The 2016 Man Booker Prize Longlist
Thirteen novels made the the longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize, probably the most prestigious award given to an individual book. The Man Booker, for this first time this year, is open to American novels; previously, it had only been open to novels from the (loosely-defined) English commonwealth. Five Americans made the cut.
This year’s list doesn’t have many household names: J.M. Coetzee and Elizabeth Strout are probably the most recognizable names to most readers. This means, I suppose, that we all have some interesting new names to check out.
Roxane Gay, Yona Harvey to Write for Marvel Comics
Roxane Gay and Yona Harvey will collaborate to write World of Wakanda, a spin-off of the current run of Black Panther written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The series will focus on two queer black women who used to be part of Black Panther’s security force.
This will be the first foray into comics for both the essayist-novelist Gay and poet Harvey. World of Wakanda will premiere in November and will also be have black women as illustrators and cover designers.
U.S. Constitution Breaks into Amazon Bestseller List
In the wake of Khizr Khan’s impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution rose to the top 10 of Amazon’s U.S. bestseller list. The edition, which sells for $1, is published by the National Center for Constitution Studies. The edition is currently on a 2-3 week back order.
Another book also received a major boost from a convention speech: A Wrinkle in Time. Chelsea Clinton mentioned the novel in her speech and it also briefly rose to be one of Amazon’s best-sellers. I think I can hear publicists all over Manhattan scheming for 2020.