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The title of Yannick Haenel's novel came from none other than Marcel Proust.

Next in our series of interviews with the shortlisted nominees for the 2020 Albertine Prize is Yannick Haenel, author of Hold Fast Your Crown, translated from the French by Teresa Lavender Fagan. Haenel is the author of several novels, including The Messenger, Read more >

By Literary Hub

Here are a few more notable short story collections from 2020.

Today The New York Times published their list of 100 notable books of 2020—and while plenty of our favorites made the cut, we were surprised to see there was only one short story collection on the list. Susan Minot’s Why Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Here are the best reviewed books of the week.

Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, Robert Harris’ V2, Cynan Jones’ Stillicide, and Ismail Kadare’s The Doll all feature among the best reviewed books of the week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.”   Fiction 1. Read more >

By Book Marks

Loved the closing performance of the National Book Awards? Check out these writer-musicians.

If you watched the virtual ceremony of the National Book Awards (and if you didn’t, don’t fret: watch it here), you likely had a smile on your face when John Darnielle, novelist, musician, and 2020 judge, closed the heartwarming ceremony with Read more >

By Rasheeda Saka

Even President Obama once used books to pick up girls.

We can add Barack Obama to our list of academic posers. In a section of his new memoir, A Promised Land, the former president describes reading books in college to impress girls he liked: Looking back, it’s embarrassing to recognize the Read more >

By Walker Caplan

And the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize is . . .

From a longlist dominated by debuts came a shortlist dominated by debuts, and from that shortlist comes our winner, also a debut! The winner of the Booker Prize is: Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain (Scotland-US) (Looks like the bookies were right.) Stuart is the Read more >

By Emily Temple

There’s a 19th century social satire written by a 9-year-old that you NEED to read.

I can’t stop thinking about The Young Visiters; or, Mr Salteenas Plan. A social satire about a status-seeker who loses his young lover when they take a trip to a friend’s country house, it’s one of the funniest novels I’ve Read more >

By Walker Caplan

J.R.R. Tolkien's previously unseen essays about Middle-earth will be published in June.

The Nature of Middle-earth, a collection of previously unpublished J.R.R. Tolkien essays exploring the world of Middle-earth, will be released by HarperCollins in June 2021. The work will be edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Tolkien expert and head of the Read more >

By Walker Caplan

An unapologetically cheesy ode to Shakespeare and Company on its 101st birthday.

I will never forget the first and only time I visited Shakespeare and Company in Paris. I was 18. I was lost—no, not in the metaphysical, poetic angst way. I was actually, literally lost. (Ask anyone who knows me: I Read more >

By Katie Yee

Here are the winners of the 2020 National Book Awards.

Tonight, the National Book Awards made its virtual debut, presenting awards in five categories—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction—to five winners from among 25 finalists. Congratulations to all the winners, which you can find in bold below. Read more >

By Literary Hub

n+1 editors will send you personalized book recommendations if you donate.

It’s clear already that this year’s holiday season is going to be a weird one, but here’s a cool gift opportunity that also helps out a great publication: n+1 is creating personalized reading lists for people who donate to its newest fundraiser. Read more >

By Corinne Segal

Olga Tokarczuk is publishing an illustrated, all-ages book about finding fulfillment.

Ah, February 2021: maybe by then, we’ll have forgotten that 2020 ever existed. An upcoming book by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Joanna Concejo, promises to help us cleanse the timeline: The Lost Soul, a story Read more >

By Corinne Segal

Hilary Mantel's next book will be a short story collection about her childhood.

This morning, Publishers Marketplace reported that two-time Booker Prize winner and historical fiction supremo Hilary Mantel has a new short story collection on the horizon. Learning to Talk, which will be released by Holt at some point next year, is Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Dolly Parton, fairy godmother of American literacy, is also the fairy godmother of American health.

We already love Dolly Parton, not just for her powerhouse songwriting and iconic hair but also for her championing of American literacy—her Imagination Library sends over 1 million free books per month (that’s one book every two seconds!) to children Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Browse excerpts from The Book of Homelessness, a new graphic novel by unhoused creatives.

The Accumulate Art School for the Homeless, a London-based charity that provides creative education and workshops for young homeless people, has partnered with unhoused artists to create a new graphic novel called The Book of Homelessness. The project began with Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Here's every winner of the National Book Award for Fiction and Nonfiction during the 21st century.

Dust off your formal wear and break out the bubbly because the National Book Awards (a.k.a. the Oscars of the book world) are nearly upon us. Yes, in just a few short hours, five dumbstruck authors will be fêted, garlanded, Read more >

By Book Marks