by Lília This year, we wanted to explore the history of Valentine’s Day. I initially thought it was more of a commercial idea invented by Hallmark in recent decades. I was very surprised to discover that it is actually linked to probable historical events, and that its history is a lot [...]
by Sophie The Winter Olympics are upon us! This year Milan-Cortina hosts. The Dutch hope for tons of speed-skating medals, Canada will hope they beat the U.S. in ice hockey, and Norway and Sweden will just want to beat each other for medals in any sport, as always. (Which [...]
by Damla and Sophie Congratulations everyone! We made it through January, which, as Damla likes to say, is three months dressed up in a trench coat. And while the wind is cold, daylight is returning and the signs of spring are everywhere if you take a closer look at the [...]
Minnesota madness: authors (and habits) from the prairie Originally from Minnesota, ABC's owner Lynn wrote about this now-topical subject and gives us a roundup of some of the beloved authors who hail from her home state. By Lynn If you've been watching the courageous, caring people of Minnesota these past weeks, [...]
by Damla and Sophie Happy new year! The festive season is slowly winding down and the somewhat harsher realities of life (by which we mean weeks worth of unanswered emails at work, restarting coursework, or finally packing away those decorations) are rising back to the surface. But not to worry. [...]
By Sophie No Bookbits last month (vacation), but I'm happy to be diving into the book news again today! - Awards! Hot off the press: Helen Garner has won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with How to End a Story, her diaries detailing her life as a writer (and [...]
by Damla It’s General Election day (again) here in the Netherlands! After weeks of campaigning and heated debates, the Netherlands opens the ballots today to elect its new members of the House of Parliament. The most recent polls have suggested a very close race, adding to the tension in the current [...]
By Sophie Happy September! The month that everything starts up again: work, school, and the book business, too - Katabasis hit our shelves a week and a bit ago, next week will see Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets, and further on in the month we'll have The Gingerbread Bakery, [...]
by Sophie - Awards! The Eisner Awards for best comics and graphic novels were announced at the San Diego Comic Con last month. There are approximately 12 million categories, but one to highlight is Best Single Issue, won by Joe Sacco for The War on Gaza. Another recently-awarded prize with a [...]
The Booker Prize 2025 longlist © Yuki Sugiura for Booker Prize Foundation by Sophie It's only 29 July, but autumn is surely around the corner because the Booker Prize just announced its longlist! The Booker Prize is one of the most influential prizes in the annual literary calendar, [...]
