Author: Sharifah Williams

Kazuo Ishiguro Takes The Prize

That’s right. The Nagasaki-born British author of The Remains of the Day received this year’s Nobel prize in literature, and I doubt Kazuo Ishiguro will be a Bob Dylan about it. The Guardian called Ishiguro “a surprise choice” with names like Margaret Atwood, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and Haruki Murakami leading the odds. But the Swedish Academy had high praise for the writer’s work, saying his novels have “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.”

Bestselling Novel Sweetbitter Is Coming To The Small Screen

What’s that? A television adaptation of a book about the world of fine dining? Hedonism, you say? Sign me up! Starz greenlighted Stephanie Danler’s bestselling debut novel, Sweetbitter, which follows 20-something Tess as she comes of age in New York City. There, she gets a job as a backwaiter at a high-end restaurant and excitement (and, presumably, bad decisions) ensues. Let the dream casting begin.

Saladin Ahmed To Write ’70s Supernatural Crime Noir Comic

It’s comics industry announcement time with New York Comic Con happening this week, and BOOM! Studios gave us the news that Hugo-nominated writer Saladin Ahmed will work on an original comic series with artist Sami Kivelä. The series, Abbott, will feature a hard-boiled black reporter for a tabloid rag. When she happens upon a string of murders that bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder of her husband, she begins an investigation that launches her into a world of danger. Abbott will launch in January 2018.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, publisher of The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

A young girl forms forbidden friendships to produce an elusive — and lucrative — dye to save her family fortunes in colonial South Carolina. Based on the true story you’ve never heard.

This is a historical fiction account, based on documents and letters, of how Eliza Lucas produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina, an export that laid the foundation for the incredible wealth of several Southern families who still live on today. Although largely overlooked by historians, the accomplishments of Eliza Lucas influenced the course of US history. When she passed away in 1793, President George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

Enter for your chance to win a hardcover copy of the book, an audiobook download, AND a Beats by Dre wireless headphone set.

And The 2017 National Book Awards Finalists Are…

The judges have whittled down the longlist and selected the 20 National Book Awards finalists. The finalists include American Street by Ibi Zoboi in the Young Adult category, Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith in Poetry, and Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean in Nonfiction. Also, Annie Proulx, author of The Shipping News, will receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and Dick Robinson, president and CEO of Scholastic, will receive the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. The rest of the winners will be announced on November 15.

La Borinqueña Steps In For Puerto Rico Relief Efforts

This evening, comic book creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is selling original artwork to benefit Puerto Rico. Miranda-Rodriguez is the creator of La Borinqueña, an Afro-Latina, environmentally powered superhero. After hearing about the devastation left by Hurricane Maria, unable to reach his friends and family in Puerto Rico, and inspired by relief efforts by individuals, organizations, and public figures across the nation, he decided to sell La Borinqueña artwork to benefit the U.S. territory; more comic book industry artists joined in to donate. All proceeds from the event, “Arte de La Borinqueña/Fundraiser for Puerto Rico,” will go to La Corporación Piñones Se Integra.

Hemingway’s Earliest Work of Fiction

It turns out Hemingway has been writing fiction since he was at least 10 years old. Scholars found what at first appeared to be a travelogue (of course) by 10-year-old Ernest, but it turned out to be a complete work of fiction. The notebook, found wrapped in a freezer bag in an ammunition can, recounted a trip through Ireland and Scotland, complete with diary entries and letters sent to his parents. Except Hemingway didn’t travel to Europe until much later in life. Hemingway scholar Sandra Spanier described it as “an intelligent piece of work.” The kid apparently did his homework.

Thank you to Provenance by Ann Leckie for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Following her record-breaking debut, award winner Ann Leckie, returns with a new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright.

A power-driven young woman has one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge return to her home and find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. They must make a new plan to salvage her future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

Ex-FBI Agent Opens Cold Case On Anne Frank Betrayal

Retired FBI agent Vince Pankoke launched a cold case review to identify the individuals who gave up the secret of the Frank family’s hiding location to the Gestapo. I (and I’m sure many others who read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl in school) have always wondered how their location was discovered. Using current investigative techniques, the skills of 19 forensic experts, and the archives of the Anne Frank House, Pankoke and his team hope to unveil the project’s findings next summer on the 75th anniversary of the arrest of the Frank family.

Nnedi Okorafor Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

Nnedi Okorafor is writing a new Black Panther story! The award-winning author of Binti will be working on Black Panther: Long Live the King, to be released on comiXology and Kindle bi-weekly, starting this December. Writers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay also worked on Black Panther stories before Marvel cancelled their comics. I’m wishing this one all the luck (and sales), and I can’t wait to see what Okorafor does with the world of Wakanda.

Sylvia Plath’s Bikini Book Cover

There’s an ongoing argument in the literary community about the U.K. cover of The Letters of Sylvia Plath. Here’s the thing: the U.S. cover shows a brunette Plath in a coat while the U.K. version features a blonde Plath in a bikini. Some, like Plath scholar Cathleen Allyn Conway, argue that this depiction of Plath in semi-undress disrespects her literary contributions, and others, like writer and feminist Anne Thériault think it’s all a lot of pearl clutching.

Thank you to Bethany House, publisher of Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

When a terrorist investigation leads FBI agent Declan Grey to a closed immigrant community, he turns to crisis counselor Tanner Shaw for help. Despite the tension between them, he needs the best of the best on this case. Under imminent threat, they’ll have to race against the clock to stop a plot that could cost thousands of lives—including theirs.

Inkitt’s (Not-So-) Secret Trick For Identifying Bestsellers

Berlin-based publishing company Inkitt recently raised $3.9 million to expand, and the internet is abuzz about the company’s ability to identify bestsellers. Forbes reported that Inkitt has so far published 24 Amazon Bestsellers (out of 37 total published books). The company’s CEO and founder Ali Albazaz said he studied the statistics of successful authors, including J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, who had been rejected multiple times by publishers, and decided to create a publishing house that made decisions based on reader engagement instead of connections or a track record. Basically, Inkitt collects and analyzes reader engagement data from their community-driven platform to identify successful manuscripts, and then puts marketing power behind those books. Next up, the company plans to focus its attention on audiobooks, print books in brick and mortar stores, and selling film rights.

The Literary Community Hosts An Auction For Puerto Rico

#PubforPR created an auction to benefit Puerto Rico’s relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, with authors, editors, illustrators, and literary agents contributing their time and talent to help raise funds. Marie Lu, Roxane Gay, and Rainbow Rowell are a few of the authors contributing to the fundraiser. Participants have the opportunity to bid on signed book bundles, personalized artwork, one-on-one conversations with editors or agents, and more. All of the funds will go to vetted local charity organizations, Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos.

Maybe We Won’t Be Getting That MY IMMORTAL Memoir

Earlier in September, Vox detailed the strange story of Rose Christo, the until-recently-anonymous alleged author of the infamous fanfic My Immortal. We also learned that Christo would publish her memoir Under the Same Stars: The Search for My Brother and the True Story of My Immortal in 2018. Well, according to Christo’s Twitter and Tumblr, that book isn’t happening after all. The Tumblr post states that the memoir will not be published because Christo altered documentation during the publication process to protect the identities of her family members. The details so far are vague. Between the theory that Lani Sarem of the Handbook for Mortals NYT Bestseller scandal wrote My Immortal, the troubling and unusual details of Christo’s past, and this recent update, I’d say this story can’t get any stranger. But that would be naive.

Thanks to Scout Press, publisher of The Visitors by Catherine Burns, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Catherine Burns’s debut novel explores the complex truths we are able to keep hidden from ourselves and the twisted realities that can lurk beneath even the most serene of surfaces.

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother John in a crumbling mansion on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties, Marion does her best to live by John’s rules, even if it means turning a blind eye to the noises she hears coming from behind the cellar door…and turning a blind eye to the women’s laundry in the hamper that isn’t hers….

Librarian Rejects Book Donation From Melania Trump

A Massachusetts librarian turned down a selection of Dr. Seuss classics donated to her Cambridge elementary school by Melania Trump. The school librarian, Liz Phipps Soeiro, suggested that Trump donate books to “the underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.” She also sent along a list of 10 alternative books that would better serve these students, including Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation written by Edwidge Danticat and illustrated by Leslie Staub. I want to send this woman a thank you card.

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence: Longlist 2018

The American Library Association released the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence longlist. The award recognizes the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward seems to be on every list this awards season and made it onto the Carnegie Fiction longlist alongside What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons and The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Roxane Gay’s Hunger and Sherman Alexie’s You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me made the Nonfiction list. The six-title shortlist—three each for the fiction and nonfiction medals—will be announced on October 25, 2017.

The Princess Bride Returns To Theaters

William Goldman’s classic love story The Princess Bride will return to theaters for its 30th anniversary. A short film about The Princess Bride‘s legacy by the film’s director, Rob Reiner, will accompany the screenings. The limited release will last only two days–Sunday, October 15, and Wednesday, October 18–as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series from Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies. I’m ready with the popcorn and all the best quotes.

Thanks to PageHabit for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

PageHabit offers monthly book boxes curated and annotated by acclaimed authors for the most diehard bookworms. Each box comes with an exclusive, author-annotated new release, a written letter from the author, a bonus short story, fun bookish goods and instant membership into an active online book community of over 20,000 members. For every box purchased, PageHabit makes a donation to support children’s literacy around the world, so you can read well and do good. Readers can choose from eight genres including Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fiction and more. Get 10% off your first box with code “RIOT”.

Marcel Proust, You Terrible Cheat

Well, well, well, Marcel. Letters discovered thanks to a rare copy of Swann’s Way revealed that Proust paid for positive reviews of the first volume of Remembrance of Things Past. The writer paid 300 francs, a considerable sum at the time, for a flattering reference to Swann’s Way to be published on the front page of one of France’s leading daily papers. And then he paid even more for a lengthier review to appear on the front page of another paper. Reviewing his own book, he described his writing as “almost too luminous for the eye … This book suggests almost the fourth dimension of the Cubists.” Good. Grief.

Sexists Need Not Apply

Sarah Davis-Goff and Lisa Coen, the women who run the Irish indie publisher Tramp Press, is closing its doors to sexist submissions. In the announcement they posted on social, Davis-Goff and Coen said they receive submissions that address them as “Dear Sirs” and cover letters where the submitter says they don’t read books by women… So, inspired by author Anne Enright’s essay about sexism in the publishing industry, they decided to take a stand and say no to those queries. Tramp Press seems to be doing well enough without the sexists–they published Mike McCormack’s Booker longlisted novel, Solar Bones.

Dolly Parton Sings Dumplin’

That’s right! Dolly Parton will be working on the soundtrack for the upcoming film adaptation of the YA novel, Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. Parton’s music played a role in the original story so it makes sense that Jennifer Anniston, who’s producing and starring in the film, and who is a Parton fan, would reach out to the country star. According to Parton, the film will use some of her vintage tracks, but she’ll also be writing new songs for the movie.

Thank you to Rakuten Kobo Inc. for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Calling all listeners—audiobooks are now available from Kobo. Find all your eBooks and audiobooks together in the FREE Kobo App for iOS and Android. Save with a subscription for the best deal on audiobooks—your first 30 days are FREE.

Dee Rees Will Direct An Adaptation Of Joan Didion’s The Last Thing He Wanted

Director Dee Rees will adapt Joan Didion’s political thriller, The Last Thing He Wanted, for film. Rees garnered attention at the Sundance Film Festival as the director of Mudbound, a film based on the book by Hillary Jordan, which recently sold to Netflix for $12.5 million. Didion’s novel is about a Washington Post reporter who quits her job to take up work as an arms dealer for covert government forces. Didion has been all over the news lately–most recently due to the announcement of her documentary coming to Netflix next month.

The First Annihilation Trailer Is Out

Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation is being adapted for film, and today we got the first teaser trailer. The story follows a female scientist (played by Natalie Portman) leading an expedition of three more women into strange terrain. The cast includes Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson. Based on the trailer, the film looks like it’s going to be perfectly tense and full of thrills, which I’m here for (expect all the creepy flora and fauna). But take a look and judge for yourself.

PeopleTV Premiers A New Bookish Show

PeopleTV aired the first episode of a new show called Shelf Life, which is being advertised as a place where viewers can find out about buzzy upcoming books, hear from authors, and chat about book culture. The show is hosted by Oprah’s Book Club and special projects producer Jill Adams. The premier focused on must-read books for the fall curated by People and Entertainment Weekly book editors, and interviews with authors including Ruth Ware (The Lying Game).

Thank you to Provenance by Ann Leckie for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Following her record-breaking debut, award winner Ann Leckie, returns with a new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright.

A power-driven young woman has one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge return to her home and find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. They must make a new plan to salvage her future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

Pennywise Returns In 2019

Send in the clowns. Stephen King’s IT will return to theaters for a sequel on September 6, 2019. I don’t think anyone’s surprised what with the success of the first, which became the top-grossing horror film of all time domestically. The upcoming release will continue the story with the kids returning to Derry as adults. And guess who’s been waiting all smiles and balloons? The kids from the first film will likely return for flashbacks, but the director has yet to be confirmed.

Author Junot Díaz Calls For Help For Puerto Rico

The author of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao called for help for hurricane-battered Puerto Rico. The American territory suffered terrible losses, including lives and resources, from Hurricane Maria. Díaz delivered his remarks at a Massachusetts fundraiser. A native of the Dominican Republic, the author said people need to unite to help Puerto Rico heal in the wake of devastation. If you’re looking for a way to help, check out this effort from Restless Books.

The Book Of Mormon Becomes The Most Expensive Manuscript Ever Sold

The manuscript, previously in the possession of the Community of Christ, was sold to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for $35m. According to the Community of Christ who announced the sale price, it’s the highest ever paid for a manuscript. In second place is Bill Gates’s $30.8m purchase of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester. Although, Mark James of the antiquarian booksellers Bernard Quaritch made a good point when he said “$31m in 1994 would be worth much more now.” The LDS plans to display the manuscripts to the public in the coming months, and the Community of Christ will retain the rights to publish and protect the copyrights of its editions of the Book of Mormon.

Thank you to The Blind by A.F. Brady, published by Park Row Books, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

An addictive psychological suspense debut about a woman who goes so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up…

As the best psychologist at Typhlos, Manhattan’s most challenging psychiatric institution, Sam James believes if she can’t save herself, she’ll save someone else. This savior complex serves her well in helping patients battle their inner demons. When a mysterious patient is admitted, Sam is determined to unlock his secrets and his psyche, but his twisted past leads to some terrifying discoveries about her own life. And so the mind games begin.

Ladies Represent!

I was over here raising the roof when the National Book Foundation announced this year’s 5 Under 35 honorees. All of the honorees are women and three are women of color. What what. The 2017 list is: Lesley Nneka Arimah, author of What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky: Stories; Halle Butler, author of Jillian; Zinzi Clemmons, author of What We Lose; Leopoldine Core, author of When Watched: Stories; and Weike Wang, author of Chemistry. An all-woman list has only occurred once before.

Today In Adaptations

Marlon James is writing the adaptation of his Man Booker Prize-winning novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. The chief director of the HBO series Insecure, Melina Matsoukas, is behind the series’ development, and she’s on board to direct as well as executive produce the show. James will also executive produce in addition to writing the script. It is comforting when the author is deeply involved in the adaptation.

Enjoy A Banned Book This Week

Banned Books Week kicked off and people are celebrating the freedom to read all over the nation and the web. The Banned Books Week Coalition shouted out a bunch of activities being hosted by their sponsor organizations. Readers are encouraged to participate in everything from theatrical performances and bookstore parties to online advocacy. So celebrate your right to read and enjoy a banned book this week.

Thank you to After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

When Sarah Perry was twelve, she saw a partial eclipse of the sun, an event she took as a sign of good fortune for her and her mother, Crystal. But two days later, Crystal was murdered in their home in rural Maine, just a few feet from Sarah’s bedroom. The killer escaped unseen; it would take the police twelve years to find him. After the Eclipse is the story of a murder, an investigation, and a trial; but more than that it is an exquisite memorial for a mother stolen from her daughter.

Black Mirror Gets A 3-Volume Book Series

Every time I hear Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven Is a Place on Earth, I think of Black Mirror. Every time I have a nightmare, I’m certain it’s thanks to some Black Mirror remnant floating in my subconscious. Fans, prepare for more nightmare fodder–the sort you can physically carry around with you. We’ll be seeing the first volume of a three-volume Black Mirror book series in May 2018. Show creator Charlie Brooker will edit the volume, which will feature stories by writers including Sylvain Neuvel (Sleeping Giants) and Claire North (The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August).

Hidden Figures Author Joins NASA to Honor African-American Mathematician

Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures, joined additional dignitaries to honor Katherine Johnson, a former NASA employee and one of the central figures in Shetterly’s book. The book highlighted the lives and work of the black women who stepped in as human computers, and whose calculations were integral during wartime in the U.S. 99-year-old Johnson cut the ribbon for the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The event aired live on NASA Television earlier this afternoon, but I bet you can dig up a video online.

It Becomes All-Time Highest-Grossing Horror Film

Whether you love the Stephen King story or want to throw a brick through the window of every person who’s posted a picture of Pennywise on social, the masses have been parking themselves in theater seats across the country, desperate to be scared out of their minds. In fact, so many people wanted to see the newest adaptation that ticket sales pushed past The Exorcist to make It the highest-grossing horror film of all time. The movie has earned $236.3 million. That’s a lot of circus tickets.

Thank you to Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel, from Entangled Teen, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.

Angie Dovage can tell there’s more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can’t imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. She can’t know she’ll be thrown into a battle between good and evil with Reece right in the center of it—and he’s not human.

Still, she knows something most don’t. The secrets her town holds could kill them all. But falling in love with a harbinger of death could be even more dangerous.