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News, Notes, Talk

EXCLUSIVE: Watch Kurt Vonnegut Recall Entering Dresden as a POW

Tomorrow sees the long-awaited premiere of Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time, a documentary about the life of one of America’s most beloved writers. Directed by Robert Weide and Don Argott, Unstuck in Time has been in the making for decades, Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Here are the winners of the 2021 National Book Awards.

Tonight, in a digital ceremony hosted by Phoebe Robinson, the National Book Foundation announced the winners of its 2021 National Book Awards in Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction. The winners in each category will receive $10,000 Read more >

By Literary Hub

The makers of this French dictionary are under fire for including gender-inclusive language.

It seems as though we aren’t the only country that is divided over inclusive language. Recently, the makers of Petit Robert, a French reference dictionary, were criticized by the Minister of National Education for officially including gender-inclusive pronouns. According to Read more >

By Vanessa Willoughby

Patrick Radden Keefe has won the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction.

Patrick Radden Keefe has won the UK’s prestigious 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for his latest book Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, which investigates the legacy of the family behind Purdue Pharma, which produced and sold Read more >

By Emily Temple

“The play doesn’t belong to the playwright.” Paula Vogel on collaboration in theater.

Today is the 70th birthday of the great Paula Vogel, the Pulitzer-winning playwright of Indecent and How I Learned to Drive. In celebration, we’re revisiting her 1997 BOMB conversation with Mary-Louise Parker, the original Lil’ Bit in How I Learned Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Just so you know, there’s an 80s movie about Nicolas Cage as a vampiric publishing executive.

I’ve been on a real horror-comedy kick lately, so when I stumbled across Vampire’s Kiss on Amazon Prime (it’s my boyfriend’s account—don’t at me), I was immediately sold by the description: “After a night of passionate lovemaking in which he is bitten Read more >

By Eliza Smith

Nobel winner Orhan Pamuk is under investigation for insulting modern Turkey’s founder—in a novel.

Nobel-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk is being investigated by the government for “insulting Turkishness”—again. Earlier this year, Pamuk was investigated on criminal charges of insulting the Turkish flag and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, in his latest Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Here's the first cohort of a new literary fellowship supporting Puerto Rican writers.

Today, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Flamboyan Foundation’s Arts Fund announced their inaugural cohort of Letras Boricuas Fellows. This new fellowship aims to support emerging and established Puerto Rican writers, both in the archipelago and across the diaspora Read more >

By Snigdha Koirala

17 new books to keep your cozy reading season going strong.

It’s that time of year when we all just want to put on a chunky sweater, curl up on the couch, and pretend like we’re in a Nora Ephron movie, right? Here are 17 books coming out this week to Read more >

By Katie Yee

The Library of Congress will no longer use “aliens” and “illegal aliens” as categories.

Some good Monday news: as Publishers Weekly has reported, at a regular meeting of their Policy and Standards Division, the Library of Congress confirmed it will replace the cataloging subject headings “Aliens” and “Illegal aliens” with the more accurate, less Read more >

By Walker Caplan

The hottest new book merch is... NFTs.

Move over, bucket hats—the hottest new book merch in town is the NFT. At least, if you’re already an NFT guy and are willing to offer your wares as an incentive to move copies of your new leadership book. Gary Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

Somebody finally fixed the ending of The Giving Tree.

This weekend on Instagram, I discovered something I never knew I always wanted: a helpful update to Shel Silverstein’s psychotic parenting allegory The Giving Tree, in which a tree gives up every molecule of itself to help some ungrateful kid, Read more >

By Emily Temple

Area librarian exchanges books for literal trash.

Here is your feel-good story for a dull November Monday. An Indonesian librarian has started a mobile book-exchange in which she lends out books to children in exchange for literal trash. In an effort to increase literacy in Java island Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Exclusive cover reveal: Mieko Kawakami’s All The Lovers In The Night.

Lit Hub is pleased to reveal the new cover for Mieko Kawakami’s novel, All The Lovers in the Night, which will be published by Europa Editions in May 2022 in an English translation by Sam Bett and David Boyd. All Read more >

By Literary Hub

Dostoevsky totally did NaNoWriMo.

We’re nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month, which is just what it sounds like; participants have under three weeks until their 50,000-word drafts should be complete. If you’re participating and feeling depleted—like the work just won’t get done—take inspiration Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Goth-rock queen PJ Harvey is publishing a book-length narrative poem that took six years to write.

PJ Harvey is trying her hand at poetry again. In April 2022, Picador Poetry in the UK will publish the hardcover edition of Orlam, Harvey’s book-length narrative poem. A special collector’s edition featuring the musician’s original artwork will follow in October Read more >

By Vanessa Willoughby

9 books perfectly summed up with lyrics from Taylor Swift's Red.

Happy Red Re-release Day to Swifties and non-Swifties alike! If you’re not in the know, Taylor Swift is re-releasing her masters (long story made short here), and this morning at midnight, we got her version of Red—my absolute favorite album, Read more >

By Snigdha Koirala

Reddit thinks Thomas Pynchon might be secretly ghost-tweeting for Paul Thomas Anderson.

This week, a Lit Hub reader wrote in to inform me of what is at the very least an entertaining conspiracy theory unspooling over at the Thomas Pynchon subreddit (where the upvotes are +1 Pynchon head and the downvotes are Read more >

By Emily Temple

Watch Kurt Vonnegut explain the different shapes of stories.

Writers, here’s a little fun Thursday lunchtime activity for you. Think about the story you’re currently working on/avoiding. What shape does it take? Get a pen and some paper and trace it out. On the axis of good fortune versus Read more >

By Katie Yee

Cool, elected school district officials are calling for literal book burning now.

Those who have been paying attention to local education news and the critical race theory debate know that many school districts are battling over what materials can be kept in libraries and taught in classrooms. The battle is making its Read more >

By Walker Caplan