opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

1 - 10 December 2022

1 December: New Society of Authors translation prize | RSL International Writers | NZ Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement | Language and the Rise of the Algorithm review
2 December: Cundill History Prize | Translation Prizes shortlists | NIF Book Prize | South Asian literature
3 December: Scotland's National Book Awards shortlists | Wingate Prize longlist
4 December: Monkey imprint | The Guardian critics' best of 2022
5 December: Shehan Karunatilaka Q & A | Alexander Belyaev profile | Cahiers reviews
6 December: FT Business Book of the Year | Miquel de Palol Q & A | Al Saqi Books closing
7 December: Coming in 2023 | Nobel week
8 December: Annie Ernaux's Nobel lecture | World Literature Today's 75 Notable Translations | Joyce Carol Oates Prize longlist
9 December: Barrios Prize longlist | The White Review book recommendations | Irish Book of the Yea
10 December: Scotland's National Book Awards | (Re)introducing the classics | Antagony review

go to weblog

return to main archive

       Scotland's National Book Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's Scotland's National Book Awards, with the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award going to Slaves and Highlanders by David Alston and the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year going to Blood & Gold by Mara Menzies.

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

---

       (Re)introducing the classics

       At Publishers Weekly Sophia Stewart talks to editors about: "how to create a classic introduction" in How Publishers Make Old Books New Again.
       Among the titbits of interest:

At Everyman’s Library and Vintage Classics, introducers are given a recommended word count. At NYRB, writers are free to ask for as much space as they want, though this open-endedness can have its limits: Frank recalled one writer who “sent me a hundred-page introduction, at which I drew the line. He withdrew the introduction in a huff. A couple of days later it came in at 1,500 words.”

       Interesting to hear about this under-discussed aspect of publishing.

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

---

       Antagony review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Luis Goytisolo's epic, Antagony, just out from Dalkey Archive Press in Brendan Riley's translation.

       In 2009 there was some talk about a Goytisolo being among the finalists for that year's Nobel Prize -- not Juan but Luis. It is Juan who has the much higher international profile, but Luis is also a significant author -- though his work is much less widely translated (not just into English). Antagony is certainly his magnum opus -- and it is certainly magnum, weighing it at over 1100 densely printed pages --; this now is also one of the most significant translations of the year. But, yes, also: not easy reading.

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

       Barrios Prize longlist

       The (American) National Book Critics Circle has added a new prize to its annual awards, the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize, and they have now announced the inaugural longlist, twelve titles selected from "nearly 300 books in translation published in the United States in 2022". (Recall that the (American) National Book Award for Translated Literature only received 146 submissions for the 2022 prize, so it's great to see that much more is in the running -- even if, disappointingly, neither prize reveals which titles actually are ..... (The NBA is limited to: "works of fiction or nonfiction" and both the author and the translator must be living, while the NBCC prize is open to books in: "any genre", and to deceased authors as well as re-translations .))
       Only two of the twelve longlisted titles are under review at the complete review: Jennifer Croft's translation of Olga Tokarczuk's The Books of Jacob and Boris Dralyuk's translation of Andrey Kurkov's Grey Bees.
       (Disappointingly, I have only see one more of these titles .....)
       The winner will be announced with the other NBCC Awards, on 23 March; a shortlist will be announced before then.

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

---

       The White Review book recommendations

       Among year-end lists, The White Review's extensive one where they ask: "friends and contributors what books they've enjoyed reading and rereading" in their Books of the Year-round-up is certainly among the more interesting ones.

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

---

       Irish Book of the Year

       They announced the category winners of this year's An Post Irish Book Awards two weeks ago, and now they've announced the Irish Book of the Year, as: "decided by a distinguished panel of judges", and it is My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden.

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

       Annie Ernaux's Nobel lecture

       Annie Ernaux delivered her Nobel lecture yesterday, and you can now both watch and read it online.

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

---

       World Literature Today's 75 Notable Translations

       World Literature Today has now published its 75 Notable Translations of 2022.

       The most interesting of these is Katixa Agirre's Mothers Don't, listed in Kristin Addis' translation, out from 3TimesRebel Press; see their publicity page. This translation is from the original Basque -- but this has also been published this year by Open Letter in Katie Whittemore's translation, which is from the Spanish translation; see also their publicity page.

       A few of the titles are under review at the complete review:

• The Books of Jacob, by Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Jennifer Croft
  
  
• Getting Lost, by Annie Ernaux, tr. Alison L. Strayer
  
  
• In the Margins, by Elena Ferrante, tr. Ann Goldstein
  
  
• Island of Bewilderment, by Simin Daneshvar, tr. Patricia J. Higgins and Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi
  
  
• The Lisbon Syndrome, by Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles, tr. Paul Filev
  
  
• The Shehnai Virtuoso, by Dhumketu, tr. Jenny Bhatt
  
  
• Time Shelter, by Georgi Gospodinov, tr. Angela Rodel
  
  
• Yoga, by Emmanuel Carrère, tr. John Lambert

       (I note that The Books of Jacob also made last year's list.)

       Notable omissions from the list include, among others, Brendan Riley's translation of Luis Goytiolo's Antagony -- my review should be up shortly --, Georg Bauer 's translation of Walter Kappacher's Palace of Flies, Sam Bett and David Boyd's translation of Kawakami Mieko's All the Lovers in the Night, Philip Roughton's translation of Halldór Laxness' Salka Valka, and Michele Hutchison's translation of Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer's Grand Hotel Europa

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

---

       Joyce Carol Oates Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Joyce Carol Oates Prize, honoring: "a mid-career author of fiction in the midst of a burgeoning career", and there are ... thirty-two authors on it ......

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

       Coming in 2023

       Publishers Weekly has their Adult Books for Spring 2023 preview -- their selection of: "\the notable books of spring and summer in 14 categories".
       Hardly everything of note and interest, but a good set of starter-lists.

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

---

       Nobel week

       The ceremonies for this year's Nobel Prizes are set to start -- including with Annie Ernaux's Nobel lecture, which you'll be able to watch today live at 17:00 CET here and then also be able to read here.

       Meanwhile, it's interesting to hear that, as reported at Mirage, even in Sweden: Nobel Prize-winning literature often published by small publishing houses.
       Among the interesting titbits from the article:

The Swedish Arts Council’s literary grant has a publication limit of no more than 5000 copies and focuses on high-quality literature that would otherwise be difficult to get published.

       A print-run limit !

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

       FT Business Book of the Year

       They've announced the winner of this year's Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, and it is Chip War by Chris Miller.
       See also the Scribner publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org or Amazon.co.uk.

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

---

       Miquel de Palol Q & A

       The Untranslated has a Q & A with Miquel de Palol, whose The Garden of Seven Twilights is due out from Dalkey Archive Press next spring -- and is certainly one of the most highly-anticipated translations of the year.
       See also the Dalkey Archive publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org or Amazon.co.uk.

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

---

       Al Saqi Books closing

       Sad to hear that Al Saqi Books, "Europe's largest Middle Eastern specialist bookseller", is closing down at the end of the year, after more than four decades in business
       See also reports in The Guardian and The Bookseller, which note some of the reasons for the closing, from: "sharp increases in Arabic-language book prices" -- to the fact that:

“We used to sell many books to the EU, which is no longer feasible because of duties and such,” she continued. “Arabic libraries in the UK -- another important part of our business -- are buying far fewer books.

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

       Shehan Karunatilaka Q & A

       Another Q & A with the The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida-author, as Saurabh Sharma talks with him, in I won a literary lottery: Shehan Karunatilaka on Booker in the Deccan Herald.
       Among his responses:

And lastly, why do you write fiction ?

Good question. It’s because screenwriting can break your heart, copywriting can swallow your soul and songwriting requires finding drummers, singers, and producers. Fiction is difficult and takes time but isn’t ...

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

---

       Alexander Belyaev profile

       At Russia Beyond Alexandra Guzeva reports on Alexander Belyaev: How the pioneer of Soviet sci-fi predicted the future.
       Several of his works have been translated into English; see, for example, Lizok's Bookshelf on Mad Scientists & Talking Heads: Belyaev's Professor Dowell's Head.

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

---

       Cahiers reviews

       The most recent additions to the complete review are my reviews of two volumes from The Cahier Series:

• The Story Smuggler by Georgi Gospodinov
• To Begin at the Beginning by Javier Marías

       These are two nice complements to their fiction.

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

       Monkey imprint

       In The Japan Times Kris Kosaka reports how New Monkey imprint broadens the reach of contemporary Japanese literature, as Stone Bridge Press has partnered with the anthology-periodical Monkey: New Writing From Japan (the successor to Monkey Business) to: "create a new imprint focused on contemporary Japanese literature in translation".
       As some of you may recall, this was already announced a while back, but now the first title is (almost) ready -- Itō Hiromi's The Thorn Puller, due out shortly; see also the Stone Bridge Press publicity page (I have an ARC, and should be getting to it soon.)
       This sounds like a promising partnership, and I'm looking forward to seeing the books from the imprint.

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

---

       The Guardian critics' best of 2022

       The Guardian has their critics pick The best books of 2022 in a variety of categories; see, for example, Justine Jordan on what she considers Best fiction of 2022

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

       Scotland's National Book Awards shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for Scotland's National Book Awards, in six categories
       This is the first literary prize shortlist announcement I have seen with content-warnings regarding the shortlisted titles -- with, for example, three of the six history-finalists labeled: "Content warning: slavery" (and one: "content warning: oppression").
       The winners will be announced 8 December.

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

---

       Wingate Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for next year's Wingate Prize, "awarded to the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader".
       Two of the longlisted titles are under review at the complete review: The Memory Monster, by Yishai Sarid, and The Books of Jacob, by Olga Tokarczuk.
       The shortlist will be announced next month, and the winner in March.

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

       Cundill History Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Cundill History Prize, a US$75,000 award for a: "book that embodies historical scholarship, originality, literary quality and broad appeal", and it is the National Book Award-winning All That She Carried by Tiya Miles; see also the report at Books + Publishing.

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

---

       Translation Prizes shortlists

       The (British) Society of Authors has announced the shortlists for its Translation Prizes.

       A few of the titles are under review at the complete review:

• The John Florio Prize (for translations from the Italian)
  • Elena Pala's translation of The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi (which is also shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize)
  
  
• The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize (for translations from the Arabic)
  • Alexander E. Elinson's translation of Hot Maroc by Yassin Adnan
  
  
• The Schlegel-Tieck Prize (for translations from the German)
  • Steph Morris' translation of It All Tastes of Farewell by Brigitte Reimann
  • Damion Searls' translation of Where You Come From by Saša Stanišić
  
  
• The Scott Moncrieff Prize (for translations from the French)
  • Chris Andrews' translation of A Bookshop in Algiers (published in the US as: Our Riches) by Kaouther Adimi

       The winners will be announced 8 February.

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

---

       NIF Book Prize

       The New India Foundation has announced the winner of this year's Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, a leading Indian non-fiction prize, and it is The Chipko Movement, by Shekhar Pathak; see also the Permanent Black information page.

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

---

       South Asian literature

       In The Guardian Sana Goyal considers What does this year's double Booker win mean for south Asian literature ? (Those would be The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (which won the Booker Prize) and Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, in Daisy Rockwell's translation, which won the International Booker Prize.)
       Among the observations:

While [Kanishka] Gupta admires the scale and ambition of “India’s Booker”, the JCB prize for Literature, in India, “the only prizes that really make an impact on sales are both Bookers. None of the other UK or US prizes (unless it’s a Pulitzer won by an Indian) has any bearing,” he notes.

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

       New Society of Authors translation prize

       The (British) Society of Authors has a great slate of Translation Prizes, and they have now announced a new one, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Translation Prize, "celebrating translations into English from Japanese" -- which: "marks the first Society of Authors prize dedicated solely to translations from an Asian country".
       Great to see -- and one can hope that more awards, covering more languages, will follow.

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

---

       RSL International Writers

       The Royal Society of Literature has announced its second group of 'RSL International Writers'.
       They include The Memory Police-author Ogawa Yōko, Norma Jeane Baker of Troy-author Anne Carson, and The Informers-author Juan Gabriel Vásquez.

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

---

       NZ Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

       They've announced the Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement in New Zealand, with Stephanie Johnson being honored in the fiction category.

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

---

       Language and the Rise of the Algorithm review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Jeffrey M. Binder's Language and the Rise of the Algorithms, just out from the University of Chicago Press.

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

previous entries (21 - 30 November 2022)

archive index

- search the site -

- return to top of the page -

© 2022 the complete review


Main | the New | the Best | the Rest | Review Index | Links