Today, The Washington Post announced all of the finalists for the 2020 National Book Awards. The twenty-five finalists were selected from fifty longlisted writers across five genres—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction—by a distinguished panel of literary experts. Read more >
You know it’s a good day when you’re greeting with brand-new books from Rumaan Alam, Phil Klay, Tana French, Sayaka Murata, and Alice Hoffman! What’s a few more books on the TBR pile amongst friends? * Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Read more >
Dear reader: the Practical Magic soundtrack is on at full volume as I write this. I’ve got a pumpkin-scented candle going. There are decorative gourds all over the place. (Seriously, I tripped on a stray one just a minute ago.) Read more >
Air/Light is a brand new literary magazine—launched today!—helmed by Editor-in-Chief David Ulin, with support from the University of Southern California English department, that aims to “celebrate an inclusive culture, illuminating voices from a diverse array of writers.” According to its Read more >
Ethan Hawke, the most bookish man in Hollywood, is back on his beautiful bookish bullshit, and I for one could not be happier. Yes, the four-time Oscar-nominated star of Gattaca—as well as many other films which are very good despite Read more >
In his pained tribute to Richard Wright, “Alas, Poor Richard” (1961), James Baldwin describes his first impression of his former idol and adversary upon meeting him in Brooklyn: My own image of Richard was almost certainly based on Canada Lee’s Read more >
It’s first thing in the morning and we’re already buzzing with literary news from abroad. From a spectacular longlist comes an amazing shortlist for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, which seeks to recognize the best Canadian fiction of the year. Previous Read more >
It’s been a real week, hasn’t it? Here’s one thing that may make it the slightest bit easier: Because it is his birthday, and because I’m personally in need of anything that can slow my heart rate for a few Read more >
It would be difficult to dethrone Anjelica Huston as Campy Horror Flick Queen, but Anne Hathaway is giving it a shot in the upcoming film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s novel, The Witches. The original tale was about a young Read more >
Marilynne Robinson’s Jack, Nick Hornby’s Just Like You, Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, and Mariah Carey’s The Meaning of Mariah Carey all feature among the Best Reviewed Books of the Week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes Read more >
Derek Mahon, one of Ireland’s greatest contemporary poets, has died at the age at the age of 78. A host of Irish writers, including the country’s president Michael D. Higgins, have today been paying tribute to Mahon, with perhaps the Read more >
Today, Merriam-Webster observed that word searches for “schadenfreude” had spiked 30,500% after President Donald Trump announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis—and the word was included in several news stories and headlines about the diagnosis and the global reaction. Merriam-Webster defines the Read more >
I signed the letter condemning the online abuse of JK Rowling along with a number of other writers. I did it because I am sick of trolls and because most women in public life have been the subject of threats Read more >
This weekend, the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin is opening a new major exhibition, Expanding Abstraction: Pushing the Boundaries of Painting in the Americas, 1958–1983. The exhibition concentrates on the abstract, nonrepresentational forms and experimental Read more >
Congratulations! Today is your day! You’re off to great places! Like a galaxy far, far away! J.J. Abrams of Star Wars fame has arrived. And he is bringing you a big surprise! Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is coming to the Read more >
This year has brought a lot of things, and most of them have been bad. One good thing, though, is there has been quite been a lot of innovative, beautiful, and fascinating book cover design, including, I’ve recently noticed, a book Read more >
Hi. Welcome to Nobel Prize speculation season, which used to be a fun time when all us serfs in the kingdom of letters would curl up around our pumpkin-spiced vodka tonics and dredge up charming old world poets and Philip Read more >
Today the Center for Fiction announced the shortlist for its 2020 First Novel Prize. The prize, first awarded in 2006, recognizes the best debut fiction of the year, and it comes with $15,000; each finalist receives $1,000. Previous winners include Read more >
Let’s start with the good news—incredible news, really. Poet Kevin Young and publisher Jamia Wilson, two influential African-American gatekeepers in the book and media sectors, are about to take on illustrious new jobs. Young, currently the poetry editor for the Read more >
Here’s a much-needed palate cleanser after last night’s debate, and a reminder that solidarity works: in a show of support for The New Yorker‘s union, which is in the middle of a contract dispute with management, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Read more >
