William Boyd’s Trio, Nnedi Okorafor’s Remote Control, Janice P. Nimura’s The Doctors Blackwell, and Simon Winchester’s Land all feature among the best reviewed books of the week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.” Fiction Read more >
It’s rare to see Raven Leilani’s Luster next to Doctor De Soto, William Steig’s children’s book about a mouse that performs dental surgery—but this is par for the course at Oh Hello Again, Seattle’s newest bookshop. Oh Hello Again, rather Read more >
For a long while Barnes & Noble was villain number one in the eyes of indie bookstore owners, the poster child for soulless, homogenizing box stores (they even made a movie about it!)—but that was 25 years ago. These days, Read more >
The late Umberto Eco—professor, novelist, children’s book author—was a man of many talents. One of which, as seen in a video clip posted on Twitter by writer Ted Gioia, was quickly finding books in his famously massive personal library. I Read more >
Ard Su’s colorful, stylized illustrations have accompanied fiction by Lorrie Moore in The New Yorker and interviews on NPR NextGen. But before she completed her MA in illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art, she studied Japanese, in the Read more >
Between Bernie’s mittens, Ella Emhoff’s coat (and iconic Pence mocking), and the president of the United States no longer being a proudly monstrous coup-stoking white supremacist, there were some big wins at yesterday’s inauguration. Of course, as a literary website, Read more >
Remember that one week last year when we were all pushing to save the USPS? Well, here is another reason to support them: they’re putting beloved sci-fi writer Ursula K. Le Guin on a stamp! Honestly, why is this not Read more >
Today, the New Yorker Union announced that its members will be “undertaking a twenty-four-hour work stoppage,” lasting between 6 A.M. this morning (Thursday, January 21), through 6 A.M. tomorrow. During this time, the official statement reads, “union members will not Read more >
Loathe as I am to be the bearer of dispiriting news on this hopeful day, here’s a dispatch from Hungary that manages to be both petty and terrifying at the same time. It seems that authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Read more >
According to Arlette Saenz just now on CNN soon-to-be President Joe Biden will be editing his inaugural speech right up to the very last second, in what is the presidential version of “Wait, can you use this version?” Apparently, he Read more >
Today, Joe Biden will become only the fourth president in American history to have a poet read at their inauguration. (Yes, they’ve all been Democrats.) When she takes the stage, Amanda Gorman, at 22, will be the youngest ever inaugural Read more >
As readers, we’re obsessed with the creative process: entire podcasts, interviews, and courses are dedicated to how writers come up with their ideas and write. But here’s a trade secret: more often than not, the genesis of any given idea Read more >
Worry no more about Valentine’s Day plans! Starz has picked up the TV adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries, and it’s set to premiere on February 14th at 9:30 pm. The six-part series stars The Knick’s Eve Hewson as Anna Read more >
As you may remember, about a week ago, Senator Josh Hawley challenged the results of the election, encouraged the storming of the Capitol, and then complained about Simon & Schuster canceling his book deal, calling the publisher’s decision “Orwellian” (how?) Read more >
Edgar Allan Poe was born on this day in 1809, so what better day for an “extremely famous, very dead authors: they’re just like us!” feature! In this case: their friends tactfully tell them when they’re using too many adjectives! Read more >
Today marks 100 years since the birth of Patricia Highsmith, rebellious writer, music lover, closet romantic, and author of one of the greatest crime novels—and coming of age stories—of all time (no matter what some people say). Though we think Read more >
Do you like the Best American series? Of course you do! Each book in the annual series showcases of best short fiction and nonfiction in a given year, from short stories to essays, travel writing, to food writing. Each volume’s Read more >
I’m not sure how to feel about this one: poet Maya Angelou is going to be a Barbie. I have limited experience with Barbies, both in my own childhood and as a parent, and I find their weird, distorted physical Read more >
How’s that New Year’s resolution to read more going? Yeah, badly for me, too! I just got an HBO Max subscription, so you can imagine my nights awash in the Friends theme song (I find the show comforting—don’t @ me!) and Read more >
Earlier this year, we learned of the founding of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which is the first English-language literary award to celebrate excellence in fiction by women writers in the United States and Canada. And today, the Carol Read more >
