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Award News

The 2021 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award Shortlist is announced.

Claire Wilcox wins the 2021 PEN Ackerley Prize for Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes (Bloomsbury: Macmillan).

Page to Screen

August 6:

The Suicide Squad, based on associated titles. Warner Bros. Pictures. Reviews | Trailer

Naked Singularity, based on the book by Sergio De La Pava. Screen Media Films. No reviews | Trailer

John and the Hole, based on the short story El Pozo by Nicolás Giacobone. IFC Films. Reviews | Trailer

August 9:

Shaman King, based on the manga series by Hiroyuki Takei. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

August 10:

DC’s Stargirl, based on associated titles. CW. Reviews | Trailer

August 11:

The Kissing Booth 3, based on the books by Beth Reekles. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

Riverdale, based on the characters of Archie Comics. CW. Reviews | Trailer

What if…?, based on associated titles. Disney+. No reviews | Trailer

August 12:

Forbrydelsen (The Killing), with associated titles. Topic. No reviews | Trailer

Titans, based on associated titles. HBO Max. Reviews | Trailer

Reviews

NPR reviews Waiting for the Waters to Rise by Maryse Condé (World Editions: Consortium): “At once touching and devastating, the book explores the effects of loss and grief on a personal, communal, and national level, but does so with a personal voice that feels more like a having a conversation than reading a book.” Also, Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey by James Rebanks (Custom House): “James Rebanks is a farmer who shepherds sheep into pastures and words into books. He has a gift for capturing both the allure of his beautiful surroundings and his difficult work, and for articulating the complex, worrisome issues facing farmers today.”

The Washington Post reviews Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (Knopf): “Alderton brings her British wit and fresh writing to online dating and all its ups and downs. Marrieds vs. singles. The unfairness of online dating for women stressed about the tick of the biological clock. Add to it the difficulties of becoming a caregiver, and what you have is a book that is a reality check for many and a solace to those who feel like they’re constantly swiping right without meeting Mr. or Ms. Right.” Also, Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine by Nicola Twilley and Geoff Manaugh (MCD): "As a result, “Until Proven Safe” reads like a vivid travel documentary informed by history, politics and science, deftly cutting back and forth among locations and time periods, and carrying us to where we are now. Although the authors started their examination of quarantine years before the coronavirus pandemic, their book serves as an insightful history of the present." Plus, The Soul of Genuis: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and the Meeting That Changed the Course of Science by Jeffery Orens (Pegasus: S. & S.): "Orens’s approach to the lives and work of the attendees, through the story of this conference, is unusual and well conceived. His account revisits what is certainly one of the most exciting, turbulent periods in the history of science and better acquaints us with people who played significant roles in this drama." Many more reviews posted today.

USA Today reviews Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis by Samantha Montano (Park Row): "While the measured, richly descriptive writing that propels much of the book lapses into progressive rhetoric by the end, Montano asks all the right questions. Will we live in a world of feeble reaction or planned response, a you’re-on-your-own landscape of “check lists and go-bags,” or what Montano calls “disaster justice,” marked by organized efforts and political will? Our lives depend on the answers."

NYT reviews Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (Ecco): ““Afterparties” is a deeply personal, frankly funny, illuminating portrait of furtive, meddling aunties, sweaty, bored adolescents and the plaintive search for survival that connects them. Its nine stories sketch a world of hidden histories, of longings past and present, and of a culture carving its way out of historical trauma.” Also, The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence by Stephen Kurczy (Dey Street: HarperCollins): ““The Quiet Zone” offers a sober portrait of people stumbling their way into an uncertain future. Readers looking to confirm their conviction that disconnecting is a cure-all will be disappointed. Those needing a reminder of the simple pleasure of reconnecting with real people in real life will enjoy the journey.” Plus, Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed (Counterpoint): "The flaws of “Radiant Fugitives” aside, we can still stand back and applaud Ahmed, a writer of vast ambition, who wants nothing less than to reshape the American novel." There are a few more reviews posted today to check out.

The Los Angeles Times reviews All’s Well by Mona Awad (S. & S.): ““All’s Well That Ends Well” is one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” neither a tragedy nor a comedy but a work addressing a social ill.”

Locus Magazine reviews The High-Rise Diver by Julia von Lucadou (World Editions: Consortium): “As much as The High-Rise Diver presents a cautionary tale of a society in thrall to corporate and surveillance capitalism, it’s also a distress­ing portrait of a woman, bereft of familial and physical affection, searching for meaning in a cold, antiseptic world.”

Book Marks has "The Best Reviewed Books of the Week."

Briefly Noted

Entertainment Weekly has a cover reveal for Gary Janetti’s newest, Start Without Me (I’ll Be There in a Minute) (Henry, Holt & Co.: Macmillan) and a release date of April 26, 2022. CBC has an excerpt and trailer for Linden MacIntyre’s newest, The Winter Wives (Random House Canada).

Michael Knox Beran, author of WASPS: The Splendors and Miseries of an American Aristocracy (Pegasus: S. & S.) writes a piece for CrimeReads about “suicide, despair, lunacy, and hysteria (and surprisingly little murder) among WASPs.” Wired features an adapted excerpt of The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence by Stephen Kurczy (Dey Street: HarperCollins).

The Guardian has an interview with Karen Jennings, author of An Island, who has been longlisted for the Booker Prize. Alexandra Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun (Hogarth: Crown) speaks with The Paris Review about “authenticity and apocalypse.” Nina Mingya, Small Bodies of Water (Canongate: Ingram) chats about “climate grief, language, and the meaning of home” with Shondaland. Tia Williams, Seven Days in June (Grand Central) discusses writing sex scenes with The Root’s It’s Lit!. 

Vogue shares “7 Riveting Revelations” from Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George by James Lapine (Farrar).

Michie Mee, a Canadian hip-hop artist, will be publishing an as-yet-untitled memoir with Random House Canada to be released in 2023. CBC has the news.

The creators of DC’s King Shark discuss the character’s evolution and role in The Suicide Squad. Entertainment Weekly has more.

Even more news on the estate of former deceased Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson Jr. People has the scoop.

Book Riot celebrates Environmental Lit Day with lists: “8 Queer Books That Explore Place, Nature & the Environment,” “9 Mysteries with Environment and Conservation Themes,” “Books About Sustainability and Nature,” and “10 Books at the Intersection of Climate Change and Capitalism.” 

Tor.com provides “Four Books Featuring Cutthroat Female Characters.”

Electric Lit gives “7 Books About Women in Purgatory.”

The Root’s It’s Lit! lists “Pageturners: Releases Chock Full of Riveting Debuts and Badass Female Protagonists.”

Jezebel features “The Authors of The View was Exhausting Pick 8 Sweltering Reads for Summer.”

Lit Hub gives "7 Music Novels to Shape Your Summer Soundtrack."

The Millions has an “August Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month).”

NYT lists “11 New Books We Recommend This Week" and "New in Paperback: 'Aftershocks' and 'Here We Are'."

Authors on Air

Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor (Anchor: Random House) will be adapted for HBO Max by Laurence Fishburne and Boat Rocker Studios. Deadline has more. Also, Jenny Mollen’s first novel City of Likes will be published by the Nacelle Company, which has also purchased film and television rights.

Joe Keohane, author of The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World (Random) speaks with the Keen On podcast about the importance of talking to strangers.

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