the Literary Saloon
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Opinionated commentary on literary matters.
the Literary Saloon
4h ago
Small Press Distribution has announced that it is closing -- a major blow for small and independent publishers in the United States and for the readers of their books; see also Jim Milliot's report in Publishers Weekly ..read more
the Literary Saloon
4h ago
In The Guardian David Barnett profiles Liu Cixin: ‘I’m often asked – there’s science fiction in China?’, as a TV adaptation of his The Three-Body Problem is now playing on Netflix.
I'd like to see the hard numbers, but interesting to hear:
But now, the novel has sold more than 3m copies in the English-speaking world, exceeding the total sales of all the literary works exported by China since the founding of the country ..read more
the Literary Saloon
4h ago
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Monika Zgustová's Véra and Vladimir Nabokov-novel, A Revolver to Carry at Night, just about out in English from Other Press.
On the one hand, I'm always intrigued by fiction featuring real-life figures -- just see all such books under review at the complete review --, on the other hand ..... I do prefer the more creative takes; simple fictionalization of fact -- even where, as here, an author tries to shape it in a particular way -- seems fairly l ..read more
the Literary Saloon
4h ago
They've announced the shortlists for this year's James Tait Black Prizes -- four titles in the fiction category, and six in the biography category ..read more
the Literary Saloon
4h ago
They've announced the shortlist for this year's Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, with six titles left in the running.
The winner will be announced 13 June ..read more
the Literary Saloon
2d ago
They've announced the shortlist for this year's €100,000 Dublin Literary Award -- six titles, with one of them a translation, Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu.
The winner will be announced on 23 May ..read more
the Literary Saloon
2d ago
The New Literary Project has announced the finalists for this year's Joyce Carol Oates Prize, a: "$50,000 prize for a mid-career author of fiction". They are: Jamel Brinkley, Patricia Engel, Ben Fountain, Idra Novey, and Bennett Sims ..read more
the Literary Saloon
2d ago
They've announced the winners of this year's Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, "the only national juried prize for literature that confronts racism and explores diversity". with Tremor, by Teju Cole, winning the fiction category, and Maxine Hong Kingston winning for lifetime achievement ..read more
the Literary Saloon
2d ago
Sad to hear that Marjorie Perloff has passed away; see, for example, Andrew Epstein's F*c*book post.
None of her books are under review at the complete review at this time, but I should be getting to her translation of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Private Notebooks: 1914-1916 (Liveright) and keep meaning to get to her memoir, The Vienna Paradox (New Directions ..read more
the Literary Saloon
2d ago
The 2024:1 issue of the Swedish Book Review is now available, with a variety of articles and reviews ..read more