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News, Notes, Talk

Barry Lopez has won the inaugural $20,000 Writer in the World Prize.

Today, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference (SVWC) announced that American author, essayist, and fiction writer Barry Lopez has been awarded its inaugural Writer in the World Prize, which recognizes and honors a writer whose work expresses a “rare combination of literary Read more >

By Rasheeda Saka

Let George Saunders read you a bedtime story about the true meaning of Christmas.

You may not know this, but George Saunders is a holiday writer: he writes about trying to bring joy to people you love and messing it up. In “My Flamboyant Grandson,” a grandfather risks governmental discipline to smuggle his grandson Read more >

By Walker Caplan

These are the books New Yorkers checked out from the library most this year.

This week, New York City’s public library systems released their annual top 10 checkouts lists. These lists are always an intriguing window into the literary tastes of Gotham’s denizens, but this year’s are of particular interest. Why? Well, I for Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Gabriel Bump has won the 2020 Ernest Gaines Award.

Here’s some great literary news for your afternoon: yesterday, Chicago-native and writer Gabriel Bump was awarded the 2020 Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, for his debut novel Everywhere You Don’t Belong. The Award, which recognizes and honors outstanding fiction from Read more >

By Rasheeda Saka

A24 is adapting Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

Some adaptation news to send us into the holiday! A24 is currently working on the film adaptation of Ocean Vuong’s beautiful—and widely loved—novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The news was announced on Monday at the start of this week’s Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Barack Obama has created a playlist to accompany A Promised Land.

Continuing on the Barack Obama’s Favorite Media end-of-year march, the former President has released a 20-song playlist to accompany his memoir A Promised Land, composed of songs that recall memories of his time on the campaign trail and in the Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Roxane Gay is starting a book club—and you can join.

Some good news to close out the year! Recently, Roxane Gay announced on Twitter that she’s starting a book club, and anyone can participate. The Audacious Book Club will span at least one year, and the reading list for 2021 Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Frances McDormand and Sarah Polley are bringing Women Talking to the big screen.

It’s supremely gratifying to look upon a piece of literary adaptation news and think to yourself: perfect. Such was the warm, all-is-right-with-the-world-feeling I felt earlier this morning after reading the announcement that Sarah Polley will direct Frances McDormand in an Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

How many of Obama's favorite books of 2020 have you read?

Barack Obama, the most powerful force in end of year book recommendations, has just dropped his 2020 favorites list. As we’ve come to expect from the most bookish president since John Adams (he was super into books, right?), it contains Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Noomi Rapace is our next female Hamlet.

Charlotte Charke, Sarah Bernhardt, Maxine Peake, Michelle Terry, Cush Jumbo, Ruth Negga—many towering women have played Hamlet throughout the years, and Noomi Rapace, known for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish adaptations of the Millennium series, is next Read more >

By Walker Caplan

The cast for George Saunders' new audiobook is very cool.

George Saunders’ new book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, is out next month and promises to be a literary master class on the short Read more >

By Emily Firetog

A never-before-seen Shirley Jackson story has just been published.

This week is a whirlwind for Shirley Jackson fans! On Monday we learned we’re getting a Jackson tribute anthology in 2021, and now, an unseen Shirley Jackson story has been published in The Strand Magazine. Jackson’s son, Laurence Hyman, found Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Move over, Arrival. Here's the latest Ted Chiang story headed to adaptation glory.

The latest Ted Chiang story to be snapped up for adaptation is “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling,” which has recently been optioned by Steve Yockey, creator of The Flight Attendant. Yockey will be developing the story as Read more >

By Emily Temple

Christopher Hitchens's backlist is getting a cool new redesign.

If you love a) a good set and b) a pugnacious critic, then you’re in luck. Nearly ten years after the death of Christopher Hitchens, Atlantic Books is releasing new mass-market paperback editions of 12 of his books, redesigned by Read more >

By Emily Temple

Simone de Beauvoir’s brutal rejection letter to Violette Leduc has been sold at auction.

A set of almost 300 mostly unpublished letters from The Second Sex author Simone de Beauvoir to the French novelist Violette Leduc have sold at auction for over sixty-nine thousand dollars. The collection includes a missive from 1945 where Beauvoir Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Elizabeth Warren's memoir, entitled (you guessed it) Persist, will be published in April.

Henry Holt and Company announced today that Elizabeth Warren has written a memoir, to be released on April 20th of next year. The book is titled Persist, after the famous Mitch McConnell soundbite which was immediately reclaimed as a feminist Read more >

By Walker Caplan