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News, Notes, Talk

These Polish scientists have built an Olga Tokarczuk books calculator.

Eager to crack the spine on one of Olga Tokarczuk’s many acclaimed novels but unsure of where to begin? Packing for a vacation and want to make sure your Olga T book selection is the right one? Game show host just Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Watch Bob Odenkirk show Stephen Colbert how he wrote his memoir. (Spoiler: it’s comedy.)

Bob Odenkirk: standup, satirist, dramatic actor, action star, and now, memoirist. Odenkirk’s book Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, detailing his multifaceted career from standup comic to Saturday Night Live writer to surprise dramatic actor and Better Call Saul star, is out Read more >

By Walker Caplan

What can Love Is Blind teach us about writing? Glad you asked...

Of course you have binge-watched every single episode of Love Is Blind‘s second season by now. You’ve felt for Danielle in her hot dog costume. You’ve cheered on Iyanna and Jarette (okay, mostly Iyanna). You’ve been afraid Shayne would spend Read more >

By Katie Yee

Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, and others sign an open letter condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Over 1,000 writers worldwide, including Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, and Salman Rushdie, have signed an open letter released by PEN International condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “call[ing] for an end to the bloodshed.” “We stand united in condemnation of Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Here are the winners of the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards.

The winners of the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards were presented last night at The Town Hall in New York City, in a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers. Selected by jury, more than 40 writers and translators were recognized; as Read more >

By Eliza Smith

18 new books coming into the world today.

Don’t walk—run—to the nearest bookstore. This week sees the publication of new books by Margaret Atwood, Sarah Moss, Kathryn Davis, and more. * Margaret Atwood, Burning Questions (Doubleday) “One of the most notable aspects of this collection is how engaged Read more >

By Katie Yee

Melville House celebrates 20 years of speaking out.

In 2002, Dennis Johnson and Valerie Merians started Melville House. You know them. They gifted the world Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing. They do The Last Interview series. They crash-published The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture in less Read more >

By Katie Yee

Just a reminder that Haruki Murakami’s Drive My Car is coming to streaming in March.

Because we love Haruki Murakami at Lit Hub, I thought I’d write a quick post to let you know that Drive My Car, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s beautiful and sharp adaptation of the Murakami short story, will be available to stream on Read more >

By Walker Caplan

A literary guide to crying in New York City.

It goes without saying, though it has been said many times, New York City is the best city to cry in—the sheer number of people make it a haven for anonymity, and rarely does anyone bat an eye when something Read more >

By Snigdha Koirala

PEN America is hosting an NYC vigil tonight in support of Ukrainian artists and writers.

As fighting continues this week in Ukraine, many of its artists, thinkers, journalists, and writers continue to be in danger—especially those who have criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tonight, in recognition of their struggle and a show of solidarity, PEN America Read more >

By Corinne Segal

A Hayao Miyazaki graphic novel is being published for the first time in the U.S.

Exciting news for Hayao Miyazaki fans: Shuna’s Journey, a 1983 graphic novel by Miyazaki, will receive an English-language release in the U.S. late this year. First Second, a Macmillan imprint, will publish the work on November 1st. Alex Dudok de Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Most Americans don’t agree with book bans.

If you’ve been paying attention to local news in the past year, you’ve likely noticed the alarming wave of school book bans sweeping the country: “educational gag orders” that effectively ban books about history, race, and sexuality. Just last month, Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Recommended: This close reading of Ilya Kaminsky’s “We Lived Happily During the War.”

Now seems like a good time to direct people to Pádraig Ó Tuama’s close reading of Ilya Kaminsky’s hard and beautiful poem, “We Lived Happily During the War,” which has been making the rounds all across social media (Kaminsky is Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

TAULT, an agency for Ukrainian writing, is calling on translators to help them.

TAULT, an agency for Ukrainian literature in translation, has issued a call in search of translators who work in Ukrainian and Russian “to assist us with an increased demand for Ukrainian literature.” The agency represents literary writing from Ukrainian authors Read more >

By Corinne Segal

How you can help Ukraine.

It has been a sad and surreal 48 hours watching the outbreak of the largest land war in Europe since WWII. As Russian forces draw ever closer to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv a parallel stream of narratives fills our Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

A previously unpublished Leonard Cohen novel will come out this fall.

Hallelujah: as The Guardian reported today, a previously unpublished book by Leonard Cohen—rejected by two publishers and then set aside—will be published this fall by Grove Press. The novel, A Ballet of Lepers, will be published in October alongside fifteen Read more >

By Walker Caplan