The shortlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize has been announced. Paul Auster, Emily Fridlund, Mohsin Hamid, Fiona Mozley, George Saunders and Ali Smith were announced as the six shortlisted authors. The Man Booker is the leading English language prize… Continue Reading
A couple of Canadian co-workers were the upset winners of a SXSW Design Excellence Award in Austin, Texas a few days ago. Competing against such heavy hitters as the Stranger Things television show and a trailer for the feature-length Dr.… Continue Reading
In a less than celebratory moment in America, Colson Whitehead (The Intuitionist, Sag Harbor) has won the National Book Award for his 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad which, in its announcement, the New York Times called “a hallucinatory novel about… Continue Reading
Folk icon Bob Dylan has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in a move that permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, said was not “a difficult decision,” she said, comparing the songs of the American songwriter to… Continue Reading
A debut author from Ireland has won the prestigious Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Lisa McInerney’s first novel, The Glorious Heresies (John Murray), scooped up the coveted prize: a £30,000 (about $45,000 US) check and the Bessie, a limited edition… Continue Reading
Philosophy Now has named Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon books as an effective weapon against stupidity. It is the first time the award has been bestowed on an author of books for children. From The Guardian: Given in… Continue Reading
On November 18th, bestselling author and literary activist James Patterson (Along Came A Spider, Women’s Murder Club) will be presented with The National Book Foundation’s 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. From the National Book… Continue Reading
In only the second year since the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, the Man Booker shortlist, 2015, includes authors from the United States, Jamaica and Nigeria, as well as the United Kingdom. The judges remarked on… Continue Reading
Karen G. Anderson explains the controversy surrounding the 2015 Hugo Awards for science fiction that led to a vote of “no award” in five of the most coveted categories. Think of the Hugo Awards as the Oscars of fantasy and… Continue Reading
The Poetry Foundation names a Young People’s Poet Laureate every two years. In 2015, the $25,000 laureate title has been awarded to Jacqueline Woodson. “Jacqueline Woodson is an elegant, daring, and restlessly innovative,” says Poetry Foundation president Robert Polito.“So many… Continue Reading