In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks notes a parochialism in American writing.
Latest Best Books Lists from Brazil
Three sources for the best books in Brazil: literature, children’s and short stories.
Orbit Publisher Talks About UK/UK Pub of PERFECT SHADOW
By Erin L. Cox Two weeks ago, SF and Fantasy imprint Orbit announced that they would be publishing writer Brent Weeks’ novella simultaneously in the US and UK in both e-book and audio formats. As publishers examine digital/global publishing and test out what works for their books and readers, Publishing Perspectives sat down with Orbit Publisher Tim Holman to ask about …
Hungarian for Inspiration
• Andrew Ervin, author of the collection of linked novellas Extraordinary Renditions discusses the woeful lack of Hungarian literature translated into English and offers a survey of titles that are available and should not be missed. By Andrew Ervin Though I lived in Budapest for over four years, from November 1994 to March 1999, my grasp of the Hungarian language …
Review: A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
Reviewed by Gwendolyn Dawson Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Good Squad, is a collection of loosely connected short stories presented as a novel that spans decades and covers the overlapping lives of numerous characters. Each of thirteen chapters is told from the perspective of a different character, such that no single character emerges as a protagonist. In addition to …
New Writing from Nairobi: Storymoja’s “Story of the Week”
By Edward Nawotka Storymoja, the Nairobi-based publishing collective that we profiled last year, is running a weekly short story contest. Publishers looking for new African voices might do well by paying attention to some of the winners. Stories that qualify for the contest need to adhere to certain criteria: Contemporary Nairobi setting Has two or more young professionals as main characters …
Back to Analog: Underwood’s Short Stories on Vinyl are a Surprise Hipster Hit
By Edward Nawotka LONDON: Nathan Dunn was waiting out a flight-delay in Bangkok airport last year when he spotted a man carrying a portable gramophone. “He had a bag full of old records and would dust each one off meticulously before playing it. On seeing this I was reminded of what we’ve lost in the digital age — a love …
Review: The Most Beautiful Book in the World by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
By Gwendolyn Dawson Although labeled “novellas” in the subtitle, these eight pieces are true short stories; each one contains only a few key characters and spans roughly twenty pages. In the broadest sense, these stories uncover the hidden sources of humanity’s best qualities: happiness, forgiveness, love, and generosity. Schmitt’s tormented characters stumble upon these redemptive qualities in the unlikeliest of places, often despite …
Review: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
By Gwendolyn Dawson In this collection of linked short stories, each story follows the perspective of an employee (or, in one case, a devoted reader) of an international English-language newspaper based in Rome. As a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and with experience as a foreign correspondent stationed in Rome, Rachman is well-qualified for his subject. Every story …
If They Need to Compete With Digital, Why Can’t Publishers Work Faster?
By Edward Nawotka Earlier this year we covered the new trend of “cause publishing” and in today’s lead story, we have an example of it: 100 Stories for Haiti, an anthology sourced via Twitter of stories from around the globe with proceeds going to Haitian earthquake relief. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that the book went from idea …