opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 February 2025

11 February: Amitav Ghosh Q & A
12 February: Prix Jean Monnet | Salomé first editions
13 February: Translation Prizes | Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist | Amy Tan archive | Usedomer Literaturpreis | Saara review
14 February: Swiss national literature prizes | Israel Prize for Literature
15 February: Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A | The Magpie at Night review
16 February: Profiles: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Anne Tyler
17 February: Sunday Times Young Writer Award shortlist | Czechoslovak PEN Club turns 100
18 February: Geoff Nicholson (1953-2025) | Simon Mawer (1948-2025) | Perspective(s) review
19 February: Fitzcarraldo Editions profile | Jókai Mór profile | Salome in Graz anniversary
20 February: IPAF shortlist | PEN America Grant winners | L.A. Times Book Prize finalists | Command Performance review

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       IPAF shortlist

       They've announced the six-title shortlist for this year's International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the leading Arabic-language fiction prize.
       The winner will be announced 24 April.

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

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       PEN America Grant winners

       PEN America has announced the winners of its 2025 grants -- including the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, awarded for ten projects, as well as the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature.

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

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       L.A. Times Book Prize finalists

       They've announced the finalists for the L.A. Times Book Prizes, with: "61 nominees across more than a dozen categories".
       The only title under review at the complete review -- indeed, the only one of these I've seen -- is Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword.
       The winners will be announced 25 April.

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

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       Command Performance review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Jean Echenoz's Command Performance -- just about out in English, from New York Review Books.

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

       Fitzcarraldo Editions profile

       At 032c Shane Anderson profiles Fitzcarraldo Editions -- apparently: "the biggest sensation in publishing in decades" --, in: Fitzcarraldo Editions: The Biggest Little Press in the World.
       Interesting to hear that:

As of last year, the house has also sold more than one million print units, and every title, with but one exception, has sold at least 1,000 copies.

       (Which book is the hold-out ?)
       Publisher Jacques Testard is quoted as saying:

It’s important for us to remain small enough to never have to publish a book for commercial reasons and to be able to keep publishing books because we think they’re really good.

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

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       Jókai Mór profile

       At hlo The Finno-Ugrian Vampire-author Szécsi Noémi profiles the author, in “Jokay Maurus” or Mór Jókai Goes International.

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

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       Salome in Graz anniversary

       My novel Salome in Graz came out a year ago today !

       Nice to see that a few people have picked it up -- though it hasn't sold as many copies as my Arno Schmidt: a centennial colloquy (yet) -- and I hope they've enjoyed it. And, of course, it's never too late to get your own copy .....
       I know I should probably try to *publicize* it more, but for the most part I'm happy enough just to have it out there. I'm sure it'll find its readers (beyond those it's already found !) eventually .....

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

       Geoff Nicholson (1953-2025)

       English author Geoff Nicholson has passed away; see, for example, Richard Lapper's obituary in The Guardian. (Apparently, he died 18 January, but this is the first I heard of it -- and the first obituary I've seen.)

       I've been a big and long-time fan, and twenty of his books are under review at the complete review -- making him one of the most-reviewed authors at the site --; his work still seems very underappreciated to me.

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

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       Simon Mawer (1948-2025)

       English author Simon Mawer has passed away; see, for example, Heloise Wood's report in The Bookseller.
       His The Fall was longlisted for the Man Booker, and The Glass Room was shortlisted.

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

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       Perspective(s) review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Laurent Binet's epistolary novel, Perspective(s) -- out in English in the UK now (albeit as Perspectives, sigh) and coming to the US in April.

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

       Sunday Times Young Writer Award shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award -- "given annually to the best work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by a British or Irish author of 35 or under" --; Johanna Thomas-Corr also introduces the authors in the Sunday Times.
       The winner will be announced 18 March.

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

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       Czechoslovak PEN Club turns 100

       The Czechoslovak PEN Club is celebrating its centenary; see, for example, the Radio Prague International report, From Čapek to the Present: 100 Years of the Czechoslovak PEN Club.

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

       Profile: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

       In The Guardian Charlotte Edwardes profiles ‘Cancel culture? We should stop it. End of story’: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on backlash, writer’s block – and her new baby twins.
       Among the observations:

Writing fiction is when she is happiest. “You should talk to my husband: he would say, ‘She becomes a different person.’ It’s like a high. I don’t do drugs, but I imagine that it is that absolute high. I’m struck by how much time passes and I don’t realise. Then when I am done – whatever it is, a character that I’ve finally got – the rest of the day is joyful floating. I’m so much fun to be around. And that is not always the case.”

       Adichie has a new novel coming out in March, Dream Count; see also the publicity pages from Knopf and 4th Estate, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

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

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       Profile: Anne Tyler

       In The Guardian Lisa Allardice has a profile of the author, in ‘It seemed wrong to write about normal life after that horrendous election’: US novelist Anne Tyler.
       Interesting to hear that:

When she downsized, she didn’t keep a copy of any of her own books. “What would I do with them ?” She has them all on a Kindle, but only so she can check if she’s repeating herself.

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

       Jenny Erpenbeck Q & A

       In the Hindustan Times Chintan Girish Modi has a Q & A with Jenny Erpenbeck: “There is a place in the world for socialism”.
       Among her responses:

When I started writing seriously, and considering myself an author, I did not expect so much social interaction. I have learnt, over time, that half of the work is going to events, speaking at sessions, participating in discussions, and giving interviews like this one.

       Also: "Sometimes, people want to talk about your grandmother rather than your book" .....

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

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       The Magpie at Night review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Wendy Chen's new translation of The Complete Poems of Li Qingzhao (1084-1151), The Magpie at Night.

       This will be out from Farrar, Straus and Giroux shortly in the US; the UK edition, from Penguin Classics,, is only due in September.

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

       Swiss national literature prizes

       They've announced that Sweet Days of Discipline-author Fleur Jaeggy has been awarded the Grand Prix for Swiss Literature award; they've also announced the seven winners of this year's Swiss Literature Prize.
       See also the swissinfo report.

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

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       Israel Prize for Literature

       The Ministry of Education has apparently announced that Devora Gilola will get this year's Israel Prize for Literature -- though not yet at the official site, last I checked; see, for example, the report in The Jerusalem Post.

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

       Translation Prizes

       The Society of Authors has announced the winners of their eight translation prizes.
       The only winner under review at the complete review is of the Premio Valle Inclán, awarded to Chris Andrews, Edith Grossman, and Alastair Reid for their translation of Álvaro Mutis' Maqroll's Prayer and Other Poems

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

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       Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Women's Prize for Non-Fiction -- sixteen titles.
       I haven't seen any of these.
       The shortlist will be announced 26 March, and the winner on 12 June.

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

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       Amy Tan archive

       The Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan's archive has been acquired by The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; see, for example, Dan Vaccaro's UC Berkeley News report, Amy Tan archive lands at UC Berkeley, offering a bird's-eye view of a singular literary life.
       No word on how much they paid (sigh), but it amounts to 62 boxes, which include:

Tan’s personal journals spanning several decades, correspondence with other writers and historical family photographs. There is also a substantive amount of unpublished and never-before-seen writing, including works she created during childhood.

       In The New York Times Jennifer Schuessler also reports on the purchase, in Why Amy Tan Decided Not to Shred Her Archive (presumably paywalled) -- noting that:

Until recently, she had left written instructions for everything except photographs to be shredded after her death, lest she be subjected to the posthumous ordeal of scholars “going through the equivalent of my underwear drawer.”

       But:

So why the change of heart ? In a recent telephone conversation, Tan listed acceptance of “posterity,” coaxing by her longtime editor, and, well, the need to clear out space in her garage.

       The dollar-signs maybe also helped ?

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

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       Usedomer Literaturpreis

       The Usedomer Literaturpreis only pays out €5,000 but has an impressive list of winners, including Olga Tokarczuk (2012), Ilija Trojanow (2018), Jenny Erpenbeck (2019), Georgi Gospodinow (2021), Tanja Maljartschuk (2022), and Sofi Oksanen (2023) -- and they've now announced this year's winner -- though not at the official site, where they seem to be years behind the times -- and it is Szczepan Twardoch; see, for example, the NDR report.

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

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       Saara review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Mbarek Ould Beyrouk's Saara, the latest in the Dedalus Africa-series, which is coming along very nicely.

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

       Prix Jean Monnet

       They've announced the longlist for this year's prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne -- though unfortunately not in very easily accessible form at the official site, so see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       Among the eight finalists are works by Alessandro Baricco, Mircea Cărtărescu, Andreï Makine, Pascal Quignard, and Josef Winkler.

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

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       Salomé first editions

       At Christie's in London they are auctioning Barry Humphries: The Personal Collection tomorrow -- and among the items are two first editions of Oscar Wilde's Salomé -- the French original (1893) -- Lot 148, previously owned by Lord Alfred Douglas and Gertrud Eysoldt, among others (estimate: GBP 40,000-60,000), and Lot 149, inscribed by Wilde to Léon Daudet (estimate: GBP 20,000-30,000).
       Looks pretty good:



       My Salome in Graz of course deals extensively with the play, in this and many of its later editions and translations ..... (If you buy direct from Lulu -- here -- the promotional code VALENTINE15 at checkout gets you 15% off through 14 February.)

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

       Amitav Ghosh Q & A

       In The Indian Express Cherry Gupta has a Q & A with the The Glass Palace-author, in Amitav Ghosh on the Salman Rushdie attack: ‘Horrified yet awed by his resilience; we’ve forgotten our shared humanity’.
       Among his responses:

The lines between fiction, non-fiction, and poetry are becoming increasingly blurred, and I believe this is a healthy development. In my work, I often find myself blending different genres, drawing on elements of history, memoirs, and even travel writing. These hybrid forms allow for greater flexibility, greater freedom to explore different modes of expression, and engagement with the world in more nuanced and multifaceted ways.

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

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