Review of Sandip Roy’s Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal
Sandip Roy’s biography *Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal* chronicles the life of Chapal Bhaduri, the iconic female‑impersonator of Bengali jatra. The book interweaves archival material, first‑person narration, and testimonies to map Bhaduri’s rise, his complex relationship with gender performance, and his later years in an old‑age home. Roy avoids mythologising his subject, instead presenting a nuanced portrait that touches on queerness, labor, and artistic longevity. The review praises the work’s disciplined storytelling and its contribution to preserving a fading theatrical tradition.
Why a ‘Third Place’ Matters in Promoting Reading
The National Book Development Board (NBDB) surveyed 300 librarians and found reading ranks fourth among Filipinos’ favorite pastimes, trailing social media, family bonding, and movies. To shift reading higher on the list, the NBDB is leveraging the fourth Philippine Book...
Protected: The Lion Cub
Palestinian‑Icelandic poet Mazen Maarouf has published three acclaimed poetry collections, translated into more than seven languages, and his debut short‑story collection Jokes for the Gunmen was long‑listed for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize. Lebanese writer and translator Lina Mounzer contributes essays...
Protected: Invisible Landscape
Guernica magazine has posted a password‑protected fiction piece titled “Protected: Invisible Landscape,” authored by Kashmiri research scholar Gowhar Yaqoob. The work is accompanied by visual contributions from photographer Mohammed Omer Bhat and performance artist Khursheed Ahmad, both deeply rooted in...
Zach Bryan Buys Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ Scroll for $12.1 Million
Country singer Zach Bryan won Christie’s auction for Jack Kerouac’s original *On the Road* scroll, paying $12,135,000—well above the $2.5‑$4 million estimate. The 120‑foot manuscript, once bought for $2.43 million in 2001, set a new benchmark for literary auction prices. Bryan, a...
It’s Time for Men to Step Down and for Women to Lead the Way
The article reviews Daniel Constantinou’s book *The Holy Grail and Her Knights*, arguing that humanity thrives when women lead with compassion and men step back from power. It claims that female leadership would end wars because mothers would never send...
‘New Trick’ at 50: Fiction. And Now, Raves.
Harvard epidemiologist Janet Rich‑Edwards debuted her novel "Canticle" after a Radcliffe Institute lecture on medieval nuns’ liturgical books sparked her imagination. The story follows a 13th‑century Bruges woman who joins the beguines and experiences mystical visions, exploring faith, doubt, and...
Two Books About the Pull of Home
Foreign Policy’s March 2026 fiction roundup spotlights two major releases – Helen Garner’s collected short fiction and Cecile Pin’s debut space novel “Celestial Lights.” Garner’s volume, issued by Penguin Random House’s Pantheon imprint, gathers stories written in the 1980s‑1990s that examine second‑wave...
From Manuscript to Asset: Why Every Indie Author Needs an IP Strategy
Indie authors often overlook that a manuscript is a bundle of valuable intellectual‑property rights that can be licensed beyond the book itself. Copyright attaches automatically, but registration strengthens legal standing, while trademarks protect series titles, pen names, and distinctive characters....
Odds & Ends: March 13, 2026
The Art of Manliness’ "Odds & Ends" roundup spotlights four distinct stories: Bill Zehme’s posthumously completed biography of Johnny Carson offers a rare glimpse into the introverted TV legend and mid‑century entertainment culture; the Garmin Forerunner 55 is praised for...
Find India’s Forgotten Jewels in Usha Balakrishnan’s New Book ‘Silver & Gold - Visions of Arcadia’
Usha R. Balakrishnan’s new volume *Silver & Gold: Visions of Arcadia* documents hundreds of Indian folk and tribal silver‑and‑gold ornaments, many drawn from the Amrapali Collection in Jaipur. The book blends art‑historical, anthropological and archival research to present a vivid picture of 19th‑20th‑century rural...
The Best Recent Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror – Review Roundup
A new roundup spotlights five standout titles across science‑fiction, fantasy and horror, ranging from Neil Jordan’s memory‑laden Irish saga to Cameron Sullivan’s historic Beast of Gévaudan re‑imagining. The list also revives Naomi Mitchison’s 1952 fairy‑tale classic, showcases Christopher Buehlman’s Black...
The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty
Reena McCarty’s debut, The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains, fuses American frontier myth with fae lore, following Poppy Hill, a century‑old returnee thrust into the modern legal world of faerie contracts at Carter Lane. The novel details a post‑World‑War legal...
Audible Expands Platform to 11 New Markets, Including Sweden
Audible announced at the London Book Fair that it will launch its subscription service in eleven new markets—Belgium, Egypt, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates—through a partnership with local Amazon...
Two Epic Thru-Hiking Memoirs Just Dropped. Here’s What You Should Read.
Early 2026 saw the release of two standout thru‑hiking memoirs: Heather Anderson’s *Farther*, chronicling her eight‑month, 8,000‑mile Calendar Year Triple Crown, and Derick “Mr. Fabulous” Lugo’s *A Fabulous Thru‑Hike*, recounting 3,100 miles on the Continental Divide Trail. Anderson’s narrative mixes...
Violation Is the Connective Tissue in This Family Portrait
Karan Mahajan’s latest novel, *The Complex*, opens with a sexual assault that binds the Chopra family’s multigenerational saga. The story follows Gita, an immigrant wife, as she navigates trauma, infertility, and the pull between the United States and Delhi, while...
Author AI Scams Bingo
A humorous “Author AI Scams Bingo” highlights the surge of AI‑generated spam targeting writers. The piece showcases a bingo card filled with typical scam language such as “I recently came across your book” and promises of wider audiences. It illustrates...
2 Chainz Memoir ‘The Voice In My Head Is God’ Debuts on New York Times Best Sellers List
2 Chainz’s debut memoir, *The Voice In My Head Is God*, entered the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list at No. 10 on March 3, 2026. The book, released through Black Privilege Publishing, an Atria Books imprint, chronicles the rapper’s upbringing in College Park, Georgia, his...
Why Motive Matters Even More than Truth in Crime Fiction
The article contends that motive outweighs factual truth in crime fiction because readers need a coherent reason for violence. Without a clear motive, stories feel random and unsettling, breaking the genre’s contract to translate chaos into intention. It draws on...
Writing Into Gaps: Joshilyn Jackson on Creating a Fictional Sister
Joshilyn Jackson’s lifelong imagination of an imaginary sister, Liz, fuels her latest novel, *Missing Sister*. The thriller follows Penny Albright, a rookie cop whose twin’s death from the opioid epidemic drives her into a dangerous partnership with a vengeful stranger,...
Book Review: ‘Books Good Enough for You: The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom, Editor of Extraordinary Children’s Books,’ by Nancy...
Ursula Nordstrom reshaped children’s publishing during her three‑decade tenure at Harper & Row, turning a marginal “Tot Department” into a cultural powerhouse. She championed unconventional voices such as Maurice Sendak, Margaret Wise Brown, and E.B. White, producing best‑selling classics that...
Light and Thread by Han Kang Review – a Tantalising Book of Reflections
Korean author Han Kang, Nobel laureate, publishes "Light and Thread", a collection of essays, poems, and garden reflections that offers insight into her creative process and recurring themes of violence, hope, and humanity. The book includes her Nobel lecture, discussions...
Book Review: ‘Night Night Fawn,’ by Jordy Rosenberg
Jordy Rosenberg’s second novel, Night Night Fawn, is presented as a pseudo‑autobiographical confession from 70‑year‑old Barbara Rosenberg, who reflects on her life while dying of terminal cancer. The narrative centers on her fraught relationship with her estranged transgender son, Jordana,...
Andrew Martin on How to Manage Exposition
Andrew Martin argues that the widespread aversion to “info dumps” misrepresents the role of exposition in fiction. He explains that the fear originates from poorly executed backstory and the over‑reliance on the “show, don’t tell” mantra, which can lead writers...
Cynical Vampires, Gritty Crime and Bob Carr’s Moving Memoir: 10 New Books
A fresh roundup spotlights ten newly released titles spanning literary fiction, crime thrillers, genre mash‑ups and memoirs. Eva Hornung’s *The Minstrels* fuses climate‑driven apocalyptic fiction with Indigenous land‑rights themes, while Laura McCluskey returns to the Scottish Highlands with a hard‑boiled detective...
Is the Greatest Repository of Moral Beauty in English Literature the Voice of the Narrator in Middlemarch?
The essay argues that the narrator’s voice in George Eliot’s *Middlemarch* constitutes the richest secular source of moral beauty in English literature, rivaling religious eloquence. It outlines Eliot’s background, the novel’s moral architecture, and key characters—Dorothea, Casaubon, Ladislaw, Lydgate, Rosamond,...
“Depending on Who You Ask, There Are Fewer than 10 Full-Time Book Review Critics Working Today”
University of Chicago Press’s promotions director Carrie Olivia Adams says fewer than ten full‑time book‑review critics remain in the U.S., with only nine daily newspapers still maintaining dedicated review sections—The New York Times, Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, USA Today,...
Peter Schneider Dies at 85; His Novels Explored a Divided Germany
German novelist Peter Schneider, renowned for works like “Lenz” and “The Wall Jumper,” died on March 3 at 85 from kidney cancer. His fiction traced Germany’s post‑war turmoil, from the 1960s student protests to the fall of the Berlin Wall and...
Our Favorite Gordon Ramsay Cookbook Is Perfect For Chefs Of All Experience Levels
Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course, first published in 2012 as a TV companion, became his most acclaimed cookbook. A U.S. edition titled Home Cooking arrived in 2013, converting all measurements to imperial units. The book’s chapter layout—covering budget meals, advance prep,...
Lee Martindale (1949–2026)
Lee Martindale, a Kentucky‑born short‑fiction writer and editor, died on March 10, 2026 after a brief illness. She broke into publishing at 43 with the story “YearBride” and subsequently appeared in prominent fantasy anthologies such as Sword and Sorceress and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy....
Books Our Editors Loved This Week
The New York Times editors spotlight two new releases in their March 12, 2026 roundup. "Her Last Breath" by Taylor Adams is a claustrophobic thriller set in a pitch‑black cave, while Anand Gopal’s "Days of Love and Rage" offers a meticulously researched chronicle of...
2026 Robert E. Howard Awards Nominees
The Robert E. Howard Foundation unveiled the 2026 award nominees, covering categories from nonfiction biography to literary fiction, essays, emerging scholarship, web‑based projects, and artistic achievement. Highlights include Willard M. Oliver’s new biography, multiple Titan‑published Conan titles, and academic works...
This Tale of a Chicago School Book Ban Was Inspired by True Events
Chicago Public Schools abruptly removed Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir Persepolis from several classrooms in 2013, sparking student-led protests. Librarian Jarrett Dapier’s debut graphic novel Wake Now in the Fire fictionalizes those events, following high‑schoolers at Lane Tech as they document the ban and organize...
I’m a Book Critic. This Is a Novel You’ll See Everywhere This Year
Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel *Yesteryear* is set to dominate 2026 literary conversation, with its April release already sparking a fierce 11‑way film‑rights bidding war won by Anne Hathaway. The story follows a trad‑wife influencer who time‑travels from a curated Instagram...
Greedy by Callie Kazumi
British-Japanese author Callie Kazumi’s second novel, "Greedy," follows Ed Cook, a down‑on‑his‑luck immigrant in Tokyo who lands a lucrative private‑chef gig with reclusive philanthropist Hazeline Yamamoto. Despite no culinary training, Ed is drawn into a high‑tech mansion where he serves...
The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery
Ross Montgomery’s debut, *The Murder at World’s End*, is a locked‑room mystery set on a remote Cornish manor in autumn 1910. The story pivots on Viscount Stockingham‑Welt’s apocalyptic fear of Halley’s Comet, which leads to a sealed household and his...
Dark and Stormy Thrillers by Stephen King, Ruth Ware and More
Best‑selling author Lisa Unger spotlights a niche of dark, storm‑driven thrillers, highlighting Ruth Ware’s reality‑show murder mystery One Perfect Couple and Alyssa Cole’s psychological suspense One of Us Knows. Both novels use extreme weather to isolate characters, intensifying fear and forcing desperate...
The 2026 Indies Choice Awards Shortlists Are Here
The American Booksellers Association has unveiled the shortlists for the 2026 Indies Choice Book Awards, marking the awards' return after a hiatus since 2019. The shortlists cover seven categories, including adult fiction, young adult, adult nonfiction, picture books, and middle‑grade,...
I’ve Read 50 Books in the Last Year, but This Is My Standout Favourite
Florence Knapp’s debut literary novel *The Names* has surged to number two on the Sunday Times bestseller list and earned a 4.18 average rating on Goodreads. The book’s high‑concept structure follows three parallel lives of a boy whose destiny is shaped by the...
Crews Control
Frederick Crews’s 2017 magnum opus, *Freud: The Making of an Illusion*, delivers a sweeping 666‑page indictment of Sigmund Freud’s life and the myth he cultivated. Drawing on newly released correspondence and archival material, Crews portrays Freud as an ambitious, insecure...
The Rest Is History
The article curates a series of literary and philosophical reflections, ranging from a Slovak novelist’s questions about societal organization to Virginia Woolf’s notion of unconditional looking. It underscores how classic works interrogate universal themes such as devotion, education, and individual...
The Rest Is History
The article curates a eclectic roundup of recent cultural and scientific pieces, from new scholarship on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Celtic roots of Halloween to Sleepy Hollow’s tourism rebrand and a gravestone‑recipe cookbook. It highlights breakthroughs such as the...
The Rest Is History
The article curates a diverse set of cultural essays and reviews, ranging from the influence of "American Psycho" on contemporary masculinity to Agatha Christie’s rule‑breaking detective novel. It highlights historical investigations such as Henry Ford’s Amazon town project, a family’s...
Save on New Titles in Asian Studies
Duke University Press is offering a 40% discount on all Asian studies books and journal issues for attendees of the AAS 2026 conference in Vancouver. The coupon code AAS26 is valid through April 23, 2026 and can be used online...
A Portrait or a Parable? | Review of Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Allen Levi’s debut novel, Theo of Golden, follows an elderly New Yorker who purchases portrait sketches in a small Southern town and seeks out the subjects, listening to their stories. The narrative unfolds with deliberate calm, emphasizing gentle human connection...
Goa, Desired and Disputed: Review of Appetite, an Anthology of Stories, Essays and Poems
The new anthology *Appetite*, edited by Shivranjana Rathore and Tino De Sa, gathers stories, essays, and poems from Goa‑based writers to confront the state’s rapid cultural and economic transformation. It frames Goa’s challenges—land grabs, tourism‑driven displacement, and eroding linguistic heritage—through a...
‘Senior Musicians Are Not Promoting the Next Generation,’ Says Violinist Kala Ramnath in the Book The Call of Music
The new book *The Call of Music* by Priya Purushothamam profiles eight living Indian classical musicians, including violinist Kala Ramnath, who criticizes senior artists for failing to promote the next generation. The essays blend biographical detail with personal reflections, covering themes...
Blood in the Boondocks | Review of The Jasmine Murders by Roopa Unnikrishnan
Roopa Unnikrishnan’s debut novel *The Jasmine Murders* is a 1960s‑set murder mystery in a small Tamil Nadu town, following Malayali police officer Jayan and his newly‑wed wife Uma as they untangle a series of decapitations and robberies. The narrative weaves communal tensions,...
Book Review: Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga
Sam Elkin’s debut memoir "Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga" chronicles his experience as the first LGBTQIA+ community outreach lawyer in Victoria, Australia, while navigating his own gender transition. The book offers a candid, humor‑infused account of the challenges faced...
Exclusive Cover Reveal of “Staying Still” By Hieu Minh Nguyen
Electric Literature unveiled the cover of Hieu Minh Nguyen’s forthcoming poetry collection Staying Still, slated for publication on September 1, 2026 by Tin House/Zando. The book follows Nguyen’s award‑winning debut Not Here and delves into anxieties of belonging, queer boyhood, and the refugee...