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Book Drop
Doubleday pulled a Beyonce and published Colson Whitehead’s latest book, The Underground Railroad, a month early. Oprah chose Whitehead’s book for her book club, and Doubleday “secretly started shipping out 200,000 copies in anticipation of the announcement.” You can also read a review from Michiko Kakutani at the New York Times.
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Combining a Murder Mystery and Immigrant Family Story with Jane Pek
Jane Pek discusses her debut novel, The Verifiers, which follows an amateur sleuth who investigates the potential suitors of lovelorn New Yorkers.
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Danticat’s Definition
Edwidge Danticat gives us one of the best definitions of the short story in an interview with Kima Jones at The Rumpus. “The short story is like an exquisite painting and you might, when looking at this painting, be wondering what came before or after, but you are fully absorbed in what you’re seeing.” They also discuss Danticat’s novel Claire of the Sea Light, Haitian and Dominican relations, and giving yourself permission to tell the truth. To find out what Danticat has been reading, see her 2013 Year in Reading.
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Hughes and Plath Interviewed
Recommended Listening: A 1961 BBC interview with Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. Pair with our review of Ted Hughes: The Unauthorized Life.
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Sheila Heti Transforms Her Diaries Into Autofiction
Sheila Heti turns her diary entries into an inventive work of autofiction for A New York Times subscriber-only newsletter initiative.
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