Contemporary Writing About Womanhood Is Full of Apologizing, Justifying, or Moralizing. Such Approaches Shed Little Light
Julia Cooke’s new biography, *Starry and Restless*, intertwines the lives of Rebecca West, Martha Gellhorn, and Emily (Mickey) Hahn, revealing how each repeatedly reinvented herself amid the tensions of motherhood, domesticity, and a restless creative drive. The book avoids the usual moralizing lens, instead presenting their choices as permission to evolve rather than templates for feminist or traditionalist agendas. By chronicling West’s conflicted love of domestic life, Gellhorn’s war‑zone reporting and single‑motherhood, and Hahn’s globe‑trotting literary career, Cooke illustrates the perpetual push‑pull between stability and adventure that defines many women’s narratives. The work challenges contemporary expectations that a woman’s story must fit a single, marketable archetype.
Ben Lerner: “Wherever I Am Now, I Am Not a Young Novelist. Heart Surgery Will Do that to You, in...
Ben Lerner’s latest work, *Transcription*, is a 130‑page hybrid that fuses memoir, interview, and fiction, centering on a botched phone interview with a 90‑year‑old artist. The book explores fatherhood, middle‑age anxiety, and the pervasive grip of smartphones, all filtered through...
Anna Poletti, Hello, World? Author: ‘Sexual Desire Is so Inconvenient and Ungovernable’
Anna Poletti’s debut novel hello, world? is positioned as a feminist erotic work that interrogates desire, power and the rise of fascism through the bodies of its protagonists. The story follows Seasonal, an Australian feminist, and László, a bisexual Hungarian exile, as...
Furtwängler in Wartime – Reflections on Ian Buruma’s “Stay Alive”
Ian Buruma’s new book *Stay Alive* uses a December 1944 concert conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler to illustrate how music sustained Berlin’s morale during World II. The article highlights surviving wartime broadcasts—Beethoven’s Ninth, Brahms’s First, and others—showing Furtwängler’s interpretive defiance amid bombed-out venues and...
Winnipeg-Born Author Jon Klassen Wins Nearly $750K Swedish Prize for Children's Literature
Winnipeg‑born author‑illustrator Jon Klassen has become the first Canadian to win the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Sweden’s premier children’s literature prize worth roughly 5 million kronor (about $550,000 USD). The award, administered by the Swedish Arts Council, honors his body of work,...
5 Low-Stress Ways to Set Your New Series Up for Success
Launching a new book series requires more than a strong manuscript; the weeks before release are critical for building momentum. The article outlines five low‑stress pre‑launch tactics—crafting a concise value proposition, generating anticipation, securing strategic partners, maintaining a unified cross‑platform...
Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Helen DeWitt turned down the $175,000 (≈£129,000) Windham‑Campbell prize because she could not meet the six‑to‑eight hours of mandatory filming and promotional work. The prize, awarded to eight writers for lifetime achievement, is meant to free authors from financial pressure,...
The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt
Craig Fehrman, while researching a Lewis and Clark book, was mauled by a dog, an event that shattered the academic distance between his life and his subjects. The trauma prompted him to abandon a purely factual recounting in favor of...
Book Review: ‘EXTRA SAUCE’ by Zahra Tangorra, ‘ON EATING' By Alicia Kennedy
Two new food memoirs hit shelves simultaneously: Zahra Tangorra’s *Extra Sauce* and Alicia Kennedy’s *On Eating*. Both authors, Long Island‑born Millennials, channel childhood appetites into distinct culinary careers—Tangorra as a Brooklyn chef, Kennedy as a food journalist. Their books are...
Making of a Poem: Jeffrey Angles on “Memory of a Three-Year-Old”
Jeffrey Angles discusses his English translation of Nakahara Chuya’s 1936 Modernist poem “Memory of a Three‑Year‑Old,” featured in the Paris Review’s Spring issue. The poem, originally published in Bungei hanron and later in Chuya’s 1938 collection, recalls a childhood episode involving parasitic...
THE READING ROOM: Joe McEwen’s ‘Tastykakes, Soul Songs and Shining Stars: Affections and Reflections, 1973-2025’
Joe McEwen, a Philadelphia‑born music journalist, DJ, and former record executive, has released his memoir‑style collection "Tastykakes, Soul Songs and Shining Stars: Affections and Reflections, 1973‑2025" on April 28 2026 via ZE Books. The volume assembles decades‑long profiles, short reviews, and personal essays originally...
Fortress Yellowstone
The piece "Fortress Yellowstone" exposes how the ultra‑rich profit from Amazonian soy and corn farms that decimate native forest, then funnel that wealth into buying vast Montana ranches marketed as private preserves. While the Brazilian plains become barren deserts feeding...
The Dark Side of Posting About Your Children Online
The article spotlights the surge of “sharenting” and the nascent “kidfluencing” industry, highlighted by a new book that reveals how parents turn their children’s online personas into revenue streams. It cites a striking statistic that one in four Western children...
Mary Beard Offers a Spirited Defence of Studying Classics
Mary Beard’s new book mounts a vigorous defence of classical studies, arguing that the discipline has been unfairly encumbered by modern criticism. She contends that learning Greek and Latin sharpens logical reasoning, eases acquisition of other languages, and offers timeless...
![One Great Poem to Read Today: Alejandra Pizarnik’s “[All Night I Hear the Noise of Water Sobbing.]”](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/AdobeStock_317283639.jpeg)
One Great Poem to Read Today: Alejandra Pizarnik’s “[All Night I Hear the Noise of Water Sobbing.]”
Literary Hub is marking the 30th National Poetry Month by posting a free poem each workday in April. Today’s feature is Alejandra Pizarnik’s “All night I hear the noise of water sobbing,” translated by Patricio Ferrari and Forrest Gander and available on the...
A History of Erasures
Leyla Erbil, a pioneering Turkish modernist, gained posthumous global attention when her experimental novel *What Remains* (2011) was released in English translation. The work blends verse, unconventional punctuation called “Leyla signs,” and autobiographical autofiction to confront Istanbul’s layered histories of...
Helping Books Travel: Norway, Bologna’s 2026 Guest of Honor, Guarantees Translation Grants
Norway’s guest‑of‑honor program at the 2026 Bologna Children’s Book Fair announced that NORLA will cover 50% of translators’ fees, up to $10,500 per title, and offer production subsidies of up to $2,100 for illustrated books. Since 2022 the agency has...
Brazil Looks to Expand Access to Books with Free Digital Reading Platforms
Brazil's Ministry of Education unveiled two free digital platforms, MEC Books and MEC Languages, to broaden reading and language learning access nationwide. MEC Books launches with a library‑style model, 8,000 titles across 19 categories, allowing 14‑day loans and renewals. Within...
The Hardy Men
In 2022 Jonathan Keeperman, a former UC‑Irvine lecturer and right‑wing provocateur, launched Passage Press to build a reactionary cultural apparatus that counters the left’s dominance in arts and media. The boutique publisher quickly gained notoriety, hosting a “Coronation Ball” attended...
Exclusive Cover Reveal of “Blow Yourself Up” By Ankur Thakkar
Electric Literature unveiled the cover of Ankur Thakkar’s debut novel Blow Yourself Up, slated for publication on September 15, 2026 by Triquarterly Books. The story follows high‑school sweethearts Arjun and Payal as their lives diverge across New York’s influencer economy and Chicago’s content‑moderation trenches,...
Book Review: Sauúti Terrors Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton, and Cheryl S. Ntumy, Eds.
Sauúti Terrors, a 416‑page hardcover anthology edited by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumy, launched in February 2026 as part of the Sauútiverse shared‑world project. The collection features ten stories from emerging African and diaspora writers, blending mythic poetry,...
10 Years of Dog Man
This year marks the 10‑year anniversary of Dav Pilkey’s debut Dog Man graphic novel, a series that has grown to 14 titles and sold over 70 million copies in 50 languages. The twelfth book, Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, topped global bestseller lists in...
I Was One of Lena Dunham’s Haters. I Want to Say I’m Sorry | Dave Schilling
Dave Schilling, a Los Angeles writer, publicly apologizes for his past hostility toward Lena Dunham, acknowledging that jealousy and cultural envy fueled his criticism. Dunham, now releasing a memoir, reflects on the intense backlash she endured after HBO’s *Girls* made her...
“Beef,” “The Drama,” And the New Marriage Plot
Marriage rates in the United States hit a 140‑year low in 2019 and have not recovered, prompting cultural reflection. On the latest Critics at Large episode, hosts discuss Netflix’s anthology “Beef” and A24’s film “The Drama,” both depicting strained couples...
Your Orient Express Reading List: From Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet’s new "Journey Orient Express" compiles a literary tour of the famed train, spotlighting classics from Graham Greene to Agatha Christie. The book highlights how authors from the 1920s‑1930s used the Express to explore decadence, intrigue, and pre‑war anxieties....
Luke Goebel on Weaponized Fatigue and the Necessity of Violence in His New Novel
Luke Goebel’s new novel *Kill Dick* confronts what he calls "shock fatigue," the desensitization caused by relentless media overload. The book uses graphic violence, sex, and scandal to force readers out of complacency, arguing that only heightened intensity can break the...
Book Review: ‘Dear Monica Lewinsky,’ by Julia Langbein
Julia Langbein’s second novel, *Dear Monica Lewinsky*, uses the former White House intern as a symbolic patron saint for women scarred by public shaming. The story follows Jean Dornan, a 40‑year‑old court translator in New York, who wrestles with lingering...
Interview: Arthur Sze on Translating Poetry and His Favorite Books
Arthur Sze, the U.S. poet laureate, reveals his ideal reading ritual—coffee at his desk overlooking desert flora—and shares the eclectic titles that line his nightstand, from Emily Wilson’s Iliad translation to Kevin Young’s Night Watch. He recently praised Simon Armitage’s...
Book Review: ‘The Violence,’ by Adriana E. Ramírez
Adriana E. Ramírez’s new book *The Violence* revisits Colombia’s decade‑long civil war known as La Violencia (1948‑1958), a period when partisan militias turned neighbors against each other and thousands were killed. The memoir blends her grandparents’ survival story with a broader social‑history analysis,...
Five Authors in the Running for Historical Fiction Prize
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has announced a five‑book shortlist, marking the first time all nominees are British authors. The contenders—Jo Harkin's "The Pretender," Alice Jolly's "The Matchbox Girl," Graeme Macrae Burnet's "Benbecula," Rachel Seiffert's "Once the Deed...
Polly Barton on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Hell of Solitude
Polly Barton’s essay introduces Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s new anthology Hell of Solitude, a curated mix of poems, obscure short pieces and experimental “un‑storylike” works translated by Ryan Choi. Barton notes Akutagawa’s towering status in Japan—father of the modern short story, creator of...
A Linguistic and Philosophical Tapestry: Suchitra Ramachandran on Jeyamohan’s The Abyss
Suchitra Ramachandran’s introduction frames Jeyamohan’s new novel *The Abyss* as a stark, multilingual exploration of humanism amid extreme marginalisation. The work follows his epic projects—*Vishnupuram*, *Venmurasu* (26 volumes, >25,000 pages), and recent Dalit reinterpretation *Kaviyam*—by placing beggars in a hyper‑realistic...
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Review – the Downfall of an All‑American Tradwife
Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel *Yesteryear* imagines an Instagram‑obsessed tradwife who wakes up in a 1805 pioneer setting, only to discover that the romanticized past is far harsher than her curated feed suggests. The book generated massive buzz, prompting a high‑priced...
This Started as a Review and Turned Into Something Else…
The author, battling a recurrence of idiopathic subglottal stenosis, recounts a recent CT scan that confirmed tracheal narrowing and the prospect of major surgery. Amid the uncertainty, she turned to Sherry Thomas’s historical romance series, finding the narratives a lifeline...
A New Book Marks 75 Years of the Royal Festival Hall, London's Iconic ‘Egg in a Box’
Merrell has released a new book on the Royal Festival Hall to mark its 75th anniversary. The volume assembles 21 contributions from architects, musicians, historians and cultural programmers, accompanied by newly commissioned photographs from Edmund Sumner. It recounts the hall’s...
Suman Roy on The Zero Hunger Project: Why a Scarborough Food Bank Founder Wrote the Book on Ending Global Hunger
Suman Roy, founder of Toronto’s Feed Scarborough food bank, released *The Zero Hunger Project: A Journey to End Global Hunger* in April 2025. Drawing on his hands‑on experience scaling Canada’s most replicated grassroots food bank, the 381‑page volume argues that...
Whiting Foundation Names Its 10 Emerging Authors of 2026
The Whiting Foundation announced its 2026 cohort of ten emerging writers, each receiving a $50,000 award to support their next projects. The honorees represent nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama, reflecting a wide geographic and thematic range—from AI’s human cost to...
Cory Doctorow on the High Cost of Living with the Ultra-Rich
Cory Doctorow defines "billionaireism" as the moral vacuum created by ultra‑rich elites and the platform decay he calls "enshittification." In a recent interview he highlights three books that dissect this phenomenon: Sarah Wynn‑Williams’s "Careless People" reveals Facebook’s internal harassment and...
‘She Took Those Kids and Left Before He Got Home From Work.’
Jayne Anne Phillips’ new memoir, Small Town Girls, recollects her childhood trips to a women‑only beauty shop in rural West Virginia, using the salon as a lens to explore female community, secrecy, and the shaping of identity. The narrative intertwines vivid...
Who Is Black Comedy For?
Geoff Bennett’s new book *Black Out Loud* charts Black comedy from vaudeville to 1990s sitcoms, framing its evolution as a steady march toward mainstream acceptance. In a counter‑review for *The Atlantic*, Kam Collins argues that Bennett’s equation of progress with...
What to Read This Week: Emma Chapman's Mind-Expanding Radio Universe
Emma Chapman’s new book, *Radio Universe* (U.S. title *The Echoing Universe*), arrives on 19 May 2026. It explains how radio waves act as a cosmic messenger, allowing scientists to map galaxies, study black holes and hunt for alien technosignatures without leaving Earth....
New Scientist Recommends Jamie Bartlett's Insightful How to Talk to AI
New Scientist’s weekly staff picks spotlight Jamie Bartlett’s new book, *How to Talk to AI*. The guide argues that most users lack formal training in prompting chatbots, leading to misinformation and emotional reliance. Bartlett emphasizes self‑awareness of one’s biases and...
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
Woody Brown, a non‑speaking autistic author, released his debut novel *Upward Bound* to bestseller status after a Today show feature. The book was written using a letter board and Rapid Prompting, a communication method criticized by ASHA for facilitator influence....
Beyond Consent: How Power, Legal Ambiguities, and Attitudes Enable Abuse
Virginia Giuffre, a prominent survivor of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficking ring, died by suicide in March 2026. Her posthumous memoir, *Nobody’s Girl*, co‑written with Amy Wallace, provides a harrowing first‑person account of decades of abuse, financial exploitation,...
The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary
Sarah Hilary returns to the police procedural with *The Drowning Place*, introducing DS Joe Ashe, the sole survivor of a tragic school‑bus crash in the Derbyshire Peak District. Ashe, haunted by the ghosts of his classmates, teams up with Manchester‑born...
Curiosity Is No Solo Act
In their new adaptation of *Curious Minds: The Power of Connection*, Perry Zurn and Dani S. Bassett trace how curiosity has been portrayed from harmless gossip‑seeker to biblical transgressor. The authors argue that the archetype of the curious individual has...
First Look: The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett
Janice Hallett’s next epistolary crime novel, titled The Second Appeal (also referred to as The Silent Appeal), has arrived as a gold‑bound advance review copy. The book follows her award‑winning debut The Appeal (2021) and the 2023 novella The Christmas...
Nicholas George on Setting Mysteries in Dynamic Locations
Nicholas George highlights a niche within mystery fiction where the action moves beyond static villages to dynamic travel settings such as cruise ships, trains, planes, cars and buses. He cites classic and contemporary examples—from Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile”...
Review – End of Life #3: Chicken Guys
End of Life #3, the latest Vertigo title, earns a 9.5/10 rating for its deft mix of dark humor and genuine emotional moments. The story follows Eddie Stallion, a fugitive who reunites with his dying hit‑man father while navigating a...
Canadian Picture Book Artist Jon Klassen Wins the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
Canadian author‑illustrator Jon Klassen was announced as the 2026 laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s best‑endowed children’s literature prize, receiving 5 million Swedish kronor (about $544,000). The award ceremony spanned Stockholm and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, recognizing...