Ah, tradition! Just as Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine, in this quarantine, rich people are buying copies of King Lear for $10,000,000. While independent bookstores are struggling during COVID—according to the American Booksellers Association, more than one independent bookstore Read more >
Yep, apparently, theoretical physicists have finally solved—or almost solved—the black hole information paradox. “Information, they now say with confidence, does escape a black hole. If you jump into one, you will not be gone for good. Particle by particle, the Read more >
Next in our series of interviews with the shortlisted nominees for the 2020 Albertine Prize is Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, author of Animalia (translated from the French by Frank Wynne). Del Amo’s visits to industrial livestock farms compelled him to write his celebrated, Read more >
This morning, The Atlantic has graced us a brand new (that is, quite old but never before published) short story by Edith Wharton, entitled “A Granted Prayer.” The story was discovered by scholar Sarah Whitehead, who found the typescript in the Read more >
It’s (almost) over. It’s finally (almost) over [weeps with relief, turns off TV forever, flies kite in sunlit park]. Yes, thanks to Black voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia, and Latino voters in Arizona and Nevada, it looks very much Read more >
Happy Friday. We made it. It’s the end of the longest week of the longest year, and here’s a really cool looking cover for Anthony Veasna So’s forthcoming debut short story collection, Afterparties. Blurbed by Bryan Washington, George Saunders, and Read more >
Aside from his scintillating prose, deadpan wit, and fearless approach to dealing with some of the darkest corners of American history, Colson Whitehead’s literary career has been marked by an audacious versatility. Though many of his works feature some element Read more >
In 1934, The Observer’s crossword writer, Edward Powys Mathers, wrote a short mystery novel that was also a fantastically difficult literary puzzle. The book, Cain’s Jawbone—named after the “first recorded murder weapon” and published under his nom de plume, Torquemada—consists Read more >
Nicole Krauss’ To Be a Man, Megan Hunter’s The Harpy, Shirley Hazzard’s Collected Stories, and David Sedaris’ The Best of Meall feature among the best reviewed books of the week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes Read more >
Tonight, at its special virtual ceremony hosted from the Austin Central Library, Kirkus Reviews announced the winners of the 7th-annual Kirkus Prizes in fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature, which celebrate the most inventive, electric, and timely fiction of the year. The Award Read more >
Jason Reynolds! The two-time National Book Award Finalist, and current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will host the 71st National Book Awards on November 18, 2020. “To be at the forefront of ushering in the celebration of my peers Read more >
There’s a long way to go before we get to a final decision on the next president of the United States. Frankly, it’s disheartening that it’s even this close. But I am happy to report the following definitively good things Read more >
Apparently, there is only one time of year/election cycle/planetary crisis at which I am desperate enough turn to ASMR to soothe my ragged, sad brain. Unfortunately, it is that time again. Fortunately, the world of literary ASMR—that is, relaxing book Read more >
It has been a long four years. We’ve run scores of important, thought-provoking essays during the Trump Presidency, many of which will endure as crucial documents of this hard, hard time in America.* HOWEVER. One doesn’t have to look far Read more >
As you read this sentence, voting is underway in a historic US election, a stressful contest, to put it mildly, but in this season of taking heart in the dark cackle of historical déjà vu, perhaps it’s worth remembering that Read more >
Between now and the announcement of the 2020 Albertine Prize winner in December, we’ll be running a series of Q&As with the five shortlisted nominees. It feels apt that our first conversation, today of all days, is with Virginie Despentes, Read more >
Since its publication in 1990, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, a linked collection of semi-autobiographical short stories about the Vietnam War, has become a modern classic—in fact, its title story is the most frequently anthologized piece of short fiction Read more >
Dear reader, the only thing we really recommend reading today is the ballot. If you have not voted, we strongly recommend that you do! If you have already done your civic duty, why not reward yourself with a trip to Read more >
The World Fantasy Awards, established in 1975, honors the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. The Award is considered one of the most prestigious prizes in the genre of fantasy and speculative fiction, and comes with a Read more >
Our friends at Bookshop.org have launched their “don’t buy books at Amazon” alternative over in the UK and I am obviously upset that they’re not calling it Bookshoppe. This comes just in time for Britain’s second round of lockdown as Read more >
