R.I.P. Alice Munro, who died on May 13th. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013.
- For Independent Bookstore Day in the US (sadly no longer celebrated here on account of King’s Day/Memorial Day/Liberation Day all happening then too), the president of children’s book publisher Nosy Crow decided to visit 16 bookstores on a 150-mile bike ride around Massachussetts. What a fun idea!
Awards! As you might have already read on this blog, Jenny Erpenbeck won the International Booker Prize for Kairos. She and her translator Michael Hofmann will share the prize money. The British Books Awards were handed out in many categories. I love that the Overall Book of the Year award went to Murdle. :-) The Dublin Literary Award, one of the very few truly worldwide awards, went to Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu (translated from Romanian by Sean Cotter). And the International Thriller Writers (ITW) awards were handed out yesterday, again, in many categories. Arguably the most prestigious category, Best Hardcover Novel was won by S. A. Crosby for All the Sinners Bleed.
- Booklists: five books on games and gaming, books for a better world, and five escapist books.
This library waives damage fees if you show a picture of the pet culprit. If only high school teachers did the same for eaten homework!
- Want to be a better writer? Become a translator. An interesting look at translators and how their own literary ambitions were shaped by their work. (An alternative suggestion, according to queen Ursula K. Le Guin herself, is to write.)
- After the PEN/America gala was boycotted by half the nominees over its lack of a stance on the war in Gaza, the Hay Literary Festival is facing a similar boycott by artists who are against sponsor Baillie Gifford’s links to Israel and fossil fuel companies.
Coco Mellors fans will enjoy this interview by the Guardian.
- If our Summery Reads suggestions weren’t enough for you, LitHub has another 18 novels perfect for summer days!
- Sorry, no bookish events this time, I’ve run out of time! Check our events page instead. ;-)
- And finally, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! At ABC we are proud of our LGBTQIA+ beginnings and heritage, and we hope to always be a safe space for everyone part of the rainbow tribe. Here are a ton of beautiful, educating, entertaining and just all around wonderful books to dive into this month. A special blog post about Pride will be up later this week, too!
