Isabel Allende Wins Lifetime Achievement Award, Great Sentences, and More
Elizabeth Metzger on Max Ritvo’s last poems; Barnes & Noble opens new prototype store; Dutch theater company adapts A Little Life; and other news.
Genre: Fiction
The Miniaturist
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The Miniaturist (Ecco, 2014), Jessie Burton’s debut novel revolving around a mysterious dollhouse in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, has been adapted into a three-part television miniseries for Masterpiece on PBS. Directed by Guillem Morales, the series stars Emily Berrington, Romola Garai, Alex Hassell, Hayley Squires, and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Genre:
Man Booker Prize Shortlist, New York Times Critics on the Nobel, and More
Ian Buruma out at New York Review of Books; Bob Woodward’s Fear is the fastest-selling book in Simon & Schuster’s history; New York Media to triple its book coverage; and other news.
A River of Stars
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“He wanted to send her and their unborn child halfway around the world to Perfume Bay, five-star accommodations located outside of Los Angeles.” Vanessa Hua reads from her debut novel, A River of Stars (Ballantine Books, 2018), for the ZYZZYVA reading series at Booksmith bookstore in San Francisco.
Genre:
Danez Smith Wins Forward Prize, Stormy Daniels Memoir Leaked, and More
Doron Weber to receive National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award; essayist Elissa Washuta on addiction and writing; Khaled Hosseini’s new book on the Syrian refugee crisis; and other news.
Rebecca Makkai
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“You’re writing in total isolation. It’s like getting dressed in the dark, the complete dark, and then you have to go out on stage.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Rebecca Makkai discusses what it feels like to publish a book, the research behind her new novel, The Great Believers (Viking, 2018), and why she enjoys teaching MFA students. The Great Believers is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in fiction.
Genre:
Return of the Ruby Slippers
Earlier this month, a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz was recovered by the FBI. The iconic shoes had been missing from the Judy Garland Museum since 2005 and details about the theft and suspects remain mysterious. Write a short story that revolves around the recovery, after many years, of stolen items that have great value to your main character. What speculative theories arise about the theft, and how do they match up with what actually occurred? Ultimately, does your main character learn exactly who took these items, or do mysterious elements and unanswered questions linger?
AI Lion Spits Poetry, the Twenty-First Century Literary Canon, and More
Dwight Garner reviews the conclusion of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle series; Emma Ramadan on translation; Apple releases revamped books app; and other news.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda at Thirty, Dayton Literary Peace Prizes, and More
Haruki Murakami withdraws his nomination for the alternative Nobel Prize; Ian Buruma on his decision to publish Jian Ghomeshi; imagined Tinder exchanges between literature’s great couples; and other news.
National Book Award Longlist in Fiction, Secret Library Apartments, and More
The Jane Austen Pineapple Appreciation Society; Mark Tauber to lead new nonfiction imprint at Chronicle Books; the growth of Chinese American literature; and other news.
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