Three years ago, a small group of academics at a German university launched an unprecedented collaboration with the military – using novels to try to pinpoint the world’s next conflicts. Are they on to something? Read more
Oprah Winfrey picks Emancipation-era novel ‘The Sweetness of Water’ for book club
Critics in the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and elsewhere have praised the book. “Harris’ first novel is an aching chronicle of loss, cruelty, and love in the wake of community devastation,” said Booklist. Novelist Richard Russo, the author of “Marriage Story: An American Memoir,” said, “What a gifted, assured writer Nathan Harris is … better than any debut novel has a right to be.” Read more
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Ali Smith wins Orwell prize for novel taking in Covid-19 and Brexit
The Scottish author came up with her project to write four political novels in real time back in 2015, starting with Autumn. Smith began writing Summer, the final book in her Seasonal Quartet, in January 2020 and it was published in August. The novel includes references to Covid-19, Australian wildfires, Brexit and the murder of George Floyd. Read more
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Meet Alexandra Huynh, Amanda Gorman’s successor as youth poet laureate
Huynh, an incoming first-year student at Stanford University, was raised by Vietnamese American immigrant parents in Sacramento — an experience that played a significant role in her poetry and her mission to connect cultures and work toward justice. Read more
Three newly discovered manuscripts by Edward Lear
Edward Lear (1812–88) is beloved as the author of “The Owl and the Pussycat” and as one of Britain’s finest nonsense poets. He was also a successful artist and a frequent traveller, who captivated those who knew him with his humorous verses. One such devotee – and a frequent correspondent during Lear’s later life – was a young woman called Mary Theresa Mundella (1847–1922), the daughter of a Liberal politician, Anthony John Mundella (1825–97). This friendship led to a stream of correspondence between Mary Mundella and Lear, as he entertained her with comic letters and poems containing his own special brand of nonsense. Mundella hoarded Lear’s epistles and gifted them to her niece, Dorothea Mary Roby Benson (1876–1942), later Lady Charnwood. It is in the Charnwood Autograph Collection, held at the British Library, that three new Lear manuscripts have been discovered. Read more
New works from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives will finally be published, starting next year
The publishing giant HarperCollins has reached an agreement with the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to acquire world publishing rights to the late Civil Rights leader’s entire archives—a collection which contains some of the “most historically important and vital literature in American history.” Read more
The Poetry-Loving Cook Who Fed Detroit’s Soul
With a 35-cent-meal restaurant and other charities, Mother Waddles was “a one-woman war on poverty.” Read more
A Brief History of the Book Blurb
The hyperbole on book jackets—both the plot summaries and the lists of adulatory adjectives that go with them—have long frustrated authors, but no one would dispute that a good blurb has crucial functions: it’s a chance to hook readers, and can help them situate a new book within a genre or tradition. Read more
In the New Hong Kong, Booksellers Walk a Fine Line
Some independent shops flout the new limits on free expression. Others try to come to terms with them. For readers, they offer a sense of connection in a changed city. Read more
The Key to Democracy: A Century of Free Speech
Anyone who reads this book will come away with a solid understanding of the dilemmas of free speech law. Readers with no legal training will gain a huge and valuable insight into the complexities of free speech law. This book ought to be required reading for all political leaders, especially those who persist in pandering to their base by intentionally misrepresenting why free speech is so important, even when we hate what the speaker has to say. Read more
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