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Awards, News & New Oprah Pick

Oprah picks Wellness by Nathan Hill (Knopf; LJ starred review), for her book club.

Wayne Johnston wins the 2023 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for his memoir, Jennie’s Boy: A Misfit Childhood on an Island of Eccentrics (Steerforth). Quill & Quire reports.

The 2023 British Fantasy Awards winners are announced. Locus has details. 

The Crook’s Corner Book Prize shortlist is announced.

Nihar Malaviya is officially named CEO of Penguin Random House. Publishers Weekly has the news. 

WGA negotiations are set to restart tomorrow. Variety reports.

Publisher Bluebird has paused all future book projects with comedian Russell Brand, including a self-help book that was slated to publish this December. The Guardian reports. 

Reviews

NYT reviews North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random; LJ starred review): “This is fiction that deals in minutes and in centuries, that captures the glory and the triviality of human lives. The forest and the trees: Mason keeps both in clear view in his eccentric and exhilarating novel”; Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (S. & S./Marysue Rucci; LJ starred review): “Bright Young Women is packed with moments when you feel the size of the deck stacked against any woman, young or old, who dares to be ‘bright.’ There’s always something in the dark that curses the glittering and the hopeful”; and Bartleby and Me: Reflections of an Old Scrivener by Gay Talese (Mariner): “Bartleby and Me is more of an ambler, in which he appears to give his finger to the form by filigreeing a couple of his ironclad hits and then tacking on a new gargoyle of a tale.” Washington Post also reviews: “Talese’s conversational style—openhanded, easygoing, characterized by fact-rich yet perfectly balanced sentences—invites the reader to sit back and relax.”

Washington Post reviews Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates by Katie Barnes (St. Martin’s): “Weaving history with interviews, Barnes crafts a larger story that explains how trans athletes became a target in the culture wars.”

LA Times reviews Father and Son: A Memoir by Jonathan Raban (Knopf): “Father and Son has the feel of a valediction; its force is doubled by the knowledge that Raban spent what remained of his life trying to complete it”; and Dark Ride by Lou Berney (Morrow): “The author has a gift for creating characters and stories that infuse even the most sordid corners of humanity with an unforced gentleness.”

Datebook reviews Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang (Riverhead): “By sprinkling her fiction with smart, speculative touches, she reveals that we as humans can still imagine better, more brilliant outcomes when looking toward the past, present and future. And for Zhang and her readers, taking this route can be fiendishly, deliciously fun.”

Briefly Noted

Author Kate DiCamillo reflects on the 20th anniversary of her award-winning children’s book The Tale of Despereaux, in an essay for Washington Post. 

Aparna Nancherla discusses her new book, Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Impostor Syndrome (Viking), with LA Times. 

NYT explores “How TikTok Is Reshaping the American Cookbook.”

Emily Sieu Liebowitz discusses her new book, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? An Oral History of the ’60s Girl Groups, written with Laura Flam (Hachette; LJ starred review), with People.

Tor shares an excerpt from Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare (Del Rey: Ballantine), due out October 10. 

LitHub has 28 new books for the week. 

Author Deborah L. Ledford highlights Native American fiction at CrimeReads. 

Shondaland shares 8 YA books with adult appeal.

ElectricLit suggests 10 dystopian novels in translation. 

BookRiot highlights Halloween romance books, 8 horror books that “question our obsession with beauty,” and 14 novels written like true-crime. 

Authors on Air

Ben Fountain, Devil Makes Three (Flatiron), and Nathan Hill, Wellness (Knopf: LJ starred review), provide a double-shot on B&N’s Poured Over podcast. 

Julie Chen Moonves talks about her audio memoir, But First, God: An Audio Memoir of Spiritual Discovery (S. & S.), with GMA.

ElectricLit recommends “12 Literary Podcasts for Writers and Readers.”

LitHub suggests “38 Literary Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Fall.”

THR rounds up Netflix’s new September releases.

Mystical book series The Madigan Chronicles by Marieke Lexmond will be a TV series in the UK. Deadline reports.

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