opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

       Patrick White Literary Award

       They've announced the winner of this year's Patrick White Literary Award, an Australian literary prize endowed by Patrick White with his Nobel Prize winnings, awarded to an author who has not received due recognition yet, and it is Π.O. (Pi.O.); see, for example, the Books + Publishing report, Pi-O wins 2024 Patrick White Literary Award and Bill Kouras' Greek City Times report, Greek-Australian Poet Π.O. Wins 2024 Patrick White Literary Award.

       This prize has an impressive list of winners, including Christina Stead (1974), Thea Astley (1989), Elizabeth Harrower (1996), Gerald Murnane (1999), and Janette Turner Hospital (2003).

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       Prix de la littérature arabe

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix de la littérature arabe, awarded to a work by an Arab writer written in or translated into French, and it is Le désastre de la maison des notables by Amira Ghenim; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       See also the Philippe Rey publicity page.

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       New Swedish Book Review

       The 2024:2 issue of the Swedish Book Review is now out, with numerous translation-samples, features, and a lot of reviews.

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       John Nathan Q & A

       The New Yorker has a Mishima Yukio story in this week's issue, and Deborah Treisman has a Q & A with the translator, John Nathan, On a Newly Translated Story by Yukio Mishima.

       Nathan wrote a Mishima-biography -- only the Inose Naoki one is under review at the complete review, though I also read Nathan's, ages ago -- and he admits:

From his vast œuvre I selected fiction that felt amenable to my interpretation of his fatal course and indeed seemed to bear witness to it. Other writing that did not fit in I tended to ignore or mention only in passing. For example, because his “popular” novels didn’t seem to bear on the argument I was at pains to develop, I barely mentioned them in the biography. Romance fiction he tossed off, torrid for its day, with titles like “The Capital of Love,” “Love Stampede,” and “The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail”—these novels, fifteen in all, each a best-seller, accounted for fully half of his output as a novelist. I see now that they reflect a vulgarity, like glittering tinsel on a Christmas tree, that was a part of Mishima’s sensibility, no less than his refinement.

       Nice to see another story by Mishima available in translation, but it's also a reminder of how incredibly much of his work is still not available in English; coïncidentally (ha !) the Mishima esate is 'handled' by Andrew Wylie's 'literary' agency.

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       Conclave, the movie

       The movie version of Robert Harris' novel, Conclave -- not to be confused with Roberto Pazzi's Conclave --, directed by Edward Berger and with an impressive-sounding cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini is now out -- as are the first reviews; here a selection:

• Anti-Catholic bias aside, ‘Conclave’ is just plain bad by Stefano Rebeggiani, at Angelus
• Conclave is Excellent, Praise the Lord by Olivia Rutigliano, at CrimeReads
• 'Conclave' review: Vatican-set thriller is divinely fun by Kristy Puchko, at Mashable
• ‘Conclave’ Review: Serpents and Doves Amok in the Vatican by Manohla Dargis in The New York Times
• Papal politics take an unholy turn in the clever thriller 'Conclave' by Justin Chang at npr
• Edward Berger’s Conclave Is the Most Fun You Can Have in a Luxurious Fake Vatican by Stephanie Zacharek at Time
• Is a Movie About Electing a Pope Allowed to Be This Entertaining ? by Bilge Ebiri at Vulture
• 'Conclave' movie review: You must see this white-knuckle papal thriller by Brian Truitt at USA Today

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       (American) National Translation Awards

       The American Literary Translators Association has announced the winners of their annual prizes, including the National Translation Awards in Prose -- Jamie Richards' translation of Marosia Castaldi's The Hunger of Women -- and Poetry -- Cole Swensen's translation of Pierre Alferi's And the Street.

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       Jonathan Coe profile

       At The Guardian Emma Brockes profiles Novelist Jonathan Coe: ‘Liz Truss was very unimpressed to meet me’.
       Coe has a new novel coming out in the UK, The Proof of My Innocence -- see the Viking publicity pages -- with US publication to follow in April 2025.
       With all of his fiction under review at the complete review, I look forward to seeing this one as well.

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       Solvej Balle reviews

       The most recent additions to the complete review are my reviews of the first two volumes in Solvej Balle's Nordic Council Literature Prize-winning seven-volume series

• On the Calculation of Volume (Book I)
• On the Calculation of Volume (Book II)

       These two are out in the US from New Directions next month, and are coming in the UK from Faber next April. As to the rest of the volumes ... well, even in the original Danish, they're only up to volume five.

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       New World Literature Today

       The November-December issue of World Literature Today is now available; as always, lots of interesting pieces -- not least, the extensive book review section.

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       New Asymptote

       The October issue of Asymptote is now out as well -- a ton of stuff, to easily keep you covered all weekend.

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       PW's best of the year

       It's October, so, of course, the first 'best of the year'-lists are appearing -- with Publishers Weekly offering their overall top ten, as well as the best in various categories, including fiction
       I've only seen a handful of these, and none of them are under review at the complete review.

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       Nordic Council Literature Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize -- the leading Scandinavian book prize, awarded since 1962 and paying out DKK 300,000 (over US$43,000) -- and it is Fars rygg, by Niels Fredrik Dahl; see also the Oslo Literary Agency information page and a brief Q & A with Dahl about the book at NORLA.

       None of Dahl's books appear to have been translated into English, and only one is under review at the complete review: På vei til en venn. (In the English-speaking world he is presumably better-known as the husband of fellow author (Grace, etc.) and daughter-of-very-famous-people Linn Ullmann.)
       The Nordic Council Literature Prize has an excellent track-record, and many winners have been translated into English -- nine are under review at the complete review, with a tenth to follow shortly -- and one can probably expect this one to make its way into English as well.

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       Gary Indiana (1950-2024)

       American author Gary Indiana has passed away; see, for example, the obituaries at Frieze and Artforum.

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       Royal Society Science Book Prize

       The Royal Society has announced the winner of this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, and it is A City on Mars -- subtitled: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through ? -- , by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.
       See also the publicity pages from Penguin Press and Penguin.
       I haven't seen this one yet, but it sounds fun; I think I'll have a look.

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       Prix de la Page 111

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix de la Page 111 -- the French prize that is, yes, for the best page 111 of a book -- and it is Frapper l'épopée, by Alice Zeniter; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       And, yes, the prize money is ... all of €1.11.
       See also the Flammarion publicity page for Frapper l'épopée.

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       Grand Prix du Roman

       The Académie française has announced the winner of this year's Grand Prix du Roman, and it is Le rêve du jaguar, by Miguel Bonnefoy; see also the Rivages publicity page.
       The voting was about as close as it gets: the Bonnefoy got eight votes, to seven each for Les derniers sur la liste by Grégory Cingal and Cabane by Abel Quentin, in the third round of voting.

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       ARA Historical Novel Prize

       The Historical Novel Society Australasia has announced the winner of this year's ARA Historical Novel Prize -- at A$100,000 (for the 'Adult Prize'), a very well-endowed prize -- and it is Edenglassie, by Melissa Lucashenko; see also the University of Queensland Press publicity page.

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       Jón Kalman Stefánsson Q & A

       At hlo András Greff has a Q & A with Jón Kalman Stefánsson: Now the Trabants are gone in Iceland too

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       Annihilation review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Michel Houellebecq's latest, Annihilation, finally also available in English.

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       British Academy Book Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding -- meant: "to reward and celebrate the best works of non-fiction that demonstrate rigour and originality and have contributed to public understanding of world cultures and their interaction" -- , and it is Language City by Ross Perlin.

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       Prix Goncourt finalists

       They've announced (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) the finalists for this year's prix Goncourt, the leading French novel prize.
       The final four are:

• Archipels by Hélène Gaudy
• Houris by Kamel Daoud
• Jacaranda by Gaël Faye
• Madelaine avant l'aube by Sandrine Collette

       The winner will be announced 4 November.

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       Neustadt Lit Fest

       The Neustadt Lit Fest finishes today, and you can already see a few videos, including Ananda Devi's keynote speech, with more to come.

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       Anton Hur profile

       At The Korea Herald Hwang Dong-hee profiles the translator and author, in Charting remarkable year, Anton Hur's journey in literature continues.
       Among the titbits of interest: his novel "Toward Eternity is set to be released in Korean in the summer of 2025, translated by none other than Bora Chung" -- whose Cursed Bunny Hur translated, back in the day. A rare example of reciprocal translation -- I wonder how many others there are.

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       Prix Mémorable longlist

       They've announced the longlist for the 2025 prix Mémorable, a French prize awarded to a work by a forgotten author, or newly translated into French, or a new translation of a previously available work; see, for example, the ActuaLitté report.
       Among the eight titles are works by Rosa Luxemburg, Gabriele Tergit, and Molnár Ferenc, as well as Stefano D'Arrigo's Horcynus Orca.

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       Anne Applebaum picks up Peace Prize

       At the close of the Frankfurt Book Fair Anne Applebaum got to pick up the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, and at the official site you can find her acceptance speech as well as all the others,as well as other relevant information. (Unfortunately, the pages can't be linked too separately, but click on the links .....)
       Applebaum spoke 'Against pessimism'.

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       Hotlist

       They've announced the winner of this year's Hotlist, the German award where any independent publisher can submit one title -- as 204 did -- and it is Wallstein Verlag, for Nach den Fähren, by Thea Mengeler; see also the Wallstein

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       Joy Williams Q & A

       At The Guardian Alex Clark has a Q & A with American author Joy Williams: ‘The comfy story has got to change’.

       I haven't read any Williams -- I know, I know ... -- but this is a great bit:

I have a number of typewriters, all of which have something wrong with them. I sent my favourite one off for cleaning and UPS lost it. Now I don’t have a favourite. This is not ideal.

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       Prix du meilleur livre étranger longlists

       They've announced the longlists for this year's prix du meilleur livre étranger -- a storied French prize for best foreign work translated into French, in two categories: novel and non-fiction; see, for example the Livres Hebdo report.
       This prize has an impressive list of winners, including Miguel Ángel Asturias' El Señor Presidente in 1950 (long before he won the Nobel Prize), Robert Musil's The Man without Qualities (1958), Günter Grass' The Tin Drum (1962), Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1969), Salman Rushdie's best novel (1985), Fernando del Paso's Palinuro of Mexico (1986), Gonçalo M. Tavares' Learning to Pray in the Age of Technique, and many others .....
       This prize also proceeds more quickly than most: the shortlists will be announced on 23 October, the winners on 4 November.

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       Chinghiz Aitmatov profile

       At eureporter they profile Çıňğız Aytmatov, Kyrgyz pearl of world literature -- and, yes, I hope that's how publishers will print his name from now on.

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       Karl Ove Knausgård Q & A

       Karl Ove Knausgård's The Third Realm is just out in English, and at The Guardian he's featured in their 'The books of my life'-column, in Karl Ove Knausgård: ‘The book that changed me as a teenager ? The History of Bestiality’
       Not surprising that the Jens Bjørneboe-trilogy -- beginning with Moment of Freedom -- made an impression ("I was 16 when I read it, and it felt like the truth about humanity had been revealed to me"). Not a series that one will find in many American school libraries, I fear .....

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       Déry Tibor profile

       At hlo they profile Hungarian author Tibor Déry: Satire and Controversy -- and I really want to see: "one of the greater works of his later years, the Kafkaesque novel Mr. A.G. in X, published in 1964, and still unavailable in English".
       Quite a few of his works have been translated into English -- including ones from New York Review Books and New Directions.

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       Clemens Meyer -- sore, sore loser

       The Q & A at Der Spiegel is paywalled, so I haven't been able to access it, but various German publications have the highlights: Clemens Meyer was apparently ... disappointed that his 1000-page novel, Die Projektoren, shortlisted for the German Book Prize, did not win -- and he was eager to vent some more; see, for example, the report in the Frankfurter Rundschau. (Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir ? by Martina Hefter took the prize; see my recent mention.)
       Yes, Meyer apparently stormed out of the ceremony when he wasn't announced as the winner, cursing the jurors as: 'you damned wankers' ("ihr verdammten Wichser"). He was particularly upset that he won't enjoy the financial upside of taking the prize:

„Dann hätte ich 100.000 neue Leser und könnte meine Schulden bezahlen“, sagte er und ergänzte: „Ich muss eine Scheidung finanzieren und habe 35.000 Euro Steuerschulden angehäuft.“

["Then I would have 100,000 new readers and could pay off my debts," he said, and added: "I have to finance a divorce and have accumulated 35,000 euros in tax debts."]

       Not a great look. And, hey, maybe Hefter has back taxes or student loans to pay off too, right ?

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       Warwick Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.
       Two of the fifteen titles -- selected from 147 eligible entries from 35 languages (admirably revealed here (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) ) -- are under review at the complete review:

• Saskia Vogel's translation of Linnea Axelsson's Ædnan
• David Boyd's translation of Oyamada Hiroko's The Factory

       The winner will be announced 21 November.

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       Roger Allen Q & A

       At the World Literature Today blog Jonas Elbousty has a Q & A with Roger Allen: Translating Arabic and the Art of Translation.

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       The Failure review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Giovanni Papini's The Failure, in a 1924 translation (one of two that appeared that year !) recently re-issued by Sublunary Editions in their Empyrean Series.

       I particularly like this reaction to it, from back in the day.

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       Shortlists: HWA Crown Awards

       The Historical Writers Association has announced the shortlists for its various awards, including for the HWA Gold Crown Award for historical fiction, which includes two works in translation.
       The winners will be announced 20 November.

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       Shortlist: Queen Sofía Translation Prize

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize -- and two of the titles are under review at the complete review:

• Adrian Nathan West's translation of Alejo Carpentier's The Lost Steps
• Margaret Jull Costa's translation of Javier Marías' Tomás Nevinson

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       South Korean translation support

       Some very positive post-Nobel fallout in South Korea, as Lee Jian reports at Korea JoongAng Daily that the South Korean Culture Ministry secures 48.5 billion won to support translated Korean literature, as:

The budget for books and translations had consistently been on a downward spiral for the past two years, but the ministry has recovered those numbers for next year, anticipating that Han's Nobel Prize for Literature will increase the demand for translations from domestic and foreign publishers.

       Ah, yes, success breeds ... well, at least investment in a good cause.
       So:

In particular, the Culture Ministry allocated 7.66 billion won to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, a public institution supporting Korean literature and culture overseas. Of this amount, 3.12 billion won will support the publication of translated books and 4.54 billion won will go toward promoting them. The publication budget increased by 800 million won while the promotion budget increased by 450 million won.

       See also the Culture Ministry announcement.

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       Siri Hustvedt writing Auster-memoir

       At Die Zeit Volker Weidermann has a lengthy Q & A with Paul Auster's widow, Siri Hustvedt, "Die Würde, mit der Paul starb, war ein Geschenk"
       In it she reveals that:

Wenige Tage nach Pauls Tod habe ich angefangen, über ihn zu schreiben, ein Memoir. Ich schreibe immer noch daran. Es heißt Ghost Stories. Ich habe jetzt 120 Seiten. Das war mein erster Impuls.

[A few days after Paul's death, I started writing about him, a memoir. I'm still writing it. It's called Ghost Stories. I've got 120 pages now. That was my first impulse.]

       She also mentions that she will include twelve letters she wrote to friends, as well as Auster's last work -- a small book he was working on, of letters to their grandchild, of which there are some thirty-five pages.

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       Antonio Skármeta (1940-2024)

       Antonio Skármeta -- best known for his novel The Postman, the basis of a popular movie -- has passed away; see, for example, the University of Chile announcement.

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       Eclipse review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Hirano Keiichiro's Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Eclipse, coming out from Columbia University Press.

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       Deutscher Buchpreis

       They've announced the winner of this year's German Book Prize -- the biggest German novel prize, essentially: the German Booker Prize -- and it is Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir ? by Martina Hefter; see also the Klett-Cotta publicity page.

       Quite a few German Book Prize-winning titles are under review at the complete review, but I don't think I'll get to this one anytime soon.

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       Publishing in ... Africa

       The British Council has released: 'A study of the publishing landscapes in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe' -- Publishing Futures (warning ! dreaded pdf format !); if you don't want to read the whole thing they sum up the 'key findings' here; they include that: "Innovative publishing models and self-publishing are thriving".

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       Ellis Peters, translator

       I often complain about how few Anglophone authors translate, but I was not aware that Edith Pargeter -- who wrote mysteries as 'Ellis Peters' -- translated from the Czech; at Radio Prague International Danny Bate now has a Q & A with Suzanne Bray 'about the Czechoslovak side to this remarkable writer', in The life of Edith Pargeter (alias Ellis Peters): Murder-mystery novelist and self-taught Czech translator.

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       Han Kang sales bump

       I haven't seen articles about the sales bump Han Kang's Nobel win has led to outside South Korea -- though there surely will be some reports -- but there have been several about how in-demand her books are back home.
       In The Guardian Ella Creamer reported that Han Kang's books sell out as South Korea celebrates her Nobel prize in literature, while in The Korea Times they have some of the impressive numbers, in Nobel laureate Han Kang's books fly off shelves with over 500,000 copies sold -- as: "About 530,000 copies of Han's books had been sold as of 2 p.m. Sunday", and that's apparently only at the two major online South Korean booksellers.
       Meanwhile, Kim Yu-tae's (machine-translated) article at Maeil Business Newspaper notes that: "As Han Kang's book is in short supply, the online secondhand market is infested with the enthusiasm for purchasing a book by a writer"

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       Biyi Bándélé profile

       Biyi Bándélé's Yorùbá Boy Running was recently published, and at The Guardian Alex Clark profiles the author, in ‘He knew this was going to be the last story he wrote’: the epic legacy of literary maverick Biyi Bándélé.

       Three of his earlier novels are under review at the complete review:

• Burma Boy (published in the US as: The King's Rifle)
• The Man Who Came in from the Back of Beyond
• The Sympathetic Undertaker

       I haven't seen Yorùbá Boy Running, but see the publicity pages from Hamish Hamilton and Harper, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

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       Documentary Poetry review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of a collection by Heimrad Bäcker on his Documentary Poetry, recently out in a nice volume from Winter Editions.

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       Yasnaya Polyana Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's Yasnaya Polyana Awards, a Russian literary prize "established by the Leo Tolstoy Museum-Estate and Samsung Electronics", with Leonid Yuzefovich's Поход на Бар-Хото taking the 'Modern Russian Prose' category and the Russian translation of Juhea Kim's Beasts of a Little Land taking the 'Foreign Literature' category.

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       Childish Literature review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Alejandro Zambra's Childish Literature.

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       Translators as literary tastemakers ?

       In The Japan Times Mike Fu suggests that Han Kang's Nobel win underscores essential role of translators as literary tastemakers -- noting:

Her meteoric rise since attests to the outsize influence that individual translators can exert on the literary world and a burgeoning global interest in East Asian storytelling.

       I'm never thrilled by individuals having "outsize influence" on what gets published, but that is (and will continue to be) one of the huge problems in publishing, as long as only a tiny percentage of books from any language is even considered for translation into English (or other languages).

       (Han's international breakout success also contrasts interestingly with her father's lack thereof. Han Seung-won is apparently a quite highly regarded author in his own right, and has picked up any number of (local) prizes -- and was published in English before she was: his novel Father and Son was translated by Yu Young-nan and Julie Pickering in 2002, by Homa & Sekey Books -- see their publicity page -- but seems to have attracted ... well, basically no notice.
       Han Kang's writings may be more attractive to an international audience, but a lot -- not least: chance, timing, and circumstances -- goes into publishing success, especially in translation, and I suspect that, for example, Han Seung-won's work is worthy of at least more attention (and translation) than it's gotten. (Meanwhile, you can read an excerpt of Father and Son here.))

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       Erich Fried Preis

       They've announced the winner of this year's Erich Fried Prize, and it is Babyf**ker-author Urs Allemann.

       This author prize is one of those where a single juror -- a different one each year -- decides who gets the prize; this year's decider was Ulf Stolterfoht; among others who have had the honor are Elfriede Jelinek, Christoph Ransmayr, Lutz Seiler, and Ingo Schulze; the list of winners isn't bad either, and includes Gert Jonke, Oskar Pastior, and Esther Kinsky.

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       Too long ?

       In The Times Charlotte Alt reports on Ian Rankin complaining Crime novels today are far too long.
       The most recent statistics she cites are almost a decade old:

According to a 2015 survey, the average number of pages of books grew by 25 per cent over 15 years. The survey, by James Finlayson at Verve Search, for the interactive publisher Flipsnack, found the average length increased from 320 pages in 1999 to 400 pages in 2014, based on analysis of more than 2,500 books.

       (The average length of books under review at the complete review has long been around 250 pages, but has tended to the longer in recent years as well.)
       There is something to be said for the shorter mystery novel -- they do seem to have gotten more bloated in recent decades.

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       Grand Prix du Roman finalists

       The Académie française has announced the three finalists for their Grand Prix du Roman.
       The winner will be announced on 24 October.

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       Nobel afterthoughts

       As I mentioned yesterday, Han Kang has been named this year's Nobel laureate.
       In the aftermath of the Nobel, I'll re-up Álex Vicente's article on When receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature becomes a curse at El País, where he quotes Javier Aparicio Maydeu:

Getting a Nobel Prize never hurts, but authors who won it, such as Camilo José Cela, Nadine Gordimer, J. M. G. Le Clézio or Herta Müller, did not write anything significant after receiving it and today they are dead in literary terms, so to speak: very few people read them anymore

       (Some of these authors -- and many readers -- would beg to differ, but .....).
       This guy also said:

Those who are awarded the prize for reasons that are not strictly artistic or literary, but for geopolitical reasons, such as Orhan Pamuk, can be affected. Many become luxury lecturers, lose their creative intensity and are wasted as authors

       Ouch ..... And, much as I love the term and idea of 'luxury lecturer', how many still-living laureates could be considered one ? Handke ? Ishiguro ? Vargas Llosa ? Maybe Jelinek ? Come on .....

       Meanwhile, at The New Republic Mark Krotov and Alex Shephard suggest that: 'The Swedish Academy's decision to award Korean novelist Han Kang is a minor victory in a world of consolidation' in considering Can The Nobel Prize Save Publishing From Itself ? -- arguing, generously, that: "The Swedish Academy has cast itself as an island of seriousness in a swirling ocean of garbage and filth"

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

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       Shortlists: ALTA National Translation Awards

       The American Literary Translators Association has announced the shortlists for this year's National Translation Awards, in the two categories -- prose and poetry.
       None of the finalists are under review at the complete review.
       The winners will be announced 26 October.

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

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       Shortlist: Baillie Gifford Prize

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction -- six titles selected from 349 submissions.
       The winner will be announced 19 November.

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

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       The Third Realm review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the third in Karl Ove Knausgaard's The Morning Star-series, The Third Realm, just out in English.

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

       The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature goes to ... Han Kang

       They've announced that Han Kang will receive this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life"

       Two of her works are under review at the complete review:

• The Vegetarian
• The White Book

       She has an Official website; see also the RCW Literary Agency author page.

       There are quite a few interviews with her available online; see, for example:

• First reactions. Telephone interview, October 2024 - the Nobel interview
• Han Kang, the star author of South Korean literature, returns: ‘I stopped writing for a year and forgot how to do it’ by Berna González Harbour in El País (23/9/2023)
• Han Kang: ‘That will be a problem when I die – I won’t be able to finish all my ideas’ (profile) by Annabel Nugent in The Independent (7/5/2023)
• Han Kang: ‘If I was 100% healthy I couldn’t have become a writer’ by Hannah Beckerman in The Guardian (17/12/2017)
• Korea's Kafka ? Interview with Man Booker winner Han Kang by Sabine Peschel at Deutsche Welle (9/12/2016)
• Interview with Han Kang by Sarah Shin in The White Review (3/2016)
• Don't Be Fooled, 'The Vegetarian' Serves Up Appetites For Fright by Linda Wertheimer at npr (13/2/2016)
• Han Kang Interview by PP Wong at Banana Writers

       A new work of hers will conveniently be appearing in English in January in the US (and February in the UK), We Do Not Part, translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris -- see the publicity pages from Hogarth and Hamish Hamilton, and pre-order your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.
       At Asymptote Linnea Gradin has an interesting -- and particularly relevant (translation into Swedish !) -- piece on Risgröt or juk ? On Han Kang’s We Do Not Part and Translating Between Small Languages

       For early reactions to her win, see:

• Han Kang Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature by Alex Marshall and Alexandra Alter in The New York Times
• South Korean author Han Kang wins the 2024 Nobel prize in literature by Ella Creamer in The Guardian
• South Korea's Han Kang wins Nobel Literature Prize by Annabel Rackham at the BBC
• South Korean author Han Kang wins 2024 Nobel Prize in literature by Neda Ulaby at npr

       More in-depth coverage should become available in the hours and days to come.

       To sample some of Han Kang's work, see:

• First Read — From “The White Book”
• White | State of Mind (excerpt from The White Book)
• The Vegetarian (excerpt)
• The Fruit of My Woman

       Han Kang also attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, in 1998.

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

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       Prix Alain Spiess

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix Alain Spiess du deuxième roman, a French second-novel prize, and it is La nuit de David, by Abigail Assor; see, for example, the report at Livres Hebdo; see also the Gallimard publicity page.

       An English translation of her debut came out as As Rich as the King -- see the Pushkin Press publicity page -- so maybe we'll see this in English as well.

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

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       Austrian Book Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Austrian Book Prize -- five titles left in the running.
       The winner will be announced 18 November.

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

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       Sally Rooney Q & A

       At The Paris Review's The Daily they have Loving the Limitations of the Novel: A Conversation between Sally Rooney and Merve Emre.
       Among her responses:

I started reading what you call the ordinary language philosophers. I read some J. L. Austin and Margaret MacDonald and made my way to the later work of Wittgenstein. I ended up reading Philosophical Investigations, and I felt, after I read it, that I knew how to finish Intermezzo.

       I have somehow managed to never come across a Rooney novel but I am intrigued and will certainly pick them up at some point.

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

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