The Center for Fiction has released the longlist for the First Novel Prize. The Girls by Emma Cline (see our review) and What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (see our review) are among the novels to make the cut.
First Novel Prize Longlist
After the Wall
“[Christa] Wolf was a committed dissident in the GDR (East Germany) and a forceful voice resisting Western triumphalism after reunification. It would seem like some sort of explanation was owed to the public. Yet how does one give an account of oneself when the link to the past, to the psychological and cultural backdrop of such fateful decisions, is not even subjectively available?” On City of Angels: Or, the Overcoat of Dr. Freud.
●
●
The Cool Kids
●
●
Listening: Between the Covers
Recommended Listening: Looking for interviews with authors previously featured on The Millions? Check out David Naimon‘s Between the Covers podcast, which features the likes of Chang-rae Lee, Kyle Minor, Lorrie Moore, Helen Oyeyemi and Gina Frangello.
●
●
Do Not Shout
“Always practice basic online etiquette, or ‘netiquette.’ Consider including emoticons to help add personality to your message and set the right tone. Also, be sure to stay on topic in a conversation and avoid writing in all caps, which is the online equivalent to shouting.” The Amazon Author Insights blog (full disclosure: Amazon helps us keep the lights on around here!) has a list of guidelines for authors looking to engage with their fans (and critics) on Goodreads. More recommended reading: our own Emily St. John Mandel on how to respond to your critics.
●
●
Tuesday New Release Day: Prose; McCracken; Binchy; Rahman; Glancy; Bender; Marias
Francine Prose has a new novel out this week, while Elizabeth McCracken has a new story collection on shelves. Also out: Chestnut Street by the late Maeve Binchy; In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman; Terms and Conditions by Robert Glancy; The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan; and new paperback editions of The Color Master by Aimee Bender and The Infatuations by Javier Marias.
The Rebel Librarian
Before the regime change in Burma, Ye Htet Oo ran a secret library even though he risked facing “three months in jail for every book he lent without permission from the censorship board.”
Why Book Critics Matter
Let us now praise professional book reviewers, like them or not. And speaking of reviews, Niall Ferguson threatens the L.R.B. with legal action over a negative review of his new book, Civilization (via).
●
●