opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

       EBRD Literature Prize finalists

       The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has announced the finalists for its EBRD Literature Prize.
       One of the three finalists is under review at the complete review: Ice by Jacek Dukaj, translated by Ursula Phillips.
       The winner will be announced 2 July.

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

---

       Charles Ardai Q & A

       At CrimeReads Alex Dueben has a Q & A with Charles Ardai on Noir, Comics, and the Ongoing Adventures of Hard Case Crime.
       Among his responses:

A lot has been written about the death of the mass market paperback, which is of course connected to the rise in ebooks, but I am curious what that’s looked like from your perspective as a publisher and editor, and how has this changed the way the imprint works and the business side of things ?

We started out publishing mass-market paperbacks, those wonderful pocket-sized volumes that resembled the sort our parents and grandparents carried on trains and read in motel rooms and that famously were sold in wire spinner racks in drugstores throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. [...] Eventually, stores stopped wanting to carry these low-priced, pocket-sized books (though I don’t think readers ever stopped enjoying them) [...] No one can stay in business with a 70% return rate (never mind 80% or 90%), and in fact the first publishing partner we worked with, the venerable Dorchester Publishing, which put out books only in the mass-market format, did go out of business.

When we hooked up with Titan Books after Dorchester’s demise, they made it clear it would be trade paperbacks and hardcovers only – but every publisher that offered to work with us said the same thing, so it wasn’t really a choice. We had to publish in a larger format or not publish at all.

       A number of Hard Case Crime books are under review at the complete review -- but, yeah, I miss those mass-market paperback volumes .....

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

---

       OCM Bocas Prize

       They announced the winner of this year's OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature , and it is The Snag by Tessa McWatt, the nonfiction category-winner.
       See also the publicity pages for The Snag from Random House and Scribe.

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

       Thomas-Mann-Preis

       They've announced the winner of this year's Thomas Mann Prize, a leading German author prize, and it is To the End of the Land-author David Grossman; see, for example, the Börsenblatt report.
       He gets to pick up the prize on 25 September.

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

---

       James Tait Black Prize on hold ?

       As Jane Bradley reports at The Scotsman, there's a Threat to UK's oldest literary prize with DH Lawrence among winners amid university strike action, as lead judge of the The James Tait Black Prizes -- "The UK's longest running literary award" -- Hannah Kate Boast has announced that: "at present, there will be no prize".
       At issue is: "a marketing and assessment boycott" at the University of Edinburgh.

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

       Joyce Carol Oates Prize

       New Literary Project has announced the winner of this year's Joyce Carol Oates Prize, which honors: "mid-career authors of fiction who advance the vision and mission of NewLit -- to drive social change and unleash artistic power across the generations and the nation", and it is Erika Krouse.

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

---

       Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.
       Awarded to translations "published for the first time in print form in the United Kingdom in the year 2025", the list includes some that came out in the US years ago, including the one longlisted title under review at the complete review, Susan Bernofsky's translation of Tawada Yoko's The Naked Eye.

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

---

       Ethiopian monuments

       As reported by the Ethiopian News Agency, Addis Ababa Unveils Monuments Honoring Ethiopia's Legendary Artists, Literary Icons.
       Among those honored were literary figures Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin and Seed-author Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher.

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

       Pulitzer Prizes

       They've announced the winners of this year's Pulitzer Prizes, with Angel Down by Daniel Kraus taking the Fiction prize; the other finalists were Audition by Katie Kitamura and Stag Dance by Torrey Peters.
       No literary critics were finalists in the Criticism category.

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

---

       Zbigniew Herbert Award

       They've announced the winner of this year's Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award, and it is Ana Blandiana.
       Quite a few of her books have been translated into English, including the recent(ly translated) collection The Shadow of Words; see the Bloodaxe publicity page.

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

       Annie Ernaux profile

       Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux participated in this year's Salon International de l'Edition et du Livre, and at Morocco World News Firdaous Naim now reports on how At SIEL 2026, Annie Ernaux Dismantles the Fiction of Literature.

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

---

       Publishing in ... Asia

       At mint they have the Bloomberg article on how In an Age of Doom Scrolling, Asia's Book Market Is Thriving.
       But ...: "Demand is being driven by something more practical: a desire to get ahead" -- and so: "Textbooks, exam preparation materials and self-help titles are among the bestsellers".

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

       'God of the Little Road' exhibit

       At Scroll.in Debotri Ghosh speaks with Trinankur Banerjee, the grandson of Pather Panchali-author Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, in ‘Bibhutibhushan’s writings are a commentary on our ideas of civilisation inherited from colonisers’ -- as Banerjee recently curated an exhibit on the author, God of the Little Road.

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

       Katie Kitamura Q & A

       This week's 'The books of my life'-Q & A at The Guardian features Katie Kitamura: ‘Almost every writer changes my mind – that’s the point of reading’.
       Among her responses:

My favourite book growing up

I read a lot of Theodore Dreiser growing up, for reasons that are mysterious to me now.

       Also: all the authors she mentions are dead.

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

---

       Prix Émile Guimet finalists

       They've announced the finalists for this year's prix Émile Guimet de littérature asiatique in its three categories -- best novel, best graphic work (bande dessinée), and best manga (the latter limited to Japanese works, while the BD category excludes these) -- not yet at the official site, but see, for example, the ActuaLitté report.
       The winners will be announced 3 June.

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

       Edgar Allan Poe Awards

       The Mystery Writers of America have announced the winners of this year's Edgar Allan Poe Awards, with The Big Empty by Robert Crais winning for best novel -- and Richard Kopley's Edgar Allan Poe winning the critical/biographical category; see also the University of Virginia Press publicity page.

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

---

       Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel longlist

       Harrogate International Festivals have announced the eighteen-title-strong longlist for this year's Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
       The shortlist will be announced 18 June, and the winner on 23 July.

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

---

       Middlemen review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Laura B. McGrath on Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction, in Middlemen.

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

       Ottaway Award

       Words without Borders has announced the winner of this year's Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature, which: "recognizes an individual whose work and activism have advanced WWB's mission of promoting cultural understanding through the publication and promotion of international literature", and it is Laurence Laluyaux, head of RCW International at the RCW Literary Agency; see also the RCW press release.
       Among the authors she represents are Han Kang, Krasznahorkai László, Olga Tokarczuk, Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Chris Kraus, Valeria Luiselli, Olga Ravn, Keith Ridgway, and Sara Stridsberg -- quite an impressive list.

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

---

       Writing in ... Nicaragua

       At El País Wilfredo Miranda Aburto reports on Nicaragua, ‘the land of poets’ where reading its writers is forbidden
       Even books by Ernesto Cardenal "are becoming increasingly scarce. Booksellers say they prefer not to place any more orders, a form of self-censorship to protect themselves from cultural repression".

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

       Literary translation in ... South Korea

       As, for example, Lee Hae-rin reports in The Korea Times, South Korea to launch graduate school for literary translation by 2027, as the Literature Translation Institute Korea is upgrading its Translation Academy -- "the country’s only systematic program focused on Korean literature and cultural content translation, producing 1,694 graduates who now work around the world" -- into a degree-granting program.

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

---

       Colette Khoury profile

       Syrian author Colette Khoury recently passed away -- see, for example, the report at ANHA -- and at Qantara.de Muhammed Nafih Wafy now considers The paradox of Colette Khoury.

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

       Valeria Luiselli Q & A

       At El País Iker Seisdedos has a Q & A with the Faces in the Crowd (etc.)-author, in Valeria Luiselli, writer: ‘Not to succumb to the temptation of catastrophe is also a political stance’ -- mainly about her Beginning Middle End.
       Among her responses:

I’m not particularly interested in that distinction between fiction and non-fiction as such. The point is that fiction tends to be understood as untruth. And that isn’t true either. Fiction arrives at the truth by other means.

       And:

I don’t feel like a foreigner in New York. I do in the United States.

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

---

       Labeling in ... Russia

       The Moscow Times reports that Russian Platforms Label Pushkin, Gogol Classics Under ‘Drug Propaganda’ Law, as:

Under the legislation that took effect on March 1, literature, films, media and online content deemed to promote narcotics must be sold with a warning label.

       Sigh.

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

---

       Cullman Center fellows

       The New York Public Library has announced the latest batch of Fellows of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.
       The fiction writers among them are: Yaa Gyasi, Megha Majumdar, and Alexander Sammartino.

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

       Best non-fiction books of the 21st century ?

       At the Sunday Times they have their "team of literary experts picks the top factual British and Irish works since 2000", in The 25 best non-fiction books of the 21st century (possibly paywalled ?).
       Impressive aside: "In 2019 72 million factual books were sold in the UK. Last year this figure tumbled to 55 million".
       Only three of the twenty-five are under review at the complete review: Experience by Martin Amis, Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie, and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; there's also a review-overview of the impressive Global Crisis by Geoffrey Parker.

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

---

       'Writing in the Age of AI'

       Another article on 'Writing in the Age of AI' -- this time: Rand Richards Cooper, in Humanity on the Page in Commonweal.

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

---

       Book covers in ... India

       At Scroll.in Bhavna Bhasin considers What shapes the designs of book covers in India ?

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

       English-language publishing in ... India

       At mint Somak Ghoshal considers: Is India's English-language publishing failing its readers ? -- noting: "the robust reading cultures in Indian languages, but English-language publishing in India is a different story".
       Ghoshal finds:

For the most part, a cursory glance at India’s English-language publishing landscape shows a poverty of imagination, lack of intellectual ambition, and no quality control -- except in the case of a few indie publishers, who continue to champion writers and books they believe in.

       Much of what he says applies to other English-language publishing landscapes as well, specifically those of the US and UK .....

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

---

       Digitizing অসম

       As, for example, reported at India TodayNE ‘Digitising Assam 2.0’ unlocks 2.76 million pages of Assamese literature online, as: "the Nanda Talukdar Foundation has launched “Digitizing Assam 2.0,” making 2.76 million pages of Assamese literature and archival material fully searchable online".
       See the Digitizing অসম site -- though apparenlty (e-mail-)registration is required to get a peek at the goods, sigh). Still, it sounds impressive and useful (for readers of Assamese).

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

       New Asymptote

       The April issue of Asymptote is now up -- more than enough good material to see you through the weekend.

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

---

       Max Seeck profile

       At The Barents Observer Susanna Sjöstedt profiles the author, in Meet Max Seeck, the bestselling Finnish crime writer.
       See also the Agency Ahlbäck author page for Seeck.

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

       David Malouf (1934-2026)

       Australian author David Malouf has passed away; see, for example, the notice at Penguin Random House Australia, and obituaries at The Guardian and ABC.

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

---

       Baifang Schell Book Prizes

       They've announced the winners of this year's Baifang Schell Book Prizes.
       The Running Flame by Fang Fang -- translated by Michael Berry -- won the award for Outstanding Literature on or from China and the Sinophone World. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick won the Nonfiction Award.

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

       Prix Mondial Cino Del Duca

       The Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca has announced (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) the winner of this year's Prix Mondial Cino Del Duca, a €200,000 author prize for an author -- of scientific or literary works -- whose work 'carries a message of modern humanism', and it is Nobel laureate and The Prospector (etc.) author J.M.G Le Clézio.

       They've been awarding this since 1969 and it has a solid list of previous winners -- much more literary- than scientific-minded in recent years than when it started out.

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

---

       Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction, "awarded annually to the author of the best full-length novel of the year written in English and published in the UK".
       At the Literary Hub they have brief Q & As with the six shortlisted authors.

       The winner will be announced 11 June.

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

       Shortlist: Carol Shields Prize

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Carol Shields Prize For Fiction‬, celebrating: "creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States" -- and paying out US$150,000 to the winner.
       The winner will be announced 2 June.

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

---

       Shortlists: NSW Literary Awards

       They've announced the shortlists for this year's NSW Literary Awards -- "the richest and longest running state-based literary awards in Australia" -- in its ten categories; unfortunately and ridiculously, at the official site you have to click through to get to the actual lists for each category (why ? why ? why ?), so go to the Books + Publishing report where they conveniently list them all.
       The winners will be announced on 18 May.

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

---

       Deutscher Sachbuchpreis finalists

       They've announced the eight finalists for this year's German Non-Fiction Prize, selected from 239 entries from 132 publishers.
       Some interesting-sounding titles -- including a Thomas Mann biography; see the dtv publicity page.
       The winner will be announced 8 June.

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

---

       The Palm House review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Gwendoline Riley's latest, The Palm House.

       As I mentioned, Riley was recently named a Windham-Campbell Prize winner.

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

       Sheikh Zayed Book Awards

       They announced the winners of this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Awards a few days ago -- with Nawal Nasrallah's translation of Smorgasbords of Andalusi and Maghribi Dishes and Their Salutary Benefits winning the translaion category (see also the Brill publicity page).

       See also the Sheikh Zayed Book Award-sponsored PW Spotlight: The Sheikh Zayed Book Award Turns 20 at Publishers Weekly.

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

---

       Short Circuit

       I reviewed Wolf Haas' Short Circuit when it came out in German, but now it's out in English, today.
       Published by HarperVia, I wonder whether this will be his break-out novel in English. Melville House did publish a few of his Brenner novels, which are fun, but it's still relatively little of his work that has been translated into English.
       And while Short Circuit is good, his stand-out -- also available in English ! -- remains The Weather Fifteen Years Ago. It's published by Ariadne Press; some big publisher really ought to license this .....

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

       Magnesia Litera

       They've announced the winners of this year's Magnesia Litera awards, the leading Czech literary prize, with Mariborská hypnóza by Dora Kaprálová taking both the prose-category award as well as being named book of the year; see also the Czech Literary Centre information page and the Větrné mlýny publicity page.
       The Czech translation of NoViolet Bulawayo's Glory won in the translation category.

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

---

       Louise Erdrich profile

       At El País Iker Seisdedos profiles Louise Erdrich, Native American writer: ‘No one is illegal; we all have the same right to exist’.

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

       L.A. Times Book Prizes

       Friday night they announced the L.A. Times Book Prize; see, for example, Malia Mendez's report in ... The Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Book Prize honorees toast to writing’s political power: ‘When people rise, empires always fall’.
       The fiction award went to Palaver, by Bryan Washington.

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

---

       Writing in ... South Korea

       At the BBC Leehyun Choi reports on The South Korean authors rising above a tide of hate to become bestsellers.

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

---

       Gratiaen Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Gratiaen Prize, "awarded for the best work of creative writing in English by a Sri Lankan citizen resident in Sri Lanka" -- not yet at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, the report in The Sunday Times.
       The shortlist will be announced 4 May and the winner on 6 June.

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

       Kurt & Helen Wolff Translator's Prize shortlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Kurt & Helen Wolff Translator's Prize, honoring: "an outstanding literary translation from German into English published in the USA the previous year" -- five titles selected from twenty-six submissions. (Admirably, this prize reveals all the submitted titles -- as every prize should.)
       Two (more or less) of the finalists are under review at the complete review: Gabriele Tergit's Effingers, in Sophie Duvernoy's translation, and Peter Weiss' The Aesthetics of Resistance (though I reviewed the German original, and haven't seen Joel Scott's shortlisted translation of volume three).

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

---

       CWA Daggers longlists

       The Crime Writers' Association has announced the longlists for its thirteen Dagger awards; see also the more convenient overview in Erin Mitchell's report at Crimespree.
       One of the titles -- in the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation-category -- is under review at the complete review: Uketsu's Strange Pictures.

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

---

       Monsters in the Archives review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Caroline Bicks on My Year of Fear with Stephen King, in Monsters in the Archives.

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

       Grasset exodus

       After the ousting of longtime Grasset editor Olivier Nora the authors have revolted: see, for example Angelique Chrisafis' report in The Guardian -- More than 100 writers quit French publisher in protest against rightwing owner Vincent Bolloré -- and at France24 -- Turmoil at publisher owned by French billionaire Bolloré sparks exodus of top authors; at LivresHebdo they quote from the letter sent by the authors, as well as offering a list of all those who signed on.
       The authors stated, among other things:

Aujourd'hui, nous avons un point commun : nous refusons d'être les otages d'une guerre idéologique visant à imposer l’autoritarisme partout dans la culture et les médias

       The latter part is translated at The Guardian as:

We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war that seeks to impose authoritarianism everywhere in culture and the media

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

---

       Walter Scott Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction -- five titles.
       The winner will be announced 11 June.

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

---

       Hans Ulrich Obrist Q & A

       Cultured has a hard-to-resist Q & A with the curator, given the headline: Hans Ulrich Obrist Owns More Than 40,000 Books. Here Are a Few of His Favorites.
       Among his admirable routines: "I have a ritual where I buy a book every day". As everyone should.

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

       Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards -- "the nation’s only endowed juried prize dedicated to literature that contributes to our understanding of race and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures" -- in its four categories.
       The winner in the fiction category is Make Your Way Home, by Carrie R. Moore.

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

---

       Europese Literatuurprijs longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Europese Literatuurprijs, a Dutch prize for the best contemporary European novel in Dutch translation -- 19 titles selected from 123 submitted titles.
       Two of the titles are under review at the complete review: Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov and and What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. .

       Also among the longlisted titles is the fourth in Antonio Scurati's Mussolini-series -- which reminds me: why has only the first 'M.'-novel been published in English (with the second finally due in September ...) ?

       The shortlist will be announced 17 June and the winner on 2 September.

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

---

       Irish Novel of the Year shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award.
       The winner will be announced 27 May.

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

---

       Han Kang Q & A

       At Vogue Nick Hilden has ... A Rare Interview With Nobel-Winning Author Han Kang.

       Among her responses:

Why do you think The Vegetarian resonated with readers so strongly ?

The book layers rejection of violence, despair over being human, and women’s silent screams. And that’s also a reflection of us living in this world.

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

       Guggenheim Fellows

       The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its most recent batch of fellows, 223 of them, selected from "a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants".
       Quite a few writers are among the winners, but only one fellowship was awarded for translation -- to Heather Cleary.

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

---

       On the Calculation of Volume (Book IV) review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the fourth in Solvej Balle's planned seven-volume series, On the Calculation of Volume (Book IV) -- just published in English yesterday.

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

       Helen DeWitt gets her 175K after all

       Last week I mentioned that they had announced the winners (and recipients of US$175,000 each) of this year's Windham-Campbell Prizes -- and that The English Understand Wool-author Helen DeWitt was originally slated to be one of the winners but that .... fell through.
       Now the Mercatus Center has announced that DeWitt will be the first recipient of a new Emergent Ventures Arts Patronage award -- paying out a not in the least coïncidental US$175,000; see also Tyler Cowen's mention at Marginal Revolution, where he notes that:

This is a new tranche of ad hoc awards, given out more like prizes, without applications, to writers, creatives, and intellectuals who are not supported by the current system of awards and grants, or who have been failed by such systems.

       Yes, a not-so-subtle dig at the Windham-Campbell folk.

       See also DeWitt's tweets acknowledging the grant.

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

---

       Premio de la Crítica

       In Spain, they've announced the Premio de la Crítica, with Marcos Giralt Torrente taking the Spanish-language fiction prize for Los ilusionistas -- see also the Anagrama publicity page -- and Death and the Gardener by Georgi Gospodinov (well, Gueorgui Gospodínov in Spain) winning the award for the best foreign work; see also the El País report.
       The other fiction winners are: L'anell del Nibelung by Amadeu Fabregat (Catalan); see also the Proa publicity page; O lanzador de coitelos by Fernando Castro Paredes (Galician); see also the Editorial Galaxia publicity page; and Dena zulo bera zen by Eider Rodríguez (Basque); see also the Susa publicity page.

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

---

       Fiction (not) in India

       At Times Now Girish Shukla wonders Why Almost Every Major Indian Writer Lives Abroad and What It Has Done to Indian Fiction ?
       I'd suggest that a big part of the problem is that it's just so much harder for 'homegrown' literature to get published and distributed outside of India; I suspect there are quite a few 'major' writers who we are just not seeing much of .....

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

---

       Xingyun Awards finalists

       At Locus they publish the list of finalists in the various categories of the Xingyun Awards for Chinese science fiction.
       The translated category includes a work by Stanisław Lem and an Arthur C. Clarke-biogrpahy (though I note it's listed under 'Best Translated Fiction' ...).

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

       Amitav Ghosh Q & A

       At The Observer Jeevan Vasagar has a Q & A with The Calcutta Chromosome-author -- though mainly about his Ghost-Eye and Wild Fictions -- in Amitav Ghosh: ‘It’s a fool’s errand to imagine the future’.

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

---

       AI and book promotion

       In the Global Times Ji Yuqiao finds that AI can extend a book’s reach, but not at the expense of its essence -- exploring:

Could AI-powered video storytelling rejuvenate how publishers connect with younger audiences, or does the trend risk flattening the rich complexity of literature to mere visual spectacle ?

       Not my kind of thing, but as Ji points out:

The fact is, traditional book promotion methods, such as book reviews, author events, static posts on social media platforms, barely make a dent among younger digital-native readers.

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

---

       Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay profile

       At Scroll.in Ankush Pal profiles Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay at 150: The rebel novelist whose words can still ignite fires.
       He suggests:

Devdas mirrors the ache of his emotional genius, and it is this novel that has arguably done more than any other single work to cement his immortality in the popular imagination.

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

---

       Sherborne Prize

       They've announced the winner of the Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing -- awarded for the first time this year -- and it is Lone Wolf by Adam Weymouth.
       See also the publicity pages for Lone Wolf from Hutchinson Heinemann and Crown.

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

go to archive

- return to top of the page -

© 2026 the complete review


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