Mr Ramírez, who won Spain’s Cervantes Prize for literature in 2017, is one of Nicaragua’s foremost writers. He has been accused of inciting hatred and conspiring to destabilise Nicaragua. Dozens of influential Nicaraguans have already been detained on similar charges as part of a crackdown on critics of President Daniel Ortega. Read more
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Given stubborn Western stereotypes about repressed Middle Eastern attitudes toward sexuality, many English-speaking readers may be unaware of the strong tradition of Arabic writing on love and the erotic stretching back several millennia. Perhaps even less known are the significant contributions of women to this genre, from enslaved girls in Islamic courts, who composed poetry both ribald and refined, to contemporary writers penning provocative fiction in the Arab world and its diaspora. Read more
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Riddles are at the heart of language. The Old English verb raedan lies at the root of “to read” and “to riddle”: To read is to riddle, to riddle is to read. What makes the riddle so special and weird as a form — and so like the crossword — is its ability to be at once highbrow and lowbrow. Riddles represent the whole of Anglo-Saxon life. These short pieces range about as widely as possible in tone and form, from ribald cracks to grammar lessons to ornate religious puzzles by the archbishop of Canterbury. Read more
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Richard McCaslin and his story in American Madness is enthralling from beginning to end. It is also very infuriating, and at times, quite sad. Krulos is an expert weaver of interesting tales. He writes in excruciating detail on how one person can be taken in by conspiracy theories and how they define and destroy a life. Read more
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Create your National Book Festival experience with the Library of Congress in 2021 by engaging in author conversations online, watching the broadcast special on PBS, listening to NPR podcasts, tuning in to Washington Post Live author interviews and attending a ticketed event at the Library. Join us for an expanded Festival, Sept. 17-26, a 10-day event with the theme, “Open a Book, Open the World.” Read more
In the last 10 years, psychedelic drugs like LSD, magic mushrooms, DMT, a host of “plant medicines” – including ayahuasca, iboga, salvia, peyote – and related compounds like MDMA and ketamine have begun to lose much of their 1960s-driven stigma. Promising clinical trials suggest that psychedelics may prove game-changing treatments for depression, PTSD and addiction. Read more
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These first-hand accounts of surviving and overcoming wrongful conviction are must-reads for anyone interested in criminal justice reform. Read more
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Clarke’s follow-up to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was praised by judges as ‘a truly original, unexpected flight of fancy’ Read more
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A Spanish bishop known for performing exorcisms has resigned after reportedly falling in love with an author of satanic-themed erotic fiction, sparking fears among his former Catholic colleagues that he has been possessed by the devil. Read more
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Forty years after his breakout story, “Johnny Mnemonic,” the father of cyberpunk remains one of the best writers around. Read more
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