M.A.Orthofer
@maorthofer.bsky.social
π€ 702
π₯ 274
π 1298
The Complete Review and its Literary Saloon. [
https://www.complete-review.com/main/main.html]
In the mail: never a great fan of middlemen in any capacity, but can't deny their influence, especially in this area, so very pleased to see
@lbmcgrath.bsky.social
on "Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction", in πππππππππ;
@princetonupress.bsky.social
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
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Middlemen
A revealing account of how agents have shaped book publishing and the literary canon from the 1950s to today
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691256160/middlemen
about 2 hours ago
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Nice to see an article on Lu Xun
@nytimes.com
β even if it is to report that: "The Chinese Communist Party has turned Lu Xun, a Mao-era hero who excoriated the establishment, into a bland, Disney-style character"
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/w...
[$]
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Chinaβs Most Famous Modern Writer: From Fiery Rebel to Cute Communist Mascot
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/world/asia/lu-xun-chinese-writer-communist-mascot.html
1 day ago
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Don't think I could bring myself to read a Yann Martel book, but appreciate that some continue to get published, just for the reviews. E.g now David Sexton's of his latest, concluding:
www.standard.co.uk/culture/book...
2 days ago
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New review: Daniel Hahn on "The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation", in πΌπ πβππ π΅π πππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/tran...
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If This Be Magic - Daniel Hahn
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of If This Be Magic by Daniel Hahn.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/translate/hahnd.htm
2 days ago
1
5
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Princeton University Press
3 days ago
Next week, Apr 15 at 5:30pm EDT, head to Eastern Michigan University to hear from Brian Bruya, co-translator of the Dialogues of Confucius! This work is the first complete English translation of the Dialogues, a rediscovered companion to the Analects This is a free, in-person event:
buff.ly/psuiwVu
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From the
@publisherswkly.bsky.social
report on a new report on: "Books in Translation: Trends and Transformations in the European Publishing Market"
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
4 days ago
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In the mail: neat duo: another George Sand from Dedalus, a new translation of πΏπ’ππππ§ππ πΉπππππππ
www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/bo...
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Lucrezia Floriani by George Sand : Our Books :: Dedalus Books, Publishers of Literary Fiction
Dedalus is an alternative, independent publisher, founded in England in 1983. The films on our page are all related to the books we publish. Our list includes contemporary English language fiction, translated European fiction, Dedalus anthologies, and literary non-fiction. Our mission is to be unique: an exciting, innovative and distinctive alternative to commercial publishing; to find new talent and put British publishing at the heart of Europe.
https://www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/book.php?id=00000414
4 days ago
1
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Thomas J. Kitson
4 days ago
Sorry to see the NEH turned--illegally, it goes without saying--into an opaque patronage fund. Neither the fund nor the funded is willing to make public the process for awarding grants.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/a...
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Why Did Trump Officials Award $2 Million to a Small Art School in Queens?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/arts/design/art-trump-collins-humanities.html
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They've announced this year's Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes recipients
news.yale.edu/2026/04/08/e...
Could-have-been-but-isn't-among-them: Helen DeWitt
paperpools.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-l...
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Eight writers awarded Yaleβs Windham-Campbell Literature Prizes
Authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama received this yearβs international award, which offers a bit of financial security and creative freedom.
https://news.yale.edu/2026/04/08/eight-writers-awarded-yales-windham-campbell-literature-prizes
5 days ago
3
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
5 days ago
Currently reading Herve le Tellier's The Name on the Wall. Surprised no UK publisher has seen fit to publish it, or his back catalogue, after the success of The Anomaly.
0
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Tucked into this article about Jennifer Crewe retiring from
@columbiaup.bsky.social
is this jaw-droppingly sensational news. This is huge and wonderful !
magazine.columbia.edu/article/jenn...
6 days ago
0
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
6 days ago
2026 Dublin Literary Award shortlist announced -
dublinliteraryaward.ie/features/new...
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2026 Dublin Literary Award Shortlist is Announced - Dublin Literary Award
https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/features/news/2026-dublin-literary-award-shortlist-is-announced/
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In the mail: bank holiday in the UK, but the mail delivers here, with a nice week-starting trio: certainly good to see more HΓ©ctor Abad β his novel π΄π πππ πΉπππ ππ¦ π»ππππ‘, π΄ππ πΌπ ππππ, coming from
@archipelagobooks.bsky.social
archipelagobooks.org/book/aside-f...
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Aside From My Heart, All Is Well - Archipelago Books
Luis CordΓ³ba, also known as Gordo, leads an unconventional life. His vocation as a priest has not stopped him from becoming a film critic, teacher, opera enthusiast, and passionate nibbler of chocolat...
https://archipelagobooks.org/book/aside-from-my-heart-all-is-well/
7 days ago
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New review: Alastair Reynolds' recent π»ππππ¦ππ πππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/scif...
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Halcyon Years - Alastair Reynolds
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/scifi/reynoldsa.htm
9 days ago
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In the mail: slow week, and only one arrival today β but it's an ARC of the latest Juan Pablo Villalobos, πβπ πππ π‘ ππ’ππ π’ππ ππ πΏπππ π·ππ‘πππ‘ππ£ππ , π·πππ‘ πΆππππππ‘πππ , πβπππ£ππ (
@andotherstories.bsky.social
7/2026), so, yes, it is (a) Good Friday.
www.andotherstories.org/the-past-pur...
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The Past Pursues Us Like Detectives, Debt Collectors, Thieves | And Other Stories
JP has come home to Mexico. His mother needs help getting medical treatment and he's determined to be a good son. Soon, however, his old childhood friend Everardo is plyingΒ him with craft beers at the bar, and JP is throwing his first-ever punch (it was crappy), and what's supposed to be a dutiful family visit is rapidly spiralling into a madcap whirlwind of murder, pills, and fraud. In his latest fast-paced and funny whodunit, tender and hilarious as ever,Β Juan Pablo VillalobosΒ lovingly turns his attention to the stories we tell ourselves about home: about what changes, what doesn't, and what should.
https://www.andotherstories.org/the-past-pursues-us-like-detectives-debt-collectors-thieves/
10 days ago
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Not much mention of the passing of WiesΕaw MyΕliwski in my timeline.
@archipelagobooks.bsky.social
has published several of his very impressive works
archipelagobooks.org/book_author/...
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WiesΕaw MyΕliwski Archives - Archipelago Books
https://archipelagobooks.org/book_author/mysliwski-wieslaw/
11 days ago
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Shortlist for
@ebrd.bsky.social
Literature Prize announced
www.ebrd.com/home/news-an...
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EBRD Literature Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Features 10 works in translation from 9 EBRD countries of operation across 3 continents
https://www.ebrd.com/home/news-and-events/news/2026/ebrd-literature-prize-2026-shortlist-announced.html#
12 days ago
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blogs.loc.gov/internationa...
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Beyond the Manifesto: Recovering the Women Writers of Italian Futurism | 4 Corners of the World
This blog post was prepared by Lucia Wolf for the conclusion of Womenβs History Month. It centers on the need for the recovery of Italian Futurist women writersβ voices that remains incomplete. Recent...
https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2026/03/women-futurists-italy/
13 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Sam Leith
13 days ago
I wrote on AI trashing literary life, and spoke to Alex Preston about the NYT book review scandal
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Why LLMs Ruin Everything
Reading, Writing: feat. Matt Goodwin, Alex Preston and the Bookpocalypse
https://open.substack.com/pub/samleith/p/why-llms-ruin-everything?r=7xzwu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Shortlist for the International
@thebookerprizes.com
announced
thebookerprizes.com/media-centre...
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Shortlist announced for the International Booker Prize 2026 supported by Bukhman Philanthropies | The Booker Prizes
Today, Tuesday, 31 March 2026, the shortlist for the International Booker Prize 2026 supported by Bukhman Philanthropies is announced
https://thebookerprizes.com/media-centre/press-releases/shortlist-announced-for-the-international-booker-prize-2026
13 days ago
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David Bellos Translation Prize launched !
janklowandnesbit.co.uk/prize
Nice !
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Translation Prize
https://janklowandnesbit.co.uk/prize
14 days ago
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In the mail: exciting late(r)-in-the-day arrival bonus, a recent
@academic.oup.com
Hsu-Tang Library of Classical Chinese Literature volume, πΏππ’ππππ‘π π·πππ'π ππ‘πππ¦ ππ π‘βπ πππ π‘πππ ππππ ("Passion and Desire in a Buddhist Temple")
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Have really been looking forward to this.
14 days ago
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In the mail: sensational beginning to the week with Daniel Hahn on "The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation", in πΌπ πβππ π΅π πππππ, coming from
@aaknopf.bsky.social
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743377...
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If This Be Magic by Daniel Hahn: 9780593801666 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
How does Shakespeare remain Shakespeare when every word is changed? In this playful, meditative exploration of translating the worldβs most beloved playwright, Daniel Hahn guides us through the magic....
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743377/if-this-be-magic-by-daniel-hahn/
14 days ago
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Of course we've reached this point: "The Best AI Books in 2026" β recommended by ChatGPT
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
π ππππππππππ ππ¦ πΆβππ‘πΊππ !
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The Best AI Books in 2026
Five Books is all about human expertiseβspeaking to people, in person or via Zoom, about the best books in their field. Once a year, however, we make an exception and turn to a non-human interviewee: ...
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/the-best-ai-books-in-2026-chatgpt/
15 days ago
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New review: Nobel laureate Herta MΓΌller in conversation with Angelika Klammer about "Writing and Surviving Ceausescu's Romania", in πβπ πππππππ ππ π‘βπ πΈπππ ππ π‘βπ πππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/modd...
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The Village on the Edge of the World - Herta MΓΌller
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of The Village on the Edge of the World by Herta MΓΌller.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/moddeut/mullerh.htm
15 days ago
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Winners of
@bookcritics.bsky.social
Awards
www.bookcritics.org/past-awards/...
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2025 - National Book Critics Circle
https://www.bookcritics.org/past-awards/2025/
18 days ago
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In the mail: well-timed arrival ("Set over an Easter weekend" ...): ππππ πΌπππ by Ruth McKee, from Dedalus
www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/bo...
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Wild Iris by Ruth McKee : Our Books :: Dedalus Books, Publishers of Literary Fiction
Dedalus is an alternative, independent publisher, founded in England in 1983. The films on our page are all related to the books we publish. Our list includes contemporary English language fiction, tr...
https://www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/book.php?id=00000417
18 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Suhrkamp Verlag
18 days ago
Alexander Kluge ist gestern im Alter von 94 Jahren in MΓΌnchen verstorben.
24
340
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New review: Cho Yeeun's πππππ¦ π΅ππππ πππ£ππ π·ππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/kore...
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Teddy Bears Never Die - Cho Yeeun
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Teddy Bears Never Die by Cho Yeeun.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/korea/cho_yeeun.htm
19 days ago
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In the mail: "Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes" (!), ππππ’ππππ πΏππππ
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Out today (in the US), from
@princetonupress.bsky.social
Hughes translated these in the mid-1930s; lots of new-to-me authors.
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Troubled Lands
A landmark bookβthe first complete publication of Langston Hughesβs translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691268415/troubled-lands
20 days ago
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It's been like this for a couple of weeks already, *sigh*: disappointing that The Fictional Woods, one of the few interesting discussion-boards for literature has closed itself off to the public (i.e. lurkers like me who dislike signing up/registering for anything).
www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefi...
20 days ago
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Always enjoy volumes of correspondence, so I'm sorely tempted by the 1200 page Camus-Casarès letter collection behemoth coming from
@aaknopf.bsky.social
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607892...
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Mon Cher Amour by Albert Camus: 9780525656616 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The impassioned correspondence between the Nobel Prizeβwinning author and the renowned Spanish-born French actress who appeared in his plays, tracing the extreme highs and lows of their all-consuming....
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607892/mon-cher-amour-by-albert-camus/
21 days ago
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Q & A with πππ π‘πππ ππ ππππππ€-author Kawakami Mieko
@literaryhub.bsky.social
lithub.com/mieko-kawaka...
(My review of the novel:
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
)
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Mieko Kawakami on Sisterhood, Survival, and Finding Hope in the Darkness
One of Japanβs most acclaimed contemporary writers, Mieko Kawakami was launched into literary stardom in 2007, when she won the Akutagawa Prize, Japanβs prestigious award for emerging writers. Her β¦
https://lithub.com/mieko-kawakami-on-sisterhood-survival-and-finding-hope-in-the-darkness/
21 days ago
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New review: "A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines" by W. Patrick McCray, π πΈπ΄π·ππΈ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/comp...
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README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines - W. Patrick McCray
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of README A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines by W. Patrick McCray.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/computer/mccraywp.htm
22 days ago
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In the mail: excellent end of the week haul, with 2 of the 3 arrivals dialogue-volumes: Nobel laureate Herta MΓΌller in conversation about: "Writing and Surviving Ceausescu's Romania" in πβπ πππππππ ππ π‘βπ πΈπππ ππ π‘βπ πππππ, from
@pegasus-books.bsky.social
www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Vi...
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The Village on the Edge of the World
A Nobel laureate presents a brilliant, discomfiting reflection on literary life defined by the brutality of Ceausescuβs Romania.From her childhood ...
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Village-on-the-Edge-of-the-World/Herta-Muller/9798897100828
23 days ago
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They really know how to end the week on an upbeat note
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/2897...
etc.
24 days ago
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Could this *scandal* get any sillier ?
www.bbc.com/news/article...
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The Salt Path author Raynor Winn confirms she wrote secret first book
Raynor and Moth Winn published a book they hoped would help get them out of debt, the BBC confirms.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj32vx61x6lo
25 days ago
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"Book publishing has few safeguards in place to prevent the unwitting publication of a novel heavily generated by artificial intelligence."
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/b...
Though it's the coming flood of witting publication I am more worried about.
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A.I. Is Writing Fiction. Publishers Are Unprepared.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/books/ai-fiction-shy-girl.html
25 days ago
0
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Tom Bowden
26 days ago
Two new installments in the @Hsu-Tang Library of Classical Chinese Literature, published by
@oxunipress.bsky.social
Bi-lingual editions (Mandarin/English on facing pages) covering 3,000 years of Sinitic literatures.
#literatureintranslation
#chineseliteratureintranslation
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In the mail: very pleased to see ARC of Joanna Kavenna's πππ£ππ, now also coming out in the US (7/2026, from
@faberbooks.bsky.social
)
www.faber.co.uk/product/9780...
(Came out in the UK at the beginning of the year, and reviews certainly make it sound intriguing.)
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Seven
Who decides the rules of the games we play? Timely and timeless - a literary quest novel about trying to stay hopeful in hopeless times.
https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571338153-seven/
26 days ago
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New review: Fahmida Riaz's Sasanian Empire-novel, πΉπππ‘πππ π ππ π‘βπ πΉπππππ‘π‘ππ ππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/urdu...
(Out next week from
@openletterbooks.bsky.social
)
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Fortress of the Forgotten Ones - Fahmida Riaz
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Fortress of the Forgotten Ones by Fahmida Riaz.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/urdu/riazf.htm
27 days ago
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Intrigued by the fact that, among self-published titles, juvenile nonfiction (401,716 books) tops juvenile fiction (265,615 books), and by so much. (Though, yes, re. self-published titles, "juvenile" is a polite all-purpose way to describe the content of many of them.....)
add a skeleton here at some point
27 days ago
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www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
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Book Output Topped Four Million in 2025
The total number of books published in the U.S. in 2025 jumped 32.5% over 2024, according to statistics compiled by Bowker, led by a boom in self-published titles. The number of traditionally publishe...
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/99943-book-output-topped-4-million-in-2025.html
27 days ago
0
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
John Self
27 days ago
A terrific novella.
add a skeleton here at some point
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www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
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Is that your kid's drawing or the cover of the hottest new novel?
From fashion runways to the covers of books, a trendy "naive" aesthetic is ditching polished perfection for the deliberate messiness of childhood.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2026-03-16/book-cover-trends-madeline-cash-cazzie-david
28 days ago
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"First-time English publication" ? There hasn't been enough coverage of Shahrnush Parsipur's πππππ πππ‘βππ’π‘ πππ, but how does The Bookseller get this this wrong ?
www.thebookseller.com/books/books-...
(It's the second time it's been translated, and even that is from 2011.)
28 days ago
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In the mail: a good start to the week with a nice duo. Very exciting to see the new
@penguinclassicsusa.bsky.social
ed./translation of π΄ ππππ ππππ πππ by Lady NijΕ
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780915...
(This came out in the UK last year; coming out in the US next week.)
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A Tale Unasked by Lady Nijo: 9780241562468 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A new translation of Lady Nijoβs diaryβone of classical Japanβs greatest literary works A Penguin Classic Lady Nijoβs A Tale Unasked (Towazugatari) is the last, and arguably the...
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780915/a-tale-unasked-by-lady-nijo-translated-by-meredith-mckinney/
28 days ago
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New review: Kawakami Mieko's πππ π‘πππ ππ ππππππ€
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
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Sisters in Yellow - Kawakami Mieko
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Sisters in Yellow by Kawakami Mieko.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/japannew/kawakamim5.htm
29 days ago
1
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In the mail: slow week at least concludes with a solid re-issue from
@nyrb-imprints.bsky.social
, Leslie A. Fiedler's πΏππ£π πππ π·πππ‘β ππ π‘βπ π΄πππππππ πππ£ππ
www.nyrb.com/products/lov...
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Love and Death in the American Novel
A provocative work of American literary criticism covering Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Faulkner, and others. Fielder's groundbreaking work changed the wa...
https://www.nyrb.com/products/love-and-death-in-the-american-novel
about 1 month ago
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Authors, save your first-draft typescript scrolls, they might be worth good money some day ! Jack Kerouac's "approx. 119 feet long 8 inches long by 9 inches wide" ππ π‘βπ π πππ-scroll just went for US$12,135,000 (yes, over twelve million)
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
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https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6573422
about 1 month ago
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