Carolina De Robertis Wins the John Dos Passos Prize | Book Pulse

Carolina De Robertis wins the  John Dos Passos Prize. The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize longlist is out. The Authors Guild is supporting an antitrust action against Google. Interviews feature Hua Hsu, Pamela Anderson, Davon Loeb, Eleanor Shearer, Rebecca Rukeyser, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Vauhini Vara, Angie Cruz, Aubrey Gordon, Margaret Heffernan, and Zachary Shore. There is adaptation news for Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us and Stephen King’s short story “Children of the Corn.”

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Awards & Buzzy Book News

Carolina De Robertis is named the 41st John Dos Passos Prize winner.

The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize longlist is announced.

There are more developments in the HarperCollins workers strike, covered by USA Today

NYPL Blog announces the acquisition of the archives of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne by the New York Public Library. Also, recommendations of books to read by these authors.

The Authors Guild supports an antitrust action against Google, according to The Bookseller

Book Riot looks into how “book price increases contribute to ongoing censorship.”

Oprah Daily suggests “4 Ways to Help the World Through Books.”

Page to Screen

January 27:

Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, based on the book series “Nicolae: The Rise of the Antichrist” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Fathom Events. Reviews | Trailer

Lockwood & Co., based on the book series by Jonathan Stroud. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

The Snow Girl (La chica de nieve), based on the book by Javier Castillo. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

February 1:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, based on associated titles. Disney+. Reviews | Trailer

Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa, based on the manga series by Mayuko Kanba. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

The Washington Post reviews The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz (Tor Books; LJ starred review): "The story — which begins nearly 60,000 years in the future and unfolds over more than a millennium — rollicks along at a brisk clip while allowing Newitz space to dig into characters and milieu, and pile on startling speculative elements." Also, My Father's House: The Rome Escape Line Trilogy by Joseph O'Connor (Europa): "a gripping World War II-set drama featuring the unlikeliest of heroes, one whom the reader roots for every step of the way."

NYT reviews Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson (Dey Street): "a dazzling and occasionally dizzying ride through this period, in which vivid scenes of ’80s and ’90s decadence bump up against blind items about Russian oligarchs and brief but iconic celebrity cameos."

NPR reviews Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper (Mulholland): “a classic LA noir for the #MeToo era. Its unflagging plot features all the standard tropes: vulnerable young and beautiful actors, depraved men in power, crooked real estate deals, and the wretched excess of Hollywoodland. None of these elements, though, feel like part of a cardboard stage set.” Also, After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz (Liveright: Norton): “innovatively narrated from a perspective that might be called the first person choral, levitating among multiple consciousnesses of women writers, painters and actors who channeled the spirit of Sappho in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Locus Magazine reviews Beyond the Burn Line by Paul McAuley (Gollancz: Hachette): “a sharply sardonic eye on everything from the politics of exploitation to the politics of science, from bureaucracies to UFO cults to generation starships, from anthropomorphic animal tales to serious speculation about tweaking evolu­tion.”

Tor.com reviews Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans (Orbit): “a deep and rich world of Evans’ own devising, characters that leap off the page in their realness and complexity, and magic that has never made me feel so seen, this is not a novel to miss.”

Book Marks has "The Best Reviewed Books of the Month." CrimeReads shares it's own list.

Briefly Noted

Hua Hsu speaks to CBC about how “the tragic loss of a close friend” inspired his memoir, Stay True (Doubleday). 

NPR shares highlights from an interview with Pamela Anderson about her new memoir, Love, Pamela (Dey Street). Fox News also reports on excerpts from her book about an incident with former co-star Tim Allen. Plus, People features a Howard Stern interview where the author discusses her writing process.

Davon Loeb, author of The In-Betweens (West Virginia University), discusses “developing trust with the reader, and the stickiness of relatability” in an interview with The Rumpus

Shondaland talks to Eleanor Shearer about her book, River Sing Me Home (Berkley), and “the lengths a mother will go for her children.”

Rebecca Rukeyser chats about her debut book, The Seaplane on Final Approach (Doubleday), with Electric Lit.

Entertainment Weekly showcases revelations about Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand as detailed in The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen by Robert Hofler (Citadel). Fox News also covers claims made in the book about the central actors.

Journalist Benjamin Hall’s upcoming memoir, Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home (Harper), will “tell the story of narrowly surviving deadly Ukraine attack” to be released on the 1 year anniversary of the day. People has more. Also, Variety provides more details and Deadline has coverage.

Tor.com shares a cover reveal for How to be Remembered by Michael Thompson (Sourcesbooks). 

BBC Culture revisits the work of Colette, as “the most beloved French writer of all time.”

The Guardian celebrates the 30th anniversary of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides (Picador) by reflecting on it's lasting impressions on the reader.

The Chicago Tribune attempts to define “The Great American Novel.”

The Washington Post explores two new books about the Branch Davidian standoff and how it "altered the far-right landscape" including Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America’s Modern Militias by Kevin Cook (Holt) and Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians and a Legacy of Rage by Jeff Guinn (S. & S.). Also, Michael Dirda expounds upon how M.R. James is "the Arthur Conan Doyle of supernatural fiction."

The Graham Norton Book Club is back on Audible. The Bookseller has more.

Town & Country provides “The 50 Best Horror Books to Read.”

CrimeReads puts out a list of "20 Horror Novels to Look Out for in 2023" and "The Best Nonficition Crime Books of the Month."

Book Riot has 8 books “by authors of color that are worth your time” and also works “about protecting yourself online.”

Tor.com lists “Five SF Works About Ruined Civilizations.”

NYT recommends 9 new books.

Authors on Air

Nikole Hannah-Jones discusses the Hulu adaptation of her work, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (One World; LJ starred review), with Variety. Deadline features interview highlights.

Vauhini Vara, author of The Immortal King Rao (Norton; LJ starred review), chats about “the perils and possibilities of artificial intelligence” on the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast.

Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (Flatiron), talks about how immigration bureaucracy especially fails women.

Aubrey Gordon debunks fatness myths in an interview on The Maris Review podcast while discussing her book, “You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People (Beacon).

Margaret Heffernan, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future (Avid: S. & S.), explores the topic of “generative AI” on the Keen On podcast. Also, Zachary Shore gives his take on “America’s struggle between vengeance and virtue” as he explores in his book, This Is Not Who We Are (Cambridge).

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will headline a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us (Atria) for Sony Pictures, according to Variety. The Hollywood Reporter also shares this news and Deadline has a take.

A new adaptation of Stephen King’s short story "Children of the Corn" will be made for AMC’s Shudder. Deadline has more on the news.

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