by Rana Asfour This weekend Nov 25 & 26, 'Wanna Read?', a novel charitable initiative led by Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, will take over the 'World of Reading' event at Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi. There will also be boxes available to donate your old books. So don't forget to bring them along too. BookFabulous will be there making sure it all goes well. So if you have a question about what book to read next just come on over and say hello and you'll soon have a recommendation or two or three... The event is a chance for children and their parents to enjoy a whole host of activities centred around reading. Some very notable children's authors are lined up to appear at the event over the coming two days and there are workshops to be enjoyed for children of all ages. FROM THE IMPRESSIVE LINE UP: Janet Olearski Janet Olearski, the founder and organiser of Abu Dhabi Writers' Workshop will be offering a story workshop on Friday 25 Nov. and a poetry workshop on Saturday 26 Nov. Both workshops will cater for children aged 8-12. Olearski's short fiction has appeared in various publications including Jotters United, Far Off Places, Bare Fiction, and Beautiful Scruffiness and she has authored several children's books, amongst them 'Twins', 'Mr. Football', 'The Sunbird Mystery' and 'Triangle'. For more on Janet, click HERE. Janet will be at the event on Friday 25 Nov. from 10am-11am & Saturday 26 Nov. from 10am-11am Nadia L. Hohn Nadia Hohn is a writer of colourful realism in non-fiction, middle grade, picture book, young adult and book reviews about Carnivals, music, media, diversity and make-believe. Hohn's first two non-fiction books 'Music' and 'Media Studies' were published as part of the Sankofa series by Rubicon Publishing in 2015. The series won the Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Multicultural Non-fiction in 2014. Nadia's first picture book 'Malaika's Costume' was published by Groundwood Books in 2016. Nadia will be appearing at the event on Friday 25 Nov. from 4pm-5pm & Saturday 26 Nov. from 3-4pm Aida Snobar Kassissieh Aida is preparing to launch a YouTube channel entitled 'Tata Aida' for reading children's stories in Arabic and English (2016). She will be reading to children from her new Arabic book 'The People on the Moon Eat Carrots' and she will be conducting a workshop on reading on both days (Nov. 25 & 26). Aida will be appearing at the event on Friday 25 Nov. from 12pm-2pm & Saturday 26 Nov. from 1pm-3pm Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi Dr. Al Shoaibi is an engineer and the author of 'The Tales of Hamad', a book series that tells about an Emirati boy on a journey of discovering himself, his heritage, and everything around him. Dr. Al Shoaibi will be appearing at the event on Friday 25 Nov. from 7-8pm Yara Radwan Yara Radwan is a doctor and nutritionist who is very passionate about children's nutrition and health. She is the creator of the digital app 'The Magic Meal' which has been supported by creative lab TwoFour54 and is available on the Apple App Store in both English and Arabic for free. She will be appear at the event on Friday 25 Nov. from 2-4pm & Saturday 26 Nov. from 12pm-1pm
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Novelist & Short Story Writer Andrew J. Keir To BookFabulous: 'Aspiring Writers Don't Read Enough'20/11/2016 by Rana Asfour Andrew J. Keir is a name you can be sure will always pop up when writing and books are being discussed in the UAE. The novelist and short story writer who divides his time between Abu Dhabi and Scotland has managed since 2008 to publish two novels - 'Bloody Flies' (2012) and recently 'Mac Ailpin's Treason' - in addition to setting up and teaching a creative writing class popular with Abu Dhabi's aspiring writers. He was the first writer to be shortlisted twice for the Kitab/M Magazine short story prize, the largest prize in the Middle East for short stories in the English language - (The Sirens' Song and Moving Messages). His story Moving Messages was runner up in the 2010 competition. The Abu Dhabi based author holds an MA from Lancaster University's prestigious Creative Writing programme. His second novel, Mac Ailpin's Treason, is out now, and he is working on a picture book for children. His first novel, Bloody Flies, is out in paperback and ebook. BookFabulous: Thank you for agreeing to the interview. Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing? Andrew J. Keir: I am the married father of twin boys, who lives for most of the year in Abu Dhabi, and summers in Largs in Scotland. Since I was small I have always wanted to be an author and dabbled with writing. In 2008 I decided I had to do something more serious about this ambition and signed up for an undergraduate level creative writing course with the Open University. I loved it and before the year was out had published my first short story, 'The Sirens’ Song', in The National. After that, I submitted a portfolio of work to Lancaster University and, to my surprise, was accepted on to their MA in Creative Writing. My first novel, 'Bloody Flies' was the result of my time there. Since my graduation from that course, I have divided my time between writing and teaching Creative Writing. My second novel, 'Mac Ailpin’s Treason', came out this year. BF: What is the one thing that not many people know about you? AJK: I was once a stooge in the Ken Dodd laughter show. BF: How would you describe you first book ‘Bloody Flies’? AJK: 'Bloody Flies' is an episodic novel of interconnected short stories that are set in the UAE between 2000 and 2010. Each episode provides a perspective on the derailing expat life of the key protagonist, Leo Hunter, and his family. One of the themes of the book is slavery and this proved to be a bit controversial when it was released. BF: Although a work of fiction, ‘Bloody Flies’ does in fact touch upon many situations that expats in the UAE will identify with –some good, others not so – Did that mirroring of reality cause any difficulty where the editing process was concerned (i.e the decision to include or exclude certain scenes)? AJK: Yes. At times it was difficult to balance a truthful telling of my UAE stories with what might be accepted by others. I think a writer often, but not necessarily always, has a responsibility to self-censor at the editing stages if he/she wants to find an audience. In this case I realised that if I wanted to sell any copies in the UAE I would have to be careful and present certain scenes more delicately than I otherwise might have. In the end, I didn’t cut scenes but I did adjust them. That said, 'Bloody Flies' still caused a degree of consternation amongst certain groups on its release, and I think that was because I didn’t sacrifice the truth at the heart of the novel. 'Tell me Leo, why are you here?' His voice is soft. BF: Your second novel is also based on real events, is it not? AJK: 'Mac Ailpin’s Treason' is a historical adventure that tells the story of Cinaed Mac Ailpin and how he became the first King of Scotland. It is set in the ninth century and deals with Cinaed’s relationships and motivations that spurred him along in his dramatic and sometimes dark and violent life. Readers who enjoy a good story will enjoy the novel just as much as the history buffs out there. BF: As far as historical fiction writing goes, how much artistic license do you think writers should allow themselves and how do you perceive the ethics of writing about historical figures? AJK: I think that writers of historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction, can never truly know the real historical figures that they write about. I think that this is also true of academic historians. In both cases the actuality of history is too far removed from modern life. However, writers can truly know the historical characters they have created, and if they have completed an appropriate amount of research that does justice to the writer’s subject, then the resultant work will contain inherent truths that make reading it worthwhile. On the beach, men are picking up the last of the Gael bodies and moving them to graves on unused land next to the farmstead. The Viking dead and their weapons still litter the sand. BF: Did publishing your first book change your writing process at all and if so, how did that manifest itself in your approach to your second novel? AJK: I had begun 'Bloody Flies' with a few short story ideas but no real plan and, about half way through, I realised I was getting a bit lost. I stopped what I was doing and drew up a plan to pull all the strings together. Thankfully it worked, but I realised then that I would draw up skeleton plans of future books before I started writing them. This is what I did for 'Mac Ailpin’s Treason'. The plan was not greatly detailed and allowed room for creative development - For example, my original plan outlined twenty-two chapters, but in the end the book was thirty-five chapters long - but was strong enough to keep me on my path. BF: How much research do you go into before writing a book? AJK: It depends on the genre of the novel and what the novel is about. For Bloody Flies I did very little research – just living in the UAE was good enough. Mac Ailpin’s Treason, on the other hand, involved a huge amount of detailed historical and literary research. This detective work was something I enjoyed very much and would like to do more of in future. BF: What do you find is the most difficult part in a creative process? And what have you learnt from overcoming the ones you have experienced while writing? AJK: Getting started every day. I am easily distracted and I find the daily discipline of writing difficult to stick to. The best solution is to draw up a strict weekly writing schedule and stick to it. Graham Greene wrote five hundred words a day and I aspire to that when I am in full flow. BF: How long on average does it take you to write a book? AJK: Between a year and two years. Teaching and child-care slows the process down considerably. BF: From your experience in teaching creative what are common traps that aspiring writers fall into and what advice can you offer from your journey so far? AJK: Most of your friends will say they love your work and won’t criticise you. Don’t believe them. Join a writers' group and you will receive more honest feedback. Criticism is good as it helps you to develop. Know and understand the genre that you are writing in. This will help you when you try to publish after the novel is written. Read more; Many aspiring writers don’t read enough. BF: What is your favourite childhood book? AJK: 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl – Fantastic escapism that proves the truism that books are always much better than their resultant movies. I still have vivid memories of my dad reading it to me. BF: Which in your opinion do you find to be an under-appreciated novel? AJK: 'Siddartha' by Hermann Hesse – Simple, beautiful and brilliant. BF: What book(s) are you reading at the moment? AJK: 'Shift' by Hugh Howey; This Sci-fi thriller is the second book in the Wool series, clever and entertaining, if a little long-winded. After that, I am looking forward to reading Ian Rankin’s new Inspector Rebus novel, 'Rather the Devil'. John Rebus is my favourite character in fiction. He ages in real time, with each book, and his development is intriguing. by Rana Asfour It is remarkable how one artist has managed to turn a catastrophic act of nature into ‘scenes’ of compelling beauty thereby setting the stage for internal meditation as well as meaningful timely global conversations on climate change. Lars Jan, artistic Director at Early Morning Opera, has been registering the onslaught of floods around the world since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of America in 2005. When - again - floods were to cause severe damages in Pakistan in 2010, Lars decided that he had to act. It was eventually a photo made by the photojournalist Daniel Berehulak that finally focused his attention on an installation that would relate the evolving story of water in the 21st century. And so, four years on, Holoscenes was born; ‘a piece with no words’ as Lars described it last night to an audience of volunteer docents at Abu Dhabi’s New York University where the installation is scheduled to go live for its UAE premier this afternoon. Holoscenes is essentially a large human-size aquarium that floods, drains and floods again inhabited by a rotating cast of eight performers conducting everyday behaviors. The exhibited behaviors reflect or even mirror human everyday behavior – from making the bed to cleaning the house. Scientists argue that these mirco-cycles that constitute the predominant patterns of our life indicate that cognitive and behavioral science is also about CO2 and melting glaciers. In layman’s terms: the decisions we make and the way we live our life through small daily patterns that interconnect with the patterns of others leaves no doubt that ‘we are collectively responsible for climate change’. ‘As a species we have shown a great capacity to respond and adapt to crisis and I have made sure that this comes across in the installation; you’ll notice that none of the performers are struggling with the fact they are being submerged under gallons of water, in fact they seem to be relaxed and making the best of their environment,’ explains Jan, ‘We need to take action and be innovative to make real change. So, even green solutions are not enough if we do not take ownership for our industries and activity and demand that others do the same. Climate change is fast, long-term, complex, and therefore requires immediate long-term solutions’. ‘What offers hope is that we are an empathetic species and we must harness that fact and appeal to each other’s emotions in a positive way to harness the needed change. I understand that people change slowly but what we must all understand as well is that the world is changing at a very fast rate’. Lars Jan hopes that his installation will inspire a conversation, a story even, on a topic very close to his heart. This has already happened. One of the scenes depicts a woman with bucket and sponge at hand, busy at work cleaning the inside windows of the aquarium as the water in the tank slowly rises until she is eventually submerged and she and her tools, hang as if suspended in water. And yet, completely unfazed by what is happening around her, the woman continues to hold her sponge and wipe away at the windows as if nothing is happening. A female spectator standing by the side of the aquarium when it was on exhibit in the US, turned to Lars and commented that to her it felt that the woman was possibly ‘drowning in her own tears’, while a much younger spectator commented that the woman in the tank was most assuredly ‘a mermaid’. ‘It is stories like these that I want the installation to draw out of people. I want everyone to see their own story and to share their thoughts and ideas with others. I am not here to tell people what to think or what this is about. I want them to feel and think on their own, and to strike up a conversation with each other on how they feel their actions affect climate change and how they can be part of the solution too. You never know how a conversation can change your life’. The installation runs from Today until Saturday November 19 from 4pm-9pm, Central Plaze Campus. I will be a volunteer docent so stop by to say hi! Admission in free. For more information, click HERE Make the most out of your visit:
Begin your day with a visit to the Invisible Threads exhibit at The Art Gallery before heading over to watch the performers take to the Holoscenes aquarium. From there visit Above Below and Below Below an exhibit by John Torreano, NYU Professor of Art. Top it off with Rooftop Rhythms poetry open mic night (Friday, Nov 18 @ 8pm). by Rana Asfour When Rob Sinclair offered me a pre-release copy of his new book 'Dark Fragments’, I was over the moon. I’d read his ‘Enemy’ series, three espionage thrillers featuring Carl Logan and I had loved every single one of them. I couldn’t wait to start on this one too. Released yesterday (November 7) by Bloodhound Books on all reading platforms, ‘Dark Fragments’ is Rob Sinclair’s first stand-alone novel. It is a psychological thriller that involves murder, family secrets, betrayal, money, revenge and a whole lot of scratching below the surface. It is a novel that keeps a reader on their toes and with its short concise chapters, readers will be able to get through it in one sitting. In fact, once you pick it up and tuck in, you’ll not want to put it back down. In ‘Dark Fragments’ Sinclair has taken a big risk – and come up trumps - relaying the novel in the first person, which provides the reader with only Ben’s point of view the entire time. However, the chapters in which Ben talks to an unnamed character in one instance commenting on key events in his life and in another setting up the reader for what is yet to come, are ingenuous and save the book from falling into the stagnation of a monotonous unreliable diary of one man’s life. Instead these chapters transpire to be key stations whereby the reader gets to delve into Ben’s real psyche in order to keep up with his reasoning. ‘Dark Fragments’ is Rob Sinclair’s fourth book and by all accounts his best and strongest yet. On par with ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘The Girl on the Train’ – albeit a male equivalent - this will strike a note with readers who enjoyed both books. Although it is a much darker, more fast-paced read than either of the mentioned books, ‘Dark Fragments’ is a psychological thriller with twists and turns that will have you reeling from one page to the next on a roller coaster ride that does not disappoint. Another resounding success for this brilliant writer! The way we bottle up emotions in this day and age, the way we shy away from conflict, it makes things worse, because the end result is so much more extreme - Ben in 'Dark Fragments' ABOUT THE NOVEL: If I have three pounds and an ice-cream costs one pound, how many ice-creams will each of us have? At first glance it seems that Ben Stephens is a lucky man: he is husband to a beautiful woman, father to two adorable young children, owner of a luxurious home (with perks) and a lucrative consultant lauded as ‘the future of the team’ at a prestigious firm. However, it doesn’t take long into the book to figure that Ben Stephens may in fact be the unluckiest man on the planet. Early on in the novel, it transpires that Ben’s first wife - love of his life Alice - mother of his older child Harry was murdered in their home seven years prior. Police believed it to be the work of a serial killer due to the positioning of the body and the single white feather the killer had left behind. No one had been convicted, arrested or charged in connection with Alice’s murder and Ben had been left to pick up the shards of his shattered life and try to move on for the sake of his son. Seven years on and Ben is remarried and has a three-year-old daughter, Chloe, from his second wife, Gemma - a great mother to both children. However the cracks in Ben's life are starting to show on the surface of his idyllic life. Not only has he been unable to get over Alice’s death – he still sees her in his recurring nightmares - but he has also managed to stumble into a business partnership with well-known criminal Callum O’Brady, sinking himself into thousands of pounds of debt which the dangerous, violent and vindictive Irish brute is demanding that Ben repay- and soon. Desperate, Callum comes clean about his situation to wife Gemma begging her for her help. She is after all the daughter of his boss, managing partner James Whitely. After eventually agreeing to help him out, Ben secures the money. However, another series of unfortunate events – which by now Ben and the reader know is inevitable, culminate with a severe beating for Ben at the hands of O’Brady’s bodyguards and the doubling of the debt. To add to Ben's woes, he returns home to find that Gemma, fed up with his lies and incessant problems, has packed his bags and kicked him out of the house. Amidst all this turmoil his twin sister, detective inspector Danielle (Dani), with whom he has never had a ‘straightforward relationship’ shows up at his door after a four-year absence. She arrives with new information regarding Alice’s murder and the suspected identity of the killer who has struck again; a guy by the name of Mickey Egan, another of Callum O’Brady’s henchmen and ‘a truly repulsive excuse for a human being’. Dani enlists the help of her brother to bring O’Brady to justice in exchange for protection not only from the thug and his goons but also from prosecution regarding a recent physical assault that Ben, heavily drunk and unprovoked, had launched on a childhood nemesis. Trapped into a corner, and quickly running out of options Ben agrees to help the police. Predictably, things don’t turn out as planned and more blood and broken bones ensue. And to make matters worse, by this point not only is Ben’s life in danger but also the lives of everyone else connected to him. By this point, Ben is angry: at Gemma, at Alice’s killer, at O’Brady, at his sister and the police and Cara - a woman he is sleeping with and who he describes as the biggest mistake of his life. Ben decides it’s about time to finally take matters into his own hands to see himself out of his predicament. And that’s when it all goes berserk and the novel picks up and accelerates all the way to the end. ‘So when did you become aware of this all-consuming anger? There must be a point you can take yourself back to and say “that was the moment when things really changed for me.”’ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rob Sinclair began writing in 2009 following a promise to his wife, an avid reader, that he could pen a ‘can’t put down’ thriller. He worked for nearly 13 years for a global accounting firm after graduating from The University of Nottingham in 2002, specialising in forensic fraud investigations at both national and international levels. Rob now writes full time. Originally from the North East of England, Rob has lived and worked in a number of fast paced cities, including New York, and is now settled in the West Midlands with his wife and young sons. Visit his website HERE. by Rana Asfour Listen! Have you heard it yet? It's the sound of millions of fingers tapping away at computers in rhyme, rhythm and prose in what can only be labelled as November's writing extravaganza. All around the world, writers are gearing up for the third day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a 'fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing' open to anyone, anywhere in the world. And it's completely free. Find out how it works HERE. On November 1, participants began working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. So, if you've already started on your novel or have just been inspired to, then here's a little help for all of you brought to you by the fantastic tireless people at Signature, a Penguin Random House site that helps readers make well-read sense of the world by contextualising news and culture with book recommendations from all publishers. Just in time for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), Signature has teamed up with Evernote to create 'The Ultimate Guide to Writing Advice', a free downloadable e-book that feature writers like David Levithan, Andy Weir, and Elizabeth Berg sharing their hard-won insights into the craft and challenges of writing. The guide includes essays from 12 acclaimed authors and a copyeditor who explore every phase of the writing process. You’ll find tips, advice, and musings on getting started, overcoming writer’s block, developing effective writing habits, and much more. All you have to do is go to the website, sign in with your email and the guide is free to download. Easy! One part writing boot camp, one part rollicking party, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) celebrates its 18th year of encouraging creativity, education, and the power of the imagination through the largest writing event in the world.
“Too many people think they’re not a ‘creative type,’ but to be human is to be a ‘creative type’. NaNoWriMo teaches you to believe that your story matters, to trust the gambols of your imagination, and to make the blank page a launching pad to explore new universes. That’s important because when we create, we cultivate meaning. Our stories remind us that we’re alive, and what being alive means,” says Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo in a press release. Last year, NaNoWriMo welcomed 431,626 participants in 633 different regions on six continents. Of these, more than 40,000 met the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month. This year, participants will be inspired by weekly “pep talks”, penned by published authors, including Jenny Han, Alexander Chee, and Maggie Steifvater. NaNoWriMo has also partnered with 'We Need Diverse Books' to provide participants access to mentorship from authors including Heidi Heilig and Nita Tyndall. According to thenational.ae employees will be given time off work to read under a law that was passed on Monday, which also exempts reading material from taxes and fees.
The President, Sheikh Khalifa, announced the law, which is aimed at achieving the country’s vision of a knowledge-based economy. "Our goal is to prepare generations that work towards excelling and achieving the vision of the UAE, which since its inception has recognised the importance of knowledge, science and culture, and harnessed them in the best interests of the homeland and Emiratis," Sheikh Khalifa said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the law on Twitter as "an unprecedented cultural and legislative initiative". Fees and taxes for distributing, publishing and printing reading material will be scrapped, and facilities for authors, editors and publishing houses will be provided. Sheikh Mohammed said the law would consolidate “the cultural image of books in our society, and oblige coffee shops in shopping malls to offer reading material for customers”. He added that “the law will encourage the private sector to invest in the establishment of libraries and cultural centres. This will be done by providing the private sector with facilities, incentives and discounts'. He also added that the goal is for 2016 to be 'the start of a sustainable cultural change among generations – a change that consolidates the importance of reading, celebrates knowledge and boosts the status of reading.” A national fund will be set up to support reading initiatives and assist media organisations to advertise the importance of books. The fund will also be used to organise a month dedicated each year to promoting literature. The Edinburgh International Book Festival have announced that YA author Kathryn Evans is the winner of the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award for her debut novel, 'More of Me', a gripping and thought-provoking story of growing up and teen identity. All 46 debut novels and short story collections for adults and young adults featured in the Book Festival public programme this year were eligible for the Award, which is voted for by readers and visitors to the Festival. This is the first time in the seven years of the Award that a YA novel has won.
Kathryn Evans said, 'I am stunned to have won this award – when I saw the calibre of the other authors I thought I didn’t have a hope. So often children’s fiction is seen as the poor cousin to adult books – yet in it, we tackle some of the hardest subjects in the most innovative of ways. I am so proud to hold the banner up for YA fiction. 'I had such an amazing time at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, this award is the most delicious icing on an already fabulous cake. Thank you to the Festival team for inviting me, to Usborne for publishing me, and to Sophie Hicks, my amazing agent, for sticking with me all this time. But most of all, a huge thank you to everyone who voted for More of Me – especially the teenagers, let no one tell you you’re apathetic because I know that you are full of passion. Readers, you stars, thank you for voting and making this happen. I owe you all the cake, you are wonderful.” Following a degree in drama and a short career in theatre, Evans decided that she needed a ‘proper job’ so set up a strawberry farm and then turned her hand to writing. In addition to penning her debut novel, running the fruit farm in West Sussex and raising two children, she loves to belly dance and fences competitively. She is Finance Co-ordinator for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in the British Isles and regularly travels across the country delivering writing workshops for teenagers and adults. Evans lost her mother at a young age and 'More of Me' is partly inspired by her own childhood. 'More of Me', published by Usborne, is the extraordinary story of sixteen year old Teva whose life seems normal: school, friends, boyfriend. But at home she hides an impossible secret. Eleven other Tevas. Because once a year, Teva separates into two, leaving a younger version of herself stuck at the same age, in the same house... watching the new Teva live the life that she'd been living. But as her seventeenth birthday rolls around, Teva is determined not to let it happen again. She's going to fight for her future. Even if that means fighting herself. 'The Sellout' by Paul Beatty is named winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. The Sellout is published by small independent publisher Oneworld, who had their first win in 2015 with Marlon James’ 'A Brief History of Seven Killings'.
The 54-year-old New York resident, born in Los Angeles, is the first American author to win the prize in its 48-year history. US authors became eligible in 2014. The 2016 shortlist included two British, two US, one Canadian and one British-Canadian writer. 'The Sellout' is a searing satire on race relations in contemporary America. 'The Sellout' is described by The New York Times as a ‘metaphorical multicultural pot almost too hot to touch’, whilst the Wall Street Journal called it a ‘Swiftian satire of the highest order. Like someone shouting fire in a crowded theatre, Mr. Beatty has whispered “Racism” in a postracial world.’ The book is narrated by African-American ‘Bonbon’, a resident of the run-down town of Dickens in Los Angeles county, which has been removed from the map to save California from embarrassment. Bonbon is being tried in the Supreme Court for attempting to reinstitute slavery and segregation in the local high school as means of bringing about civic order. What follows is a retrospective of this whirlwind scheme, populated by cartoonish characters who serve to parody racial stereotypes. The framework of institutional racism and the unjust shooting of Bonbon’s father at the hands of police are particularly topical. Though Beatty cites satirists Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut as formative influences, he remarked to The Paris Review that he was ‘surprised that everybody keeps calling this a comic novel… I’m not sure how I define it.’ In addition to his £50,000 prize and trophy, Beatty also receives a designer bound edition of his book and a further £2,500 for being shortlisted. This is the third year that the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK. Previously, the prize was open only to authors from the UK & Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe. The 2016 shortlist included two British, two US, one Canadian and one British-Canadian writer. Source: press release by Rana Asfour A big YAY! for the weird and wonderful world of the World Wide Web. It is there where one can find innovative solutions to irritating every day issues. One example is the email inbox with its flood of frustrating, stressful, and anger inducing messages that are enough to make one go mad. Step in the brainy and brilliant people at 'The Season of Stories'; their mission is to make your email inbox a better - and happier - place, one story at a time.
Starting October 11 (yesterday) for a limited time they'll be emailing eleven fiction tales directly to readers, all written in the first person. Every week, a different Penguin Random House author will take over the newsletter, including award-winning and bestselling authors like Anthony Marra, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Adam Johnson. Seriously, how awesome is that? You’ll receive a piece of a story one day at a time until the full narrative wraps up just in time for the weekend.The stories are FREE and will only be in the emails (you won’t be able to get them anywhere else!). Yesterday, yours truly received her first instalment of these stories called 'Juliet' by Elizabeth McCracken, author of 'Thunderstruck & Other Stories'. It is so good that I cannot wait for today's part II. The story so far is about a weird library in which the children's room houses a bunny called 'Kaspar Hauser', who the narrator figures probably 'prayed nightly to become a ghost' to escape the taunting of the children who came to see it; three finches happy in their communal cage, and fish who 'maybe wept in the terrible privacy of their tank'. This library is a place where people seek 'not just books but attention and advice and, in case of one widower, the occasional rear end to pat affectionately'. There are all sorts of people coming in and going out, inquiring about one thing or other. Old people, two transgendered patrons one of whom is a radical lesbian, teenagers who want to nap and a man who just wanted to punch someone. That's just to name a few. However, it is the mysterious Juliet, a young woman in her late twenties, with long loose dark hair, who visits the library for the first time on a Monday who captures the attention and imagination of the library dwellers. It seems something terrible might be about to happen to Juliet, but I'm not quite sure what it is yet but the fact that she 'clutched a book in her hand in such a way that it looked like a knife she was prepared to use on herself' gives me a creepy feeling. Other clues? She is described as having 'something forsaken and hopeful about her' and she's wearing white. That always reads as this woman might be facing a gory, violent and miserable end, Right? Or is it just me? hmm. Intrigued? All you have to do to is sign up with your email after clicking HERE. The Sharjah International Book Fair have today announced their exciting and extensive details for the region’s largest book fair which takes place Nov 2 until Nov. 12 in Sharjah. Attending the press conference were HE Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority as well as HE Abdulaziz Taryam, CEO Advisor and General Manager of Etisalat Northern Emirates.
Now in it’s 35th year, the programme is filled to the brim with all things literary as well as a plethora of activities such as a cooking corner which includes 76 activities with 14 guests from 10 participating countries. Children are promised a dazzling time with a whole host of activities lined up for their entertainment, with 54 guests from 19 participating countries dedicated to the task. Participating in this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair are 1250 publishers from 60 countries, with nine of these countries participating for the first time. There will be over half a million books on display and UNESCO is to be guest of honor at SIBF 2016. The Fair organizers have settled on ‘Read More’ as this year’s slogan in accordance with the UAE’s ‘2016 Year of Reading’ which continues to be celebrated across the country. In an earlier press release, the SIBF announced that it will play host to renowned Egyptian actor Ezzat Al Alaili in appreciation of his significant contribution to Egyptian Cinema over many decades and his highly creative film interpretations of the best Egyptian and Arabic novels through a huge collection of films and TV series. The Fair will open daily from early morning until late at night during its 11-day run bringing together authors, publishers, readers, literary stakeholders, celebrities and cultural ambassadors all under one roof in an exhibition area that covers 25,000 square metres, with the space extending across five halls at Expo Centre Sharjah. We've said it a million times but we'll put it in writing this time: there's nothing more that we love than a book sale except for a book sale for a good cause. And now's your chance to do both here in Abu Dhabi.
Operation Smile UAE are having their annual mega book sale at Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi, this Thursday 13 Oct - Saturday 15 Oct. from 10am - 11pm. All funds raised will help children with cleft lip and cleft palate receive free collective surgery so they too can smile. The event will take place in Wahda Mall's main atrium in front of Starbucks. Check out the Operation Smile UAE on Facebook for more details. by Rana Asfour (Tadah! The modern literary world's most famous mystery has been resolved with the very public unmasking of the true identity of Elena Ferrante, author of the much celebrated 'My Brilliant Friend' as well as the entire Neopolitan series as that of Italian translator Anita Raja. The news splashed out onto media platforms when Italian journalist Claudio Gatti, a writer for the New York Review of Books as well as Il Sole 24 Ore decided to go public with the information. In true modern espionage fashion, Gatti has revealed that he was able to identify Ferrante by the significant payments that had been made to her by the company, which appeared proportionate to the success of her books. Asked in an email interview for the Gentlewoman earlier this year why she protected her anonymity, Ferrante said it was partly to shield the Neapolitan community from which she drew her inspiration. But there were other reasons, too.
'The wish to remove oneself from all forms of social pressure or obligation. Not to feel tied down to what could become one’s public image. To concentrate exclusively and with complete freedom on writing and its strategies,' she wrote. Many have criticised the revealing of the writer with some labelling it as 'disgusting journalism'. In a series of angry tweets, author JoJo Moyes wrote that Raja must have had good reason to revert to a pseudonym and that it wasn't the public's 'right' to know her. The journalist has since defended his decision to publish his findings regarding Raja's identity explaining that not only was Ferrante a public figure and the public had a right to know who she was but that as a journalist he was only doing his job. For more on that HERE. The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature picked up another accolade Monday, winning Best Family Friendly Day Out at the Time Out Dubai Kids Awards 2016. Isobel Abulhoul, OBE, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, accepted the Award. ‘We could not be prouder of what our Festival has achieved over the past eight years,’ Abulhoul said. ‘Families have always been at the heart of the Festival, and the aim from the beginning was to ensure that the programme offered something for everyone, ages 1 to 99+ years, plus a wide variety of interests, from architecture to zoology! Receiving official recognition that the Festival is the perfect day out for the entire family delights the whole team, and gives us renewed energy for the busy year ahead.’ Established in 2009, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature aims to foster a reading culture among young people in the UAE and the region. The children’s programme has been a vital aspect of the Festival, with the highlights including the Fringe events which give youngsters the opportunity to delve into drama, poetry and art as well as the Education Days where Festival authors from around the world visit schools and inspire students to pick up a book and read. The student competitions have also continued to grow and engage the youth of the region, by creating platforms for them to express their creativity, through participation in reading quizzes, or through writing or performance poetry. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the 2017 Festival will be held from 3-11 March. For more information about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and for competitions and updates, the Festival can be found online, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube source: press release
Yesterday (Monday) at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, more than 100 media and members of the publishing industry gathered for the unveiling of the 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist.
Jury members Lawrence Hill, Jeet Heer, Samantha Harvey, Kathleen Winter and Alan Warner were on hand to announce the 2016 finalists and read a citation for each title. The six titles were chosen from a longlist of 12 books announced on September 7, 2016. One hundred and sixty-one titles were submitted by 69 publisher imprints from every region of the country. The books shortlisted for the 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize are: Mona Awad for her novel '13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl' published by Penguin Canada In her brilliant, hilarious and at times shocking debut, Mona Awad simultaneously skewers the body image-obsessed culture that tells women they have no value outside their physical appearance, and delivers a tender and moving depiction of a lovably difficult young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform. A huge BookFabulous recommendation. I absolutely loved it! Gary Barwin for his novel 'Yiddish for Pirates' published by Random House Canada Set in the years around 1492, Yiddish for Pirates recounts the compelling story of Moishe, a Bar Mitzvah boy who leaves home to join a ship's crew, where he meets Aaron, the polyglot parrot who becomes his near-constant companion. From a present-day Florida nursing home, this wisecracking yet poetic bird guides us through a world of pirate ships, Yiddish jokes and treasure maps. But Inquisition Spain is a dangerous time to be Jewish and Moishe joins a band of hidden Jews trying to preserve some forbidden books. He falls in love with a young woman, Sarah; though they are separated by circumstance, Moishe's wanderings are motivated as much by their connection as by his quest for loot and freedom. When all Jews are expelled from Spain, Moishe travels to the Caribbean with the ambitious Christopher Columbus, a self-made man who loves his creator. Moishe eventually becomes a pirate and seeks revenge on the Spanish while seeking the ultimate booty: the Fountain of Youth. Emma Donoghue for her novel 'The Wonder' published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd An eleven-year-old girl stops eating, but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse, sent to investigate whether she is a fraud, meets a journalist hungry for a story. Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, 'The Wonder' - inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth - is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes. Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul. Catherine Leroux for her novel 'The Party Wall' published by Biblioasis International Translation Series, translated by Lazer Lederhendler Catherine Leroux's first novel, translated into English brilliantly by Lazer Lederhendler, ties together stories about siblings joined in surprising ways. A woman learns that she absorbed her twin sister's body in the womb and that she has two sets of DNA; a girl in the deep South pushes her sister out of the way of a speeding train, losing her legs; and a political couple learn that they are non-identical twins separated at birth. 'The Party Wall' establishes Leroux as one of North America's most intelligent and innovative young authors. Madeleine Thien for her novel 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing' published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada Also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016 In Canada in 1991, ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home: a young woman who has fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests. Her name is Ai-Ming. As her relationship with Marie deepens, Ai-Ming tells the story of her family in revolutionary China, from the crowded teahouses in the first days of Chairman Mao's ascent to the Shanghai Conservatory in the 1960s and the events leading to the Beijing demonstrations of 1989. It is a history of revolutionary idealism, music, and silence, in which three musicians, the shy and brilliant composer Sparrow, the violin prodigy Zhuli, and the enigmatic pianist Kai struggle during China's relentless Cultural Revolution to remain loyal to one another and to the music they have devoted their lives to. Forced to re-imagine their artistic and private selves, their fates reverberate through the years, with deep and lasting consequences for Ai-Ming - and for Marie. Written with exquisite intimacy, wit and moral complexity, Do Not Say We Have Nothing magnificently brings to life one of the most significant political regimes of the 20th century and its traumatic legacy, which still resonates for a new generation. It is a gripping evocation of the persuasive power of revolution and its effects on personal and national identity, and an unforgettable meditation on China today. Zoe Whittall for her novel 'The Best Kind of People' published by House of Anansi Press Inc. George Woodbury, an affable teacher and beloved husband and father, is arrested for sexual impropriety at a prestigious prep school. His wife, Joan, vaults between denial and rage as the community she loved turns on her. Their daughter, Sadie, a popular over-achieving high school senior, becomes a social pariah. Their son, Andrew, assists in his father’s defense, while wrestling with his own unhappy memories of his teen years. A local author tries to exploit their story, while an unlikely men’s rights activist attempts to get Sadie onside their cause. With George locked up, how do the members of his family pick up the pieces and keep living their lives? How do they defend someone they love while wrestling with the possibility of his guilt? With exquisite emotional precision, award-winning author Zoe Whittall explores issues of loyalty, truth, and the meaning of happiness through the lens of an all-American family on the brink of collapse. Students, are you ready for another battle of the books and reciting poetry? 'The Readers’ Cup' and 'Qasidah par Coeur' competitions are back and it's time for you to register. And don't forget to submit your entries for the Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition and the Taaleem Award.
Taaleem Award The theme for the 2017 Taaleem Award is Journeys. Entries can be submitted online until 20 November 2016 The Oxford University Press Story Competition The theme for the 2017 Oxford University Press Story Competition is Journeys. Entries can be submitted online until 20 November 2016 Readers’ Cup The Readers’ Cup is a quiz-style competition that has grown in popularity around the GCC. Teams of students, selected by their schools, will compete to demonstrate their understanding of selected books by authors coming to the 2017 Festival. To read the rules and register teams, click here. 'Qasidah Par Coeur' Competition The 'Qasidah par Coeur' Competition is a performance-based poetry competition in which students perform poems in Arabic and English. 'Qasidah par Coeur' is not just a recitation, but rather a chance to demonstrate a more in-depth understanding of the chosen poems. Schools can read the rules and register teams here. How September Celebrated The Centenary Of The World's Best And Most Loved Storyteller Roald Dahl19/9/2016 On the occasion of this month being Roald Dahl's centenary I thought I would supply links that have popped up online related to the subject at hand (one's I've particularly enjoyed). Do let me know of others you may have come across too... The Chinese Connection: It should come as no surprise that the creator of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' should have a favourite sweetshop. I, for one, would have been disappointed to learn otherwise. It's on 11 High Street in Llandaff in Wales which is Dahl's birthplace. But if you're getting your hopes up to sampling some of his favourites, think again! it's a Chinese takeway now! Dumplings anyone? The Oxford Connection: What do you give someone who's been given everything for their centenary? A dictionary of course! and that's just what the clever people behind Oxford English Dictionary have decided to do in celebration of the author, and screenwriter. They've also put his name on it and called it the 'Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary' and it's written in a new language: Dahlesque. Yes. Really. See HERE. They've gone one step further and have in their latest update of the 'Oxford English Dictionary' included all the delightful words that he created entirely for his books but then as if by magic these words found their way in to the real world and became part of our everyday repertoire: frightsome, scrummy, scrumptious, splendiferous) in addition to Oompa Loompa and the 'witching hour'. To see all words and revised phrases, click HERE. Roald Dahl never used the term gobblefunk to describe his made-up language. The word appears in The BFG only as a verb, where the giant gently chides Sophie for gobblefunking (i.e playing around) with words. But that is now the accepted name for the lexicon of words that he invented: all 393 of them, as counted for the Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary. The Fruit Connection: In Cardiff, a giant peach took to the streets of Cardiff this weekend to mark Roald Dahl's centenary and many dressed up in outfits of his book characters. It's heart warming to watch that peach roll turning Cardiff into a magical 'city of the unexpected'! To read the BBC report and find out how the peach was painted, click HERE. by Rana Asfour Meet Esther Jacoby, author of ‘New Life Cottage’ who has a marvellous theory. She believes that we are born with a daily number of words that need to be offloaded one way or the other, else we get ill. Some of us, she explains, choose to deplete their reserve through everyday speech. Others, like Jacoby herself who professes to a great passion for words and a large word count, have no other recourse but to turn to writing as their outlet of choice. Jacoby is an author with many talents. A holder of a degree in maths, she has also received formal training in ballroom and Latin dancing as well as dabbling in a bit of belly dancing on the side too. For a time she worked as a care assistant for physically disabled adults and trained with the British Judo Squad Team. This is also a woman who looks to her herd of hippos (albeit plastic ones) as her lucky charm. Above all else, Jacoby identifies herself as a writer and author first and foremost recognizing the magic and power of storytelling from a very early age. ‘I grew up in Germany. And although my mum was a teacher I was a late developer when it came to writing and especially reading. In my class I was the last to read and was eight by the time I finally did. When I was thirteen, I had to take the bus each day to and from school because we lived out of town. Many nasty people would take the same commute and so to avoid any trouble I would read. One day, a girl on the bus asked me to read to her from my book so I did. Soon, I was reading to the whole bus. Everyone became engrossed in the stories including the bus driver. I discovered that not only did I have a voice that carried but that books had power and I too wanted to be a part of that’. Jacoby moved to Abu Dhabi in 2015 as a freelance Oil and Gas Safety workshop expert. With over twenty years of experience that has taken her to many interesting places around the world such as Houston, London, Angola, and Qatar to name a few, it comes as no surprise when she mentions the indelible effect her experiences on the job have had on her writing. ‘A big part of my work involves writing a lot of reports with very tight deadlines with which to write them in. This has helped in training me to put on paper exactly what it is I want to say taking every effort to choose the right words in order to get it right from the very first try. But this technical approach to writing also means that when I come to edit my work, I am a timid re-writer, because I feel I have said what I want to say in the best possible way from the first go'. 'Thanks to the cyclical nature of my work,' she adds, 'I have free time in between jobs to write. Since moving to Abu Dhabi, I have completed and self-published my debut novel ‘New Life Cottage’ which I have wanted to do since I was seventeen years old. Within a week or so after that, I started on the second one ‘Boy in the Wardrobe’. Since then I have also written two other books ‘The Wait’ which is a love story based partly on real events and centres around a guy I was planning to marry and then dumped on the day I completed the book and ‘Slave’ which revolves around events in my husband’s life. However, the titles are working titles as the books, although completed, are yet unpublished because I’ve decided to try traditional publishing. I am looking for an agent who can make that possible’. I enjoy a good murder mystery and have read most of Agatha Christie's work. I also enjoy Ian Rankin who I met twice in Houston. My favourite book of all time is 'The Loves and Journeys of Revolving Jones' by Leslie Thomas. I've read it five times' - Esther Jacoby on reading choices About a year ago Jacoby joined the Abu Dhabi Writers’ Workshop in a bid to meet people who enjoyed the written word as much as she did and to share her work with serious people who were there to hone their craft. ‘Writing is hard work and you need to put in the time and dedication. Regardless of anything I am an author so for me, the workshop is like a busman’s holiday. I can go and get info as well as meet people with a similar interest. I also like the fact that there is no pressure at the workshop to write if I don’t want to. I particularly enjoy the writing prompts we receive because they give me ideas to work on. In fact my fifth book ‘Why My Father Left My Mother’ which is a work in progress, sprung from one of the weekly prompts. The workshop is also a place to receive and to offer honest feedback on your work. It has been brilliant to watch less seasoned writers gain confidence and improve their writing each week’. As many writers will agree, writing in the end is a very solitary process if writers are to make sense of the ideas and the images floating around in their head. Many draw inspiration from what goes on around them. ‘I get my ideas from life and love to ‘people watch’ all the time much like Charles Dickens. However, when I am about to sit down and write, I make sure to stay away from all distractions. Even my husband has to leave because he tends to interrupt my work. The first sentence may be slow but I have pictures in my head and know where the scene is going. Then I vomit the words on to the page and I’m on my way’. The pure effort of writing is hard enough and many authors will agree that nothing makes it on to the page with ease never mind the nuances of setting targets, sticking to word quotas, and chiselling at a piece of work for long laborious hours in what can feel like self-imposed solitary confinement. All this can stop anyone from getting started. ‘My advice,’ says Jacoby ‘is to start. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you are wasting your time. Just write!’ To purchase 'New Life Cottage', click HERE. To listen to Esther read excerpts from all her books, you can visit her YouTube channel (ej.worldofwords) HERE by Rana Asfour In what one can only be described as a tour de force collection of short stories, Anthony Marra manages to bring forth an array of the most dazzling and memorable pieces of work that in their entirety present the reader with a span of eighty years of Russian history dating from 1937 up until 2013 and the break down of the USSR.
‘The Tsar of Love and Techno’ is in actuality a loose novel: once the stories are read in succession, the characters as well as objects (a fictional 19th century painting by Isaak Brodsky, a mix tape) and settings (Leningrad, a herb garden, a Siberian labor camp, Grozny, Kirovsk and Chechnya) fall in together as pieces of a puzzle that threaded together reveal a tapestry about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war and the redemptive power of art. The book opens with ‘The Leopard’, the story of Roman Markin, a party member working in propaganda and the last of the Leningrad correction artists who attended the Imperial Academy of Arts before the revolution. His job, in addition to airbrushing Stalin to look puffy cheeked and robust in photos, involves finding ‘offending images in books, old newspapers, pamphlets, in paintings or as loose photographs, sitting in portrait or standing in crowds. Most could be ripped, but some censored images needed to remain as a cautionary tale. For these, obliteration by India ink was the answer. A gentle tip of the jar, a few squeezes of the eyedropper, and the disgraced face drowned beneath a glinting black pool’. When his brother is found ‘guilty of religious radicalism by an impartial and just tribunal’ and ‘received the only sentence suitable for a madman who poisoned others with the delusion that heaven awaits us’ Markin is forced to do unto his brother’s photographs what he has done to those before him. Although he had been the one to shop him, the defacing of his brother is that what finally breaks him. In a bid for redemption he rebels in the only way he is capable of under the circumstances: for every face he obliterates in a painting, he draws in the face of his brother somewhere in the background. He does that until he himself is incarcerated and charged with treason albeit for a completely different offense. And so the stories continue: a child who informs the authorities on her mother, a granddaughter of a disgraced ballerina who becomes an actress and marries the 14th richest man in Russia yet still pines for her first boyfriend; A soldier who fights in Chechnya and carries an un-listened to mix tape in his pocket compiled and given to him by his brother. There is the story of a former museum director and his blind curator, and there’s also a climactic space journey (year unknown). From the fantastic to the fantastical and in between, Marra’s confident style of writing is consistent, and captivating throughout. It feels like magical realism but it isn’t. The only magic spells here are cast by Marra in the form of perfect sentence construction, memorable characters, and vivid descriptions of setting and landscape. There is wonderment and a sense of satisfaction and achievement when the reader reconnects with familiar characters that re-appear in different stories and finally makes the vital connections that complete the final piece of the puzzles strewn across the book. It may seem like hard work but it is effort well worth it in the end. One would be correct to assume that although the recurrent theme in all of the stories is connected to time of war or its aftermath, it becomes important to point out here the pure genius of the writer who manages to maintain hope and humor throughout. There is significant emphasis on showing that there will always be two sides to any coin and that the concepts of good and bad are truly arbitrary terms. That said, the stories contain witty, painfully funny passages that far from eclipsing or downplaying the dismal circumstances in which most of the characters are steeped, simply serve to show that in these stories moments of joy follow moments of sorrow and the other way around, as does the wheel of life. But it also means that you will laugh even when it feels wrong to do so. Anthony Marra is the New York Times-bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, longlisted for the American National Book Award and winner of the American National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, and the Barnes and Noble Discover Award. Check out his website HERE. Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay and Madeleine Thien are announced as the six shortlisted authors for the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Their names were announced by 2016 Chair of judges, Dr. Amanda Foreman, at a press conference at the offices of sponsor Man Group yesterday (Tuesday).
The judges remarked on the role of the novel in exploring culture and in tackling unfamiliar and challenging subjects, and on the shortlisted authors’ willingness to play with language and form. The shortlist features a variety of voices, from new names to award winners. The books cover a diverse range of subjects, from murder in 19th century Scotland to classical music in Revolutionary China. In the third year that the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, the shortlist is an even split between two British, two US and two Canadian writers. Three novels from Penguin Random House are shortlisted alongside three from small, independent publishers. 2016 Man Booker Shortlist Paul Beatty (US) - 'The Sellout' (Oneworld) A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, 'The Sellout' showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. Born in Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, the narrator of 'The Sellout' spent his childhood as the subject in his father's racially charged psychological studies. He is told that his father’s work will lead to a memoir that will solve their financial woes. But when his father is killed in a drive-by shooting, he discovers there never was a memoir. All that’s left is a bill for a drive-through funeral. What’s more, Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save California from further embarrassment. Fuelled by despair, the narrator sets out to right this wrong with the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court. In his trademark absurdist style, which has the uncanny ability to make readers want to both laugh and cry, 'The Sellout' is an outrageous and outrageously entertaining indictment of our time. Deborah Levy (UK) - 'Hot Milk' (Hamish Hamilton) Two women arrive in a Spanish village - a dreamlike place caught between the desert and the ocean - seeking medical advice and salvation. One of the strangers suffers from a mysterious illness: spontaneous paralysis confines her to a wheelchair, her legs unusable. The other, her daughter Sofia, has spent years playing the reluctant detective in this mystery, struggling to understand her mother's illness. Surrounded by the oppressive desert heat and the mesmerising figures who move through it, Sofia waits while her mother undergoes the strange programme of treatments invented by Dr Gomez. Searching for a cure to a defiant and quite possibly imagined disease, ever more entangled in the seductive, mercurial games of those around her, Sofia finally comes to confront and reconcile the disparate fragments of her identity.'Hot Milk' is a labyrinth of violent desires, primal impulses, and surreally persuasive internal logic. Examining female rage and sexuality, Deborah Levy's dazzling new novel explores the strange and monstrous nature of motherhood, testing the bonds of parent and child to breaking point. Graeme Macrae Burnet (UK) - 'His Bloody Project' (Contraband) A brutal triple murder in a remote northern crofting community in 1869 leads to the arrest of Roderick Macrae, a seventeen-year-old from the village. There s no question that he is guilty, but why did he commit the crime? Was he insane? Whose account should we believe? And will he hang? A riveting drama. Ottessa Moshfegh (US) – 'Eileen' (Jonathan Cape) The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop. Trapped between caring for her alcoholic father and her job as a secretary at the boys’ prison, she tempers her dreary days with dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, her nights and weekends are filled with shoplifting and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father’s messes. When the beautiful, charismatic Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counsellor at the prison, Eileen is enchanted, unable to resist what appears to be a miraculously budding friendship. But soon, Eileen’s affection for Rebecca will pull her into a crime that far surpasses even her own wild imagination. David Szalay (Canada-UK) - 'All That Man Is' (Jonathan Cape) Nine men. Each of them at a different stage of life, each of them away from home, and each of them striving – in the suburbs of Prague, beside a Belgian motorway, in a cheap Cypriot hotel – to understand just what it means to be alive, here and now. Tracing an arc from the spring of youth to the winter of old age, All That Man Is brings these separate lives together to show us men as they are – ludicrous and inarticulate, shocking and despicable; vital, pitiable, hilarious, and full of heartfelt longing. And as the years chase them down, the stakes become bewilderingly high in this piercing portrayal of 21st-century manhood. Madeleine Thien (Canada) - 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing' (Granta Books) In Canada in 1991, ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home: a young woman who has fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests. Her name is Ai-Ming. As her relationship with Marie deepens, Ai-Ming tells the story of her family in revolutionary China, from the crowded teahouses in the first days of Chairman Mao's ascent to the Shanghai Conservatory in the 1960s and the events leading to the Beijing demonstrations of 1989. It is a history of revolutionary idealism, music, and silence, in which three musicians, the shy and brilliant composer Sparrow, the violin prodigy Zhuli, and the enigmatic pianist Kai struggle during China's relentless Cultural Revolution to remain loyal to one another and to the music they have devoted their lives to. Forced to re-imagine their artistic and private selves, their fates reverberate through the years, with deep and lasting consequences for Ai-Ming - and for Marie. Written with exquisite intimacy, wit and moral complexity, 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing' magnificently brings to life one of the most significant political regimes of the 20th century and its traumatic legacy, which still resonates for a new generation. It is a gripping evocation of the persuasive power of revolution and its effects on personal and national identity, and an unforgettable meditation on China today. The American NAtional Book Awards Announces Its 2016 Longlist For Yound People's Literature12/9/2016 For sixty years, the mission of the National Book Foundation and the National Book Awards has been to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America. About the books: 'Booked' by Kwame Alexander (320 pages)
Readers follow Nick's trials and triumphs on and off the pitch in Kwame Alexander's New York Times-bestselling follow-up to 'The Crossover'. This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match! 'Raymie Nightingale' by Kate DiCamillo (272 pages) New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving yet witty story of an unforgettable summer friendship. For fans of Jacqueline Wilson, David Almond and Katherine Rundell. 'March: Book Three' by Andrew Aydin & John Lewis & Nate Powell (256 pages) Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, joins co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to bring the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today's world. 'When the Sea Turned to Silver' by Grace Lin (384 pages) A breathtaking, full-colour illustrated fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore, a companion to the Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestseller 'Where the Mountain Meets the Moon', which has sold over 250,000 copies in all formats. 'When the Moon was Ours' by Anna Marie McLemore (288 pages) To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel s wrist, and rumours say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumoured to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up. 'Burn Baby Burn' by Meg Medina (320 pages) While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel. 'Pax' by Sara Pennypacker (288 pages) A moving story of the extraordinary friendship between a boy and his fox, and their epic journey to be reunited. Beautifully illustrated by multi-award winner, Jon Klassen. 'Ghost' by Jason Reynolds (192 pages) Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this first electrifying novel of a brand-new series from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winning author Jason Reynolds. 'Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story' by Caren B. Stelson (144 pages) This striking work of narrative nonfiction tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui's survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 and the heartbreaking and lifelong journey to find peace. This special book offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath. 'The Sun is Also a Star' by Nicola Yoon (384 pages) Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true? Today the Islamic world celebrates the second of two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha, also called the 'Sacrifice Feast'. In addition to prayers and charity, it is also a time when Muslims visit family and friends offering presents to mark the occasion. If you're contemplating a present for an avid reader or an aspiring writer or even a literary connoisseur, these gift ideas should set you on your way. And remember, it's never too late to shop for a gift... These infinity scarves by Tori Tissell are the perfect way for anyone to show off some literary love in any weather! Each circular scarf is silkscreened by hand with passages from some of the world's great books, letting you cheer on 'Jane Eyre', get wrapped up in the misadventures of the denizens of 'Wuthering Heights', take a tumble down the rabbit hole with 'Alice in Wonderland', or citations from Mr. Darcy with 'Pride and Prejudice'. Hand printed in Portland ($48). Buy HERE. There is no better company than a steaming cup of tea as you open the cover of a favorite classic or turn the page of the latest thriller. Novel Teas Pouches contain 25 teabags individually tagged with literary quotes from the world over, made with English Breakfast tea made in Sri Lanka. ($14.95). Buy HERE. Are your books all tatty with dog ears? do you still lose your place when you nod off in the middle of a sentence? just snap fingerprint right around your book and point it to the last word you read and it stretches to fit any size book. Use it as a handy book strap too. Made from durable silicone rubber ($5.99). Buy HERE. The definition of a Writer: A person capable of transforming caffeine into book. Synonyms - introvert, masochist, wizard ($12). Buy HERE. So not the most glamorous gift but as any writer worth their words knows,often the best ideas for stories, characters or blog post pop into our heads in the shower — but we forget about them when we move on with our day. Problem solved with Aqua Notes. This waterproof notepad can help document the greatest of ideas ($7.71). Buy HERE.
Ravenous Readers, Abu Dhabi (info HERE) -fiction Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty Single mum Jane has just moved to town. She's got her little boy in tow - plus the secret she's been carrying for five years. On the first day of the school run she meets Madeline - a force to be reckoned with, who remembers everything and forgives no one - and Celeste, the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare, but is inexplicably ill at ease. They both take Jane under their wing - while careful to keep their own secrets under wraps. But a minor incident involving the children of all three women rapidly escalates: playground whispers become spiteful rumours until no one can tell the truth from the lies. Which is when the secrets come out - and now someone is going to pay with their life . To buy, click HERE American Women's Network of Abu Dhabi (AWN) - (info HERE) - non-fiction King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold Ii of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. 'King Leopold's Ghost' is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who fought Leopold: a brave handful of missionaries, travellers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure and unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust. With great power and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West. To buy, click HERE. Abu Dhabi Book Club (info HERE) - non-fiction Zeitoun by Dave Eggers In August 2005, as Hurricane Katrina blew in, the city of New Orleans has been abandoned by most citizens. But resident Abdulrahman Zeitoun, though his wife and family had gone, refused to leave.
For days he traversed an apocalyptic landscape of flooded streets by canoe. But eventually he came to the attention of those 'guarding' this drowned city. Only then did Zeitoun's nightmare really begin. Zeitoun is the powerful, ultimately uplifting true story of one man's courage when confronted with an awesome force of nature followed by more troubling human oppression. To buy, click HERE. ON BOOKS: Conquering a Hill It’s done! Round of applause please! I have finally managed to complete Cirilo Villaverde’s novel ‘Cecilia Valdes’ or ‘El Angel Hill’(1882), described as arguably ‘the most important novel of 19th century Cuba’. It is also considered to be one of the last Cuban abolitionist novels that recounts a story of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism in which the heroine of the novel, the beautiful light-skinned mulatta named Cecilia, is being pursued by Leonardo the son of a Spanish slave trader. Hand on heart I can easily say that I would probably pass a test on 1830s Cuba now for the descriptive passages that were longer, way longer, than the story itself, a tendency prevalent in most Latin American writings. All characters in the novel are real historical figures except for the main protagonists. Out of all this year’s books, this has been the most challenging to stick with but in the end I sat, I read, and I conquered :) Cirilo Villaverde was born in Cuba in 1812. In 1848 he was imprisoned for his role in an Anti-colonial conspiracy. In 1849 he escaped and eventually settled in New York City, where he continued his political activism against the Colonial Regime in Cuba. Cecilia Valdes is his best-known work and has been translated into many languages, including Russian and Chinese. Villaverde died in exile in 1894. Recommended for those with an interest in Latin American literature and history. NEWS: International Literacy Day Turns 50 Thursday (Sept. 8) marked the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day and UNESCO is celebrating it under the banner “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”. Many actors have shown support for the 2016 campaign. Chris Whitaker, UNESCO's Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation took to YouTube to talk about ‘the transformative powers of literacy in Sudan while urging the world community to commit to ensuring that by 2030 every man, woman and child would be able to write their own future. Speaking of empowerment as well as coinciding with International Literacy Day, Emma Watson’s book club, 'Our Shared Shelf', is currently reading ‘Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide’ by the husband-wife team Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. HERE she poses her questions to the authors who talk about charity work in Somaliland, combatting human trafficking, ISIS and the failings of the American education system with consequences worldwide. ON WRITING: The Ethics Of Writing About Your Children Here’s an interesting article that appears on today’s Lithub.com. Four writers get together to talk about how they deal with the thorny task of writing about their children. It’s a very insightful read and will strike a chord with those of us in the habit of posting a thing or two about our children on social media or are in the throes of writing a book that revolves around them. The writers discuss some of the reasons behind why parents might allow themselves licence to do that.
As Elizabeth Stone says, “Making the decision to have a child . . . is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” If you’re a writer, it’s hard to endure such a life shift without processing it through language. Our children create in us entirely new identities, which are rattling and sometimes, if we’re lucky, redeeming. How can we not write about this?... And the best line in there? The one Heather Kiln Lanier (one of the four writers) refers to and is attributed to Pam Durham (not in the article): ‘Parenting gives you less time to write, but a deeper place to write from’. For full article, click HERE. by Rana Asfour I buy a lot of books. Most I manage to read, others join a ‘To Be Read’ pile that by my family’s calculations seems to be growing by the day. This somewhat money-draining ‘hobby’ leaves me at certain times with no recourse but to seek refuge where every book junkie goes for a quick fix when funds are low: the secondhand bookshop. My love affair with these ‘establishments’ nonetheless is a complicated one. My first encounter with used books occurred when I was a student in Beirut and the experience was something as if out of a fairytale: It was a time just after the Civil War had ended which had left most buildings bullet ridden if not entirely crumbled. On a random walk one late afternoon, a turn to the right off one of East Beirut’s main roads, revealed a tiny bookstore window, battered but intact and clean. I stepped into what appeared to be a dimly lit enclave with endless rows of books, the stale musky smell of paper permeated heavily in the air and I in my young arrogance imagined as if the objects had been dormant waiting solely for me. I ran my fingers along the frayed spines sampling the possibilities, silently appointing myself queen of this realm and the bookshop owner its guardian. However, the awe from my discovery turned slightly unfairytale-like when I sat down with one of my new acquisitions only to land upon a page marked along its margins with a whole row of tiny black dots which upon closer inspection turned out to be squashed ants. On another occasion, a suspicious smear of what looked like snot and the elaborate drawings of male genitalia defiled yet another book choice. Yet regardless of my ill-findings and seriously not squeamish, I remained a fan, and to this day count some of the books I bought in that dinghy little shop amongst my favourites. “Books are everywhere; and always the same sense of adventure fills us. Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack. Besides, in this random miscellaneous company we may rub against some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have in the world.” -- Virginia Wolf, 'Street Haunting' As an outright bonafide book junkie and a die-hard supporter of all writers, I am not oblivious to the fact that purchasing secondhand books does nothing for authors. They will never see a penny of that money in any shape or form (except in the case when the purchasers actually pay the royalties). To appease my guilty conscience, I have compiled an informal guide on how to feel better when it comes to purchasing used books: 1. Let’s face it. We all agree that it costs far less to shop at secondhand bookshops. So, to make myself feel slightly better, I make it a point that whenever possible (Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, New Year’s or any big occasion) I buy myself a new copy and insist that family and friends do so too because quite frankly they’re always in the habit of gifting me with books. Hoorah to that! 2. We all know that secondhand bookshops are more varied in their choices and as such they are brilliant places for readers to discover authors they might not have been aware of before. If that happens to you like it does with me, then why not read the rest of the author’s work by purchasing or downloading a new copy. That way, you get to enjoy more of your newly discovered author who down the line benefits from the sales as well. A win-win situation. 3. Even if a used book is all you can afford, you can still pay the author back for all the effort they spent creating a product you enjoyed. Here's what I do. If I like the book, I take the time before passing it along to give it a mention on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) I rave about it on my blog, letting family and friends know exactly why I enjoyed it, all which may encourage them or others they tell to seek a new copy or download its e-version. If I really like an author, I will often subscribe to their blog to keep up to date with all their news. by Rana Asfour Great piece of news: Scottish crime writer Val McDermid is to chair the 2017-judging panel for the Wellcome Book Prize. The panel also includes figures from the world of academia, literature, science and the media. Worth £30,000, the Wellcome Book Prize celebrates the best new books that engage with an aspect of medicine, health or illness. According to McDermid what really sets this prize apart is ‘its acknowledgement of the importance of a really good read, whether that comes in the form of fiction or non-fiction’. Incidentally, the author’s book ‘The Grave Tattoo’ (2003), a murder mystery set in England’s Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, a mountainous region North-West England had found its way onto the BookFabulous Summer 2016 Reading List. The book revolves around the discovery of a heavily tattooed body in the Lake District. Forensics soon reveal that this is no present day murder but one committed 200 years ago. Based on several observations, speculations arise whether the body could be linked to the old rumour that Fletcher Christian, mutinous First Mate on the Bounty, had secretly managed to return to England. And if so, why was he murdered? Scholar Jane Gresham wants to find out. She believes that the ‘Lakeland laureate and head honcho of the Romantic poets', William Wordsworth, a school friend of Christian's, may have sheltered the fugitive and turned his tale into an epic poem– which has since disappeared. Naturally, if found it is worth millions. However, until that happens, it seems that death is hard on Gresham's heels and the mystery is putting many lives on the line. The bodies start to pile up and it becomes a race against time to prevent others from meeting with the same deadly fate. Running alongside this main story is a side plot involving Jane’s East End estate neighbour, Tenille, who is wanted by the London police for the murder of her aunt’s boyfriend Geno. Tenille is thirteen years old and motherless. What she has in common with Jane is a love of poetry managing ‘to grasp the significance of the writings of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and De Quincy with an ease that had taken Jane herself a decade of close study to achieve’. East End estate where almost nobody had any form of legitimate employment, where kids ran wild day and night, and where there were more used condoms and hypodermic needles than blades of grass' - Jane Gresham, 'The Grave Tattoo' by Val McDermid So, when Jane heads off to the Lakes to research the recent discovery, Tenille finds herself with no choice but to follow her in the hopes that Jane might help her clear her name. This is a wonderful book choice for those who enjoy a light dose of history mixed in with their murder mysteries. I would say that those who enjoyed reading ‘The De Vinci Code’ would probably enjoy this one too. The mystery is engaging and the writing fits in well with the novel’s beautiful landscape so that a drive in Lakeland is not just a drive for Jane Gresham, who grew up there, but ‘poetry in motion’. All landscapes hold their own secrets. Layer on layer, the past is buried beneath the surface. Seldom irretrievable, it lurks, waiting for human agency or meteorological accident to force the skeleton up through flesh and skin back into the present. Like the poor, the past is always with us' - Opening lines of 'The Grave Tattoo' by Val McDermid |
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