undertaker -- as in funerary service provider. Friendly support indeed .....

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

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       Be as Children review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Vladimir Sharov's Be as Children, just out from Dedalus Books.

       Great to see Dedalus continuing to bring out his work -- here's hoping that Царство Агамемнона ('The Kingdom of Agamemnon') is next.

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

       Feminism in Urdu literature

       In The Express Tribune's T-Magazine Shazia Tasneem has a Q & A: "about feminism in Urdu literature with poet Dr Nuzhat Abbasi", in The 'F' factor in Urdu literature.

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

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       Lemon review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Kwon Yeo-sun's Lemon, out from Other Press in the US and Head of Zeus in the UK.

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

       Seoul International Writers' Festival

       This year's Seoul International Writers' Festival, with a theme of 'Awakening', opened on Friday and runs through the 24th; there's a solid list of participants. Apparently, it is a hybrid online/in-person event this year.
       See also previews in The Korea Herald (Seoul International Writers' Festival to shed light on literature's role in post-pandemic era, by Kim Hae-yeo) and The Korea Times (Seoul Int'l Writers' Festival to kick off next week, by Park Han-sol.)

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

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       Ahab (Sequels) review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Pierre Senges' Melville-variation-novel, Ahab (Sequels), coming from Contra Mundum Press.

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

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