opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

1 - 10 March 2024

1 March: Preise der Leipziger Buchmesse | EUPL finalists
2 March: Prix Émile Guimet | Prix du livre court | Salome in Graz FAQ
3 March: GSP Rao Translation Award shortlist | Japanese short story unveiling
4 March: Guyana Prize for Literature | Helen Oyeyemi Q & A | The Bell review
5 March: Edwin Frank Q & A | Ludwig-Börne-Preis | Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist | Stella Prize longlist | Salome in Graz - the cover
6 March: Murty Classical Library of India | *New* Gabriel García Márquez novel | Shortlists: Ockham NZ Book Awards - Republic of Consciousness Prize | Women's Prize for Fiction longlist
7 March: Lionel Gelber Prize | Hindi Literature | New On the Seawall | The Lost Steps review
8 March: Gordon Burn Prize | Sheikh Zayed Book Award shortlists
9 March: La collection Perec 53 | Carol Shields Prize longlist | The Book Censor's Library review
10 March: Henry Chakava (1946-2024)

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       Henry Chakava (1946-2024)

       As Godwin Siundu reports in Nation Henry Chakava's death marks the end of an era in Kenya's literary publishing.

       See also James Currey's publishing-chronicle Africa Writes Back.

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

       La collection Perec 53

       What a great idea ! Inspired by Georges Perec's (unfinished) "53 Days" French publisher L'œil ébloui is publishing 53 53-page works by 53 different authors -- La collection Perec 53.
       Only four out so far -- but I want them all ! I hope eventually to see some .....

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

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       Carol Shields Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Carol Shields Prize for Fiction -- a very well-endowed (US$150,000 !) prize rewarding: "creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United State".
       Only one of the fifteen titles is under review at the complete review -- I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai.
       The shortlist will be announced 9 April, and the winner on 13 May.

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

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       The Book Censor's Library review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Bothayna Al-Essa's The Book Censor's Library, due out shortly, from Restless Books.

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

       Gordon Burn Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Gordon Burn Prize -- rewarding: "literature that is forward-thinking and fearless in its ambition and execution, often playing with style, pushing boundaries, crossing genres or challenging readers' expectations" -- and it is Kick the Latch, by Kathryn Scanlan.
       See also the publicity pages from New Directions and Daunt Books, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

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       Sheikh Zayed Book Award shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Awards -- selected from 4,240 (!) submissions.
       With category-winners receiving close to US$200,000, this is a very well-paying prize.

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

       Lionel Gelber Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Lionel Gelber Prize -- "a literary award for the world's best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues" -- and it is Timothy Garton Ash's Homelands; see also the official press release (warning ! dreaded pdf format !).
       See also the publicity pages from Yale University Press and Vintage, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.
       (Yes, it's yet another book that is published by a university press in the US, and a 'commercial' publisher in the UK .....)

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

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       Hindi Literature

       At The Wire Rashwita Ravy looks at What Contemporary Hindi Literature Tells Us About the Politics of Hate.

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       New On the Seawall

       On the Seawall always has interesting material, but the new March/April 2024 Edition is truly packed -- a lot to keep you busy. Check it out !

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

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       The Lost Steps review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the new translation, by Adrian Nathan West, of Alejo Carpentier's 1953 classic, The Lost Steps, recently out in the Penguin Classics series.

       West also translated Explosion in a Cathedral, and I probably should have tackled that one first; I've read the previous translations of both (decades ago ...), but Explosion in a Cathedral was translated via the French translation, so the direct translation seems an obvious improvement. I'll get to it too, but The Lost Steps is an old favorite -- very much my kind of book -- so it was too hard to resist. (It didn't disappoint, as my grading of it also makes clear .....)
       How much of an old favorite is it ? Well, as I've mentioned, my just-out novel, Salome in Graz, includes a three-tiered bibliography -- a reference list both to the novel as well as part of the fiction itself -- and this book (in its original version) was a natural fit and is included in the list of tertiary sources .....

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

       Murty Classical Library of India

       The Murty Classical Library of India, published by Harvard University Press, started publishing less than a decade ago and has brought out a very impressive collection of titles already -- several of which are under review at the complete review -- but apparently all is not well there.
       General Editor Sheldon Pollock was apparently pushed out of that position in 2022 already, and now comes the news that a little over a month ago five members of the Editorial Board were: "summarily dismissed [...] without cause, explanation, or documentation"; see the statement the five have now released.
       There doesn't seem to have been any more detailed press coverage of this yet, but hopefully some journalists are digging around here. It doesn't sound good -- a shame, since this really is such a remarkable undertaking.

       (Updated - 7 March): At The Wire Elisha Vermani has a bit more information, in Exits Rock Murty Classical Library, Once Feted for New Translations of Rare Manuscripts.

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

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       *New* Gabriel García Márquez novel

       Apparently written some two decades ago, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez's novel En agosto nos vemos is being published today (in Spanish), with the English translation, by Anne McLean, Until August, due out next week.
       Among the articles about the event, see Iker Seisdedos' piece at El País, on how Gabriel García Márquez’s archive in Austin reveals all the secrets about his unpublished novel, as well as the Reuters report.
       See also the Vintage Español publicity page for En agosto nos vemos, or get your copy at Amazon.com; or see the publicity pages for Until August from Alfred A. Knopf and Viking, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.
       I guess I should have a look at this one .....

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

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       Shortlists: Ockham NZ Book Awards

       They've announced the shortlists for this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, sixteen finalists in four categories.
       The winners will be announced on 15 May.

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

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       Shortlist: Republic of Consciousness Prize

       The US/Canada version of the Republic of Consciousness Prize just announced their shortlist, and now the original, UK/Ireland version, the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses, has announced its shortlist.
       The winner will be announced on 17 April.

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

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       Women's Prize for Fiction longlist

       They've announced the sixteen-title-strong longlist for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction.
       I haven't seen any of these.
       The shortlist will be announced 24 April, and the winner on 13 June.

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

       Edwin Frank Q & A

       At The Point Scott Sherman has a fascinating lengthy Q & A with New York Review Books' Edwin Frank, How the Story Turns Out.
       Among Frank's comments:

But all this only underscores why I am so disturbed by the disappearance of daily book reviews and their replacement by the listicles of service journalism. Books are now deemed to be important the same way it is important to find the best lightbulb, which Wirecutter, which reviews consumer goods for Times readers, will help you to do, except that books can’t be rated as easily, so you’re just offered a plateful and invited to grab and bite.

       And re. approaches to translation -- "Augustine, who endorsed precise adherence to the original" v. "Jerome, who believed in adaptation and, to some extent, invention" -- he's team Jerome, maintaining: "The Augustinian view is entirely incoherent".
       As to our times:

     Well, it’s a stagnant period and so it goes, or perhaps you could say it’s a time that is rejecting the whole idea of art as an independent activity, replacing it with the concern for audience that is turning museums into shopping malls and theme parks. As to MFAs, perhaps they are above all sad because they leave so many writers with nothing but an audience of students.

       Also: always interesting to hear the numbers, and there's mention that Joshua Cohen's (Pulitzer Prize-winning) The Netanyahus -- submitted: "to fifteen publishers, all of whom passed on it" -- has: "sold around forty thousand copies".
       Finally, Frank has a book coming out later this year Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 11/2024), which is certainly something to keep an eye out for.

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

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       Ludwig-Börne-Preis

       The Ludwig-Börne-Stiftung has announced the 2024 winner of their €20,000 author-prize with a focus on writing essays, criticism, or reportage, and it is Daniel Kehlmann.
       This is an unusual prize in that the jury consists of a single person -- a different one each year; this year it was Felicitas von Lovenberg who made the selection.

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

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       Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist

       They've announced shortlist for this year's Republic of Consciousness Prize -- the UK/Ireland version.
       The winner will be announced 17 April.

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

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       Stella Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Stella Prize, an A$60,000 prize for an: "original, excellent, and engaging" work by a woman or non-binary Australian writer; see also, for example, Nicola Heath's ABC report.
       The shortlist will be announced 4 April.

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

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       Salome in Graz - the cover

       Longtime readers of this Literary Saloon will, of course, not be very surprised that the cover of my new novel, Salome in Graz is fairly ... plain:

       You can now find some background and explanation/excuse-making about that cover design here.

       Also: as I've mentioned, currently Salome in Graz is only available here -- where they usually have a promotion/coupon code to enter at checkout that gets you a discount; the current one, effective through 8 March, is WOMENWRITE15, which gets you a tidy 15 per cent off ....
       (International readers should note that, aside from the US, they print and ship locally in Europe, Australia, and India, among others, so shipping costs should not be outrageous.)

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

       Guyana Prize for Literature

       They've announced the winners of the Guyana Prize for Literature in its three categories, with Girl in the Pink Pleated Skirt by Michael Jordan winning the fiction category; see, for example, the report in Stabroek News.

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

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       Helen Oyeyemi Q & A

       At The New Yorker Jennifer Wilson has a Q & A with the author, in Helen Oyeyemi Thinks We Should Read More and Stay in Touch Less.
       Among her responses:

It’s a great tragedy that we keep in touch so much. There are so many connections that shouldn’t last as long as they do. But, no, with books, I’m very much a rereader. I reread all the time. Books wait for you, and they blossom in the time between readings.

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

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       The Bell review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Iris Murdoch's 1958 novel, The Bell -- the eleventh Murdoch novel under review.

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

       GSP Rao Translation Award shortlist

       They've announced the ten-title shortlist for this year's GSP Rao Translation Award, "given to an outstanding work of translation from any Indian language into English"; see the Scroll.in report.
       From quite a variety of languages -- Tamil, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi.
       I hope some of these make it to the US/UK .....

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

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       Japanese short story unveiling

       At the Waseda International House of Literature library they had an Authors Alive ! event, where, as the AP report has it, Haruki Murakami unveils his new short story at a Tokyo literary event -- though Kawakami Mieko also recited a new story .....

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

       Prix Émile Guimet

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix Émile Guimet de littérature asiatique -- though not yet at the official site, last I checked --, awarded in two categories: novel and graphic novel, with Han Kang's 작별하지 않는다 winning the novel prize; it does not seem to be available in English translation yet; see, for example, The Korea Times report.

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

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       Prix du livre court

       The French have a new prize for a short book -- less than 150 pages -- and they've announced the inaugural winner, Dominique Fabre's 144-page Gare Saint-Lazare; see, for example, the ActuaLitté report.
       See also the Fayard publicity page for Gare Saint-Lazare.

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

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       Salome in Graz FAQ

       Looking for more information about my just-released novel, Salome in Graz ? There's more at the new (what-I-think-might-eventually-be-)frequently asked questions page
       And of course if you have other questions, feel free to ask -- I may even add them to the FAQs.

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

       Preise der Leipziger Buchmesse

       The biggest German book prize -- yes, the German Book Prize -- is awarded in the fall, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, but the spring Leipzig Book Fair competes well with their trio of prizes, awarded for a work of a fiction, a work of non-fiction/essay, and a translation, and they've now announced the five finalists for each of those prizes -- selected from 486 submissions (which, sigh, are not revealed).
       A graphic novel is one of the fiction finalists -- Genossin Kuckuck, by Anke Feuchtenberger (Reprodukt) -- while Wolf Haas also has a book in the running. The one I'm most curious about is Barbi Marković's Minihorror -- see the Residenz Verlag foreign rights page --, which I was already very tempted to acquire when I was last in Austria; she's an interesting author (beginning with the Thomas Bernhard 'remix', Izlaženje).
       The translations up for that prize include a Lawrence Ferlinghetti-collection, and Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny.
       The winners will be announced 21 March.

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

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       EUPL finalists

       They've announced the finalists for this year's European Union Prize for Literature, one work each chosen ("nominated by national entities knowledgeable about the literary scene in their countries and used to promoting their own literature abroad") from the thirteen countries vying for the prize this year. (The prize rotates through the: "41 countries participating in the Creative Europe programme of the European Union", with thirteen or fourteen up each third year.)
       So:

The seven members of the European jury will now read excerpts from all the nominated books and make their choice in the upcoming month to award one EUPL Prize winner for this edition, together with recognising five special mentions.

       Excerpts, sigh ..... But it's a well-meaning prize, and the language hurdle is obviously an enormous one. (I also can't help but note that for a prize meant to encourage: "greater interest in non-national literary works" there is an awful lot of national focus in the way the prize is set up .....)
       You can learn more about the nominated authors here (and, yes, their works, too ...).
       The winning title will be announced 4 April.

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

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