opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 July 2024

11 July: International Booker Prize judging panel | Robert Chandler on Andrey Platonov | Hotlist finalists
12 July: Dennis Cooper Q & A | Union State literature awards | Lit Hub's Most Anticipated (II)
13 July: New RSL fellows | Bestselling in ... the UK
14 July: Benjamín Labatut profile | Prix de la littérature arabe finalists | Top ... 75 Sci-Fi books
15 July: Worlds Built to Fall Apart review
16 July: New Virago Modern Classics design | Tonke Dragt (1930-2024)
17 July: Jan Michalski Prize shortlist | Singapore Literature Prize shortlists
18 July: Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes | Forward Prizes shortlists | Last Nights of Paris review
19 July: July Asymptote | PEN/Heim Translation Fund | Hong Kong Book Fair
20 July: Georg-Büchner-Preis | Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

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       Georg-Büchner-Preis

       They've announced the winner of this year's Georg Büchner Prize, the leading German language author prize, and it is Oswald Egger; he will get to pick up his prize on 2 November.
       Not much of his work is available in English, but Green Integer did publish Room of Rumor: Tunings; see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
       See also the Suhrkamp author page, with information about some of his other titles.

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

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       Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

       They've announced the winner of this year's Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, with In The Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan taking the main prize.

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

       July Asymptote

       The July issue of Asymptote is now available -- a ton of good material for your weekend reading.
       Not least: Sarah Gear has An interview with Georgi Gospodinov -- the author of Time Shelter (etc.).

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

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       PEN/Heim Translation Fund

       PEN America administers the PEN/Heim Translation Fund -- and, as Dan Sheehan now reports at the Literary Hub, 100+ translators call for PEN America to relinquish control of the Heim Fund.
       The translators' open letter to the PEN America Board of Trustees is printed there, along with the response from PEN America.

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

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       Hong Kong Book Fair

       The Hong Kong Book Fair runs through the 23rd, and while Atlas Shao reports that Hong Kong Book Fair spotlights Beijing's literary treasures in China Daily, Hans Tse reports that Shortage of writers hurting local literary scene, publishers say as Hong Kong Book Fair opens.
       Ah, those darned writer-shortages.

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

       Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes

       They've announced the latest set of winners of the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, the leading Japanese fiction prizes; see, for example, Thu-Huong Ha's report in The Japan Times, Three novelists named for Akutagawa and Naoki awards.
       The Akutagawa Prize was shared by バリ山行 ('Extreme mountain climbing') by Matsunaga K. Sanzo -- see the Kodansha publicity page -- and サンショウウオの四十九日 ('The 49th day of the salamander') by Asahina Aki; see the Shinchosha publicity page.
       The Naoki Prize went to ツミデミック, by Ichiho Michi; see the Kobunsha publicity page.

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

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       Forward Prizes shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for this year's Forward Prizes -- "the most influential awards for new poetry in the UK and Ireland" -- in its four categories.

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

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       Last Nights of Paris review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Philippe Soupault's 1928 novel, Last Nights of Paris -- notable, at least in its English version, also because it was translated by poet William Carlos Williams.

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

       Jan Michalski Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist -- well, the 'second selection' -- for this year's Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, awarded to a work of world literature, in any genre and any language.
       The only one of the five titles under review at the complete review is Traces of Enayat by Iman Mersal.
       The winner will be announced on 27 November.

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

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       Singapore Literature Prize shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for this year's Singapore Literature Prize -- 71 works in 16 categories in four languages -- English, Chinese, Tamil, and Malay, selected from 247 submissions.
       At the official site you can click through the different categories and languages; somewhat more convenient is the press release (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) -- but, given the number of shortlisted titles, it's a long press release -- 85 pages.
       The winners will be announced 10 September.

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

       New Virago Modern Classics design

       Virago has announced a new design for its Modern Classics list.
       I liked the old, original design -- but in any case, it's the books that count.

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

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       Tonke Dragt (1930-2024)

       Dutch author asnd illustrator Tonke Dragt (1930-2024) has passed away; see, for example, the DutchNews report.
       Pushkin Press has published several of her works.

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

       Worlds Built to Fall Apart review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of David Lapoujade on Versions of Philip K. Dick, Worlds Built to Fall Apart.

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

       Benjamín Labatut profile

       In The Guardian Sam Leith has a profile of the We Cease to Understand the World1-author, in ‘People say my book gave them a panic attack’: When We Cease to Understand the World author Benjamín Labatut.

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

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       Prix de la littérature arabe finalists

       They've announced the finalists for this year's prix de la littérature arabe; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       The winner will be announced 27 November.

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

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       Top ... 75 Sci-Fi books

       Two year's ago I mentioned Esquire's list of '50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time'.
       Well, they've now expanded it, offering: The 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time.
       As I already complained regarding the 50-title list, they continue to limit it to one book per author, undermining their 'best' claim. (If you're putting together a best book list, it doesn't/can't matter who wrote them .....)

       Look for their top-100 list, presumably coming in the fall of 2026.

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

       New RSL fellows

       The Royal Society of Literature has announced 29 new Fellows and 13 new Honorary Fellows.

       Works by only two of the new Fellows are under review at the complete review -- Mick Herron (e.g. The Secret Hours) and Nii Ayikwei Parkes (Tail of the Blue Bird).

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

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       Bestselling in ... the UK

       At The Bookseller Tom Tivnan reports on the bestselling books and authors in the UK for the first half of the year, according to Nielsen BookScan; see also the top 20 -- both by units sold and value.
       Julia Donaldson tops the list, with 1,253,890 units sold; J.K.Rowling is third, with 383,261; Stephen King slips in at number 19, with 159,186.

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

       Dennis Cooper Q & A

       At Interview Lucy K. Shaw has a Q & A with Dennis Cooper Has a New Book Out. Just Don't Expect Him to Do Any Readings.
       Among his responses:

I read a lot of fiction, but I only read avant-garde fiction or whatever, I never read normal fiction.

       (And see also DC's, 'The blog of author Dennis Cooper'.

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

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       Union State literature awards

       BelTA reports that Lukashenko presents Union State literature, art awards at Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, as Putin-puppet Aleksandr Lukashenko presented: "prizes of the Union State of Belarus and Russia for literature and art for 2023-2024 to people, who had made a significant contribution to the reinforcement of friendship between the peoples of Belarus and Russia".
       Yeah, there's an 'honor' .....
       And I don't suspect we'll see the work of any of these prize-winners in English (or other) translation soon.

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

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       Lit Hub's Most Anticipated (II)

       At the Literary Hub they have Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2024, Part Two -- '193 Books to Read in the Second Half of the Year'.
       Certainly some titles of interest here .....
       The only titles under review at the complete review at this time are Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword and Ogawa Yoko's Mina's Matchbox.

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

       International Booker Prize judging panel

       They've announced the members of the judging panel for next year's International Booker Prize, and they are: Max Porter, who will chair; Caleb Femi, Sana Goyal, Anton Hur, and Beth Orton.
       They've also announced the dates for it, with the longlist to be announced 25 February 2025, the shortlist on 8 April, and the winner on 20 May.

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

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       Robert Chandler on Andrey Platonov

       In Prospect Robert Chandler writes on People person: the greatness of Andrey Platonov -- a good introduction to the author.
       His (and wife Elizabeth's) new translation of Chevengur is recently out in the US from New York Review Books -- see their publicity page -- and from Harvill Secker in the UK -- see their publicity page.
       The US publishers recently noted: "Platonov's Chevengur has been a bit of a breakout "hit"", which is pretty neat.
       The only Platono under review at the complete review is Happy Moscow.

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

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       Hotlist finalists

       They've announced the thirty finalists for the German Hotlist competition, selected from 204 entries -- one from each independent publisher.
       Readers can vote, with the three top vote-getters joining seven titles chosen by the official jury for the shortlist that will be announced on 10 September; the winner will be announced 18 October.

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

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