At least four writers have pulled out of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the biggest book fair in the world, citing concerns over the presence of far-right publishers. Writer and activist Jasmina Kuhnke, who was slated to make an appearance at the fair Friday to promote her debut novel, “Black Heart,” posted a statement Monday on Twitter saying she decided to withdraw after learning that far-right books were being promoted at the event. Read more
Category: Authors
‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Author Margaret Atwood Faces Backlash for Gender Neutrality Tweet
On Tuesday, Atwood tweeted out an article by Rosie DiManno from Friday’s Toronto Star entitled “Why Can’t We Say ‘Woman’ Anymore?” The opinion piece argues that gender-neutral language, such as “pregnant person,” equates to “an erasure of women” and causes “well-meaning” people to become “tongue-tied, lest they be attacked as transphobic or otherwise insensitive to the increasingly complex constructs of gender.” Read more
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Margaret Atwood and JM Coetzee demand release of jailed Iranian writers
The writers began a collective 15-and-a-half-year sentence at Evin Prison in Tehran in September 2020, on what writers’ association PEN America said were “spurious” national security and propaganda charges. Since then, Abtin and Khandan Mahabadi have both contracted Covid-19. Abtin is a poet, screenwriter and film-maker; Bajan is a novelist and journalist; and Khandan Mahabadi is an author and literary critic. Read more
Nicaragua orders arrest of award-winning author Sergio Ramírez
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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Why William Gibson Is a Literary Genius
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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Why authors are turning down lucrative deals in favour of Substack
The newsletter platform has poached big names including Salman Rushdie along with a slew of comic book authors from DC and Marvel. Read more
Why The World’s Military Leaders Are Drafting Science Fiction Writers
“As Le Monde reported recently, the unusual collaboration between the French Ministry of Defense and the University of Paris Sciences and Lettres (PSL) has just launched the second season of this project.” Read more
New York’s Legendary Literary Hangouts
You might think of them as solitary creatures, furiously scribbling or typing alone, but as long as there have been writers in New York City, they have socialized together in an assortment of bars, restaurants, apartments and clubs. Read more
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The Secret Codes of Lady Wroth, the First Female English Novelist
The Renaissance noblewoman is little known today, but in her time she was a notorious celebrity. Read more
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Late author Haley honored by Annapolis on 100th birthday
Remembering his 100th birthday, Maryland’s capital city gave honors this weekend to the late author Alex Haley and his extended family, citing his research that led to a greater understanding by all Americans about slavery’s legacy. Read more
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