At the time of writing, it’s day four of the U.S. election and if you’re anything like me, you’re on the hunt for some decidedly not political content to help ease the bone-crushing anxiety. So, here’s some literary escapism for you! (Haters out there sayin’ that books won’t save the world, but Kristen Radtke is here to prove them wrong.) Sit back, switch off CNN, and tune into this week’s best virtual book events.
Speaking of virtual, here what the directors of five global book festivals have to say about pivoting in the age of Zoom. More news from the publishing world: Michelle Obama’s Becoming editor Molly Stern is starting up a new publishing firm called Zando. Bookshop, the rising-star online retail platform for indie booksellers, launched this week in the UK, and Jonny Diamond is pissed that they didn’t spell it Bookshoppe. Dr. Camilla Pang is the first author of color – and youngest author ever – to win the Royal Society science book prize, for her “manual for humans” combining her research on human genetics with her personal experience as an individual on the autism spectrum. The 2020 World Fantasy Award winners were also announced this week.
On the Guardian, Tana French talks about the books that formed her style, and Caleb Femi discusses joy, poverty, and his debut poetry collection.
And perhaps my favorite book news of the week: someone had the brilliant idea of installing audiobooks into porta-potties. They’re calling it Looterature. Incredible.
Book list roundup: here’s LitHub with the 50 greatest (disturbingly pertinent?!) apocalypse novels of all time, a new addition to Book Riot’s ongoing Comics A-Z series, and a list of books on climate change and clean energy. We’ve also got 8 mysteries and thrillers from Black authors, books about chess for my Queen’s Gambit fans, 10 books about books if that’s your thing, and 4 recommended readings from Bill Gates to cope with this mess of a year. Finally, here are 53 short story recommendations from BookRiot readers that I’m definitely bookmarking on my home page.
My favorite articles of the week: check out this refreshing piece about our online selves, Nietzsche on what makes greatness, back-to-back Booker winner Hilary Mantel on writing, and Emily Stochl on the outdated citizenship requirement for literary awards. Critic Barbara Lane writes on the do’s and don’ts of literary criticism and Fiona Bell gives us a history lesson on that Raymond Carter title. Roll your eyes at this overachiever who tackled all of Proust during the pandemic, and high-five this savvy guy who got the upper hand on 2020 (and all of us) by turning his skills with verse into a job writing poems on corporate Zoom conferences. And finally, here’s Saaed Jones with a poem in honor of one of the world’s longest living women, Susannah Mushatt Jones.
In South Africa news, South African author Ken Bonert is in conversation with LitHub‘s Mitzi Rapkin on this week’s First Draft podcast, and beloved chef Dorah Sithole is releasing a cookbook about 40 years of South African food culture. This week also saw the release of Joburg Noir, the newest book in the Akashic Books Noir Series. Joburg Noir is an anthology edited by South African author Niq Mhlongo and features 22 South African authors, including Catalyst Press’ own Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy, 2019) and Sifiso Mzobe (Young Blood, 2021).
Speaking of food, here’s Priya Basil on the dynamic histories of regional cuisines.
In celebrity book news, Elton John will be speaking at the Hay Festival’s Digital Winter Weekend at the end of the month, Outlander heartthrob Sam Heughan is releasing a book, as is Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines, with a new children’s book about confidence. Everybody’s favorite love-to-hate Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell and his son are in the midst hosting a competition to find a co-writer for their adorable children’s book series, Wishfits; applications are due in two weeks. And for you Hardy fanatics out there (the handsome one, not the Hardy Boys, but I respect you for that mix-up), Tom Hardy, Bill Skarsgärd, and half a dozen other A-list celebrities will be starring in the film adaptation of Tim O’Brien’s 1990 classic, The Things They Carried. International businessman fugitive Carlos Ghosn‘s book came out this week, as did debut author Susie Yang’s new book White Ivy, which is already poised for a Netflix adaptation by Shonda Rhimes.
And finally – and while this is neither new nor newsworthy, it definitely takes the cake for funniest thing I found on the internet this week – every book on your high school English syllabus paired with a line from The Office. You’re welcome.