Dang. The first full trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s beloved SF saga looks . . . kinda great. (Which is, as we know, not a given when it comes to Dune adaptations!) This is a generous three Read more >
Welcome to the Book Marks Questionnaire, where we ask authors questions about the books that have shaped them. This week, we spoke to the National Book Award-winning author of The Yellow House, Sarah M. Broom. * Book Marks: First book Read more >
This morning, Kirkus Reviews announced its 18 finalists for this year’s Kirkus Prize in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers’ Literature. The finalists were selected by a panel of judges from the pool of titles that received Kirkus Stars in the last Read more >
Today, Ian Williams announced the longlist for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, named in honor of the late literary journalist Doris Giller, which seeks to recognize the best Canadian fiction every year. (Williams, you’ll remember, won last year’s prize for Read more >
A big congratulations to Viet Thanh Nguyen, who is joining the Pulitzer Prize Board as its first Asian-American and Vietnamese-American member. After an extensive nominating process, the board chooses the winners from a list of finalists in each category and Read more >
Today, Deadline announced that Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, creators of Grimm, are developing another contemporary adaptation of a centuries-old literary standby—and not just any centuries-old literary standby, but um, the entire works of William Shakespeare. The Stratford, now officially in Read more >
By the time Leo Tolstoy died, in 1910, at the age of 82, he was one of the most celebrated figures in his country—not only for his writing, but for his outspoken political and philosophical views, his charitable acts, and Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced extraordinary news for an extraordinary prize: The late president and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, Carolyn Reidy, will be the recipient of its Literarian Award at the 2020 National Book Awards. The lifetime Read more >
And somehow the long weekend is over! I hope this blog post finds you relaxed, well-rested, and ready to read. This week, we’ve got new books from Sigrid Nunez, Claudia Rankine, Ruth Ware, Ross Gay, Jane Fonda, and much, much Read more >
The first trailer for Rebecca—the forthcoming Netflix adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 psychological chiller, starring Armie Hammer, Lily James, and Kristen Scott Thomas—has dropped, and it looks…interesting. Rebecca, perhaps the most famous Gothic novel of the last century, is Read more >
Following Jennifer Egan’s three-year term as president of PEN America, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar will take on the role starting in December. Akhtar has received wide recognition writing for the stage. His 2016 play Junk: The Read more >
Izumi Suzuki, whose works of science fiction have earned her a special place in Japanese counterculture, will soon make her English-language debut with a story collection whose synopsis sounds almost unbearably cool. Verso Books will publish Terminal Boredom, a short Read more >
I love old Volkswagen vans and I love bookstores and because it’s Friday I also love feel good stories (I also love hardworking local newspaper headlines, but that’s another story). So that’s why I’m bringing your attention to the story Read more >
As the election nears and House Democrats continue to spar with USPS Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, one could be forgiven for feeling anxious about the mail. On Monday, the UCLA Voting Rights Project published a report on the need to Read more >
If you want to understand the deep well of creativity author Ursula K. Le Guin drew from at a young age, you should probably start at home. Le Guin, the California-born author known for her Earthsea fantasy series and novels like The Left Read more >
The International Dublin Literary Award is the world’s biggest annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English. The honor comes with a whopping €100,000. Mark your calendars: the winner will be announced on October 22. Congratulations to Read more >
Hint: not (necessarily) with books. Also consider organic elements! And maybe one of those severed wooden hand things. Some outstanding questions: Who even has empty shelves like this anymore? Does Bobby have any suggestions for those of us with books Read more >
Why aren’t there more Science Fiction Black writers? There aren’t because there aren’t. What we don’t see, we assume can’t be. What a destructive assumption. —Octavia E. Butler, in Octavia E. Butler: Telling My Stories. A small good thing Read more >
As we all know, it’s pretty tough for new books—especially new books from debut writers—to get attention. And that’s in the best of times. As we also know, these are not the best of times. And attention is going to Read more >
Sure, sure, a $2 million advance for a writer in her early twenties is a lot, but what about $3.1 million for a 400-year-old book? Phillip Hainhofer’s 17th-century “friendship book”—basically a Renaissance scrapbook in which otherwise serious men would enthusiastically Read more >
