Bookish News: A Weekly Update

Finalists Named for this Year's Shirley Jackson Awards

Nominees have been named in six categories for this year's Shirley Jackson Awards, which recognize "outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic." The winners will be announced July 15, 2018.

The nominees for the Shirley Jackson Awards are:

NOVEL

Ill Will by Dan Chaon 
The Bone Mother by David Demchuk
The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
The Hole by Hye-young Pyun 
The Night Ocean by Paul La Farge 

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
She Said Destroy by, Nadia Bulkin
The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt
The Doll’s Alphabet by Camilla Grudova
Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country by Chavisa Woods

Library Reads Selections Announced for June 2018

Bring Me Back: A Novel by B.A. Paris 

"Intensifying psychological suspense. Twelve years after Finn's girlfriend Layla disappeared, a discovery raises new questions." --Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, Mass.

There There by Tommy Orange

"A large cast of interwoven characters depicts the experience of Native Americans living in urban settings. Perfect for readers of character-driven fiction with a strong sense of place." --Abby Johnson, New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, New Albany, Ind. 

Us Against You: A Novel by Fredrik Backman 

"The citizens of Beartown are about to lose their beloved hockey team and their rivals could not be happier. The narrator has you wondering who is going to die and why events occur as they do." --Gail Christensen, Kitsap Regional Library, Bremerton, Wash.

The Word Is Murder: A Novel by Anthony Horowitz 

"A playful commentary on the mystery genre itself and the first in a promising new series. The author, Horowitz, plays the part of the narrator, and gets caught up in solving a murder with Daniel Hawthorne, an out-of-work detective." --Amy Whitfield, Wake County Public Libraries, Cary, N.C.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier 

"A suspenseful thriller told from multiple perspectives. A Seattle detective must unravel a web of secrets dating back to his high school days." --Gail Roberts, Fairfax County Public Library, Fairfax, Va.

Dreams of Falling by Karen White 

"Set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, this story does what Southern fiction does best: family, lies, and secrets. For fans of Patti Callahan Henry and Mary Alice Monroe." --Leanne Milliman, Charlevoix Public Library, Charlevoix, Mich.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

"A wonderfully sweet and erotic romance featuring an autistic heroine who hires a hot male escort to teach her how to enjoy sex, but learns so much more." --Elizabeth Gabriel, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wis.

All We Ever Wanted: A Novel by Emily Giffin 

"Great storyline that is relevant to issues both facing young people today and the people raising them. The story keeps you guessing." --Sarah Trohoske, Erie County Public Library, Erie, Pa.

Little Big Love by Katy Regan 

"A portrait of a family and a boy's search for the father who left them, told from multiple perspectives with authentic, likeable characters."  --McGee, Lake Travis County Library, Austin, Tex. 

How Hard Can It Be?: A Novel by Allison Pearson 

"Kate is holding it all together, unemployed husband, kids, and parents. So, she reinvents herself as someone younger to secure a job with the hedge fund." --Toni Nako, The Public Library of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

British Book Award Titles Announced

The British Book Award-winning titles are:  

Book of the Year and Fiction Debut Book: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Children's Book (joint winners): The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and The Lost Words by Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane

Crime & Thriller: The Dry by Jane Harper

Nonfiction Lifestyle: 5 Ingredients by Jamie Oliver

Nonfiction Narrative: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Fiction: Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

Audiobook: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, narrated by Michael Sheen

Upcoming Adaption of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, The Chronology of Water

Kristen Stewart plans to make her feature film directorial debut with an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir, The Chronology of Water. She will write and direct the project.

In an interview at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Stewart said, "Lidia Yuknavitch is from Portland. I love her novels but her memoirs... it's deeply personal to her. She's in my blood and I knew that before I met her. As soon as I met her it was like we started this race without any sense of competition. I'm making the movie this summer but other than that, my only goal is just to finish the screenplay and hire a really spectacular actor: I'm going to write the best f**king female role. I'm going to write a role that I want so badly but that I'm not going to play." (source: Shelf Awareness)

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

The Winners of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards

The winners of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards are:

Book of the Year: The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty

Cookbook Hall of Fame: Betty Fussell

American: The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley

Baking and Desserts: BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks

Beverage: Meehan's Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan

General: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

Health and Special Diets: Deepa's Secrets by Deepa Thomas

International: Nopalito by Gonzalo Guzman and Stacy Adimando

Reference, History, and Scholarship: Champagne by Peter Liem

Restaurant and Professional: Modernist Bread by Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya

Single Subject: The Pho Cookbook by Andrea Nguyen

Vegetable-Focused Cooking: Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg 

Writing: The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty

The Shortlist has Been Announced for the Reading the West Book Awards

The shortlist has been announced for the Reading the West Book Awards, sponsored by the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Winners will be named May 31. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Adult fiction

The Widow Nash by Jamie Harrison
The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill by Jim Fergus
Celine by Peter Heller
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
The Underworld by Kevin Canty

Adult nonfiction

Transplants: Eclectic Floral Design by Antonio Bond
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Texas Blood: Seven Generations Among the Outlaws, Ranchers, Indians, Missionaries, Soldiers, and Smugglers of the Borderlands by Roger D. Hodge
Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River by David Owen
Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang by David Philipps

Postponement of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature

"The Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019. In a statement, Carl-Henrik Heldin, the Nobel Foundation's chairman of the board, said that according to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation "is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. During the past several weeks, we have pursued a continuous dialogue with the Swedish Academy, and we support Thursday's decision."

Although the Nobel Prize is, in principle, awarded annually, decisions on the award have been postponed on a number of occasions during its history. "One of the circumstances that may justify an exception is when a situation in a prize-awarding institution arises that is so serious that a prize decision will not be perceived as credible," Heldin noted.

This decision was prompted by a crisis involving accusations of assault by 18 women against French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, who is married to an Academy member, Katarina Frostenson."

(source: Shelf Awareness)

Annie Proulx has won the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

"Annie Proulx has won the 2018 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which honors an American literary writer "whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but also for its originality of thought and imagination. The award seeks to commend strong, unique, enduring voices that--throughout long, consistently accomplished careers--have told us something new about the American experience."

The prize ceremony will take place September 1, during the National Book Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Her books include The Shipping News, Postcards, Barkskins and Close Range: Wyoming Stories, which included the short story later adapted into the Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain."

(source: Shelf Awareness)

HBO Has Acquired the Rights to I'll Be Gone In the Dark by Michelle McNamara

HBO Documentary Films has acquired the rights to journalist Michelle McNamara's bestselling book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, to develop as a docuseries. Deadline reported that McNamara, the late wife of Patton Oswalt, "was in the midst of writing the book when she unexpectedly died in her sleep in 2016. The book was completed by McNamara's lead researcher Paul Haynes and a close colleague, Billy Jensen, and framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and afterword by Oswalt, who also executive produces the docuseries."

"HBO taking on this story will advance the passionate pursuit that Michelle shared with dozens of men and women in law enforcement--to solve the mystery of one of California's most notorious serial killers," said Oswalt.

Last month, the Sacramento Sheriff's Office arrested former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo and charged him with a number of the crimes.

(source: Shelf Awareness)

Interesting Bookish Articles

62 of the World’s Best Independent Bookstores by Atlas Obscura

Meet The Black Women Upending The Romance Novel Industry by BuzzFeed

This Comic Artist Draws Amazing "Harry Potter" Scenes That Didn't Make The Movie

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

I'm a few days late sharing the news this week. Thanks for your patience ... spring brings on a lot of BUSY in my world and I'm trying to get adjusted and back on a schedule.

Pulitzer Prize Announcement

The 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced. Each winner receives $15,000. Here are the winners ...

Fiction:

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Also nominated:

The Distance by Hernan Diaz

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

Nonfiction: 

Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman Jr. 

Also nominated:

Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in Post-America World by Suzy Hansen

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us by Richard P. Prum

History:

The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis

Also nominated:

Fear City:  New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics by Kim Phillips-Fein

Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross

Biography/Autobiography:

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Also nominated: 

Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell

Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius Mania and Character by Kay Redfield Jamison

The 2018 Thriller Award Nominees Announced

The International Thriller Writers announced the 2018 Thriller Award finalists. There are some great books on this list. Definitely take a look if you're a thriller fan!

SIBA Announces Finalists for 2018 Southern Book Prize

The Southern Independent Bookstore Alliance has released the names of the finalists for their 2018 Southern Book Prize. This year's finalist includes 30 titles across 8 categories. Winners will be announced on July 4th. You can find the full list here. 

The Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist Announced

The Women's Prize for fiction honors "excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world." The shortlist includes the following:

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Sight by Jessie Greengrass

When I Hit You: Or, a Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

The Great American Read Introduced

The Great American Read is an eight-part series hosted by Meredith Vieira which will introduce viewers to PBS's list of the country's favorite novels. There will be an initial 2-hour episode on May 22nd. Throughout the summer, people can vote for their favorite novels on the PBS website and using special voting hashtags on Twitter and Facebook. More info can be found here. In addition, there is a list of all of the books here. You can also take a quiz to see how many of them you've read here. [I've read 43/100 which is higher than I expected. How many have YOU read?]

2018 Edgar Award Winners Announced

Best Novel: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Best First Novel: She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper

Best Paperback Original: The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

The Best Fact Crime: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

83rd Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Announced

The winners of the Anisfield Wolf Book Award have been announced. This award recognizes literature confronting racism and examining diversity. 

The winners are:
Fiction: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Nonfiction: Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin Young
Poetry: In the Language of My Captor by Shane McCrae
Lifetime achievement: N. Scott Momaday

The 2018 PEN/Hemingway Award Winner

Weike Wang won the award, which honors a distinguished first book of fiction for her novel, Chemistry. Wang will receive $25,000, a month-long residency fellowship at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming (a retreat for artists and writers), a residency from the Distinguished Writers Series at the University of Idaho's MFA Creative Writing Program and a $5,000 stipend.

HBO Develops Docuseries Based on I'll Be Gone in the Dark

HBO has announced a docuseries based on Michelle McNamara's true-crime book, I'll Be Gone in the Dark. The book tells the story of McNamara's investigation into the Golden State Killer. On another note, McNamara was the wife of actor Patton Oswalt and died in 2016 before the book was published.  Oswalt and several of McNamara's friends made sure the book was published on her behalf!

Articles of Interest

Why Reading Books Should be your Priority, According to Science

Who Doesn't Read Books in America?

A New Generation of African-American -Owned Bookstores

The Science of the Bestseller

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

Jaime Green Named New York Times Book Review Romance Columnist

Jaime Green has been named the romance columnist for the New York Times Book Review. This column will be released on a quarterly basis and will debut in the Summer Reading issue of the Book Review in June. I love that the NYTBR is finally embracing romance. I hate the idea that romance is viewed as 'less than' in the literary world. I'm so glad that romance fans will now have the opportunity to hear more about the genre from a the New York Times Book Review! 

Shortlist Announced for the International Dylan Thomas Prize

The International Dylan Thomas Prize recognizes the "best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under." The winner will be unveiled on May 10, 2018.

The shortlisted titles are:

Kumakanda by Kayo Chingonyi

Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

First Love by Gwendoline Riley

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

I've read one of these (My Absolute Darling) but two of them are sitting in the stack on my bedside table - Her Body & Other Parties and Idaho. There are some amazing books on this list! 

Barnes & Noble Summer 2018 Discover Great New Writers Program

Barnes and Noble has announced the 22 titles they have chosed for the Summer 2018 Discover Great New Writers program. There are 15 novels and 7 works of non-fiction on the list. All of them are being published between April and August 2018. You can read more about the books on the list here.

That is it for me this week ... Have you heard of other bookish news you'd like share with us? We'd love to hear about them in the Comments! 

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

PEN/Faulkner 2018 Finalists

PEN/Faulkner has announced the 2018 finalists for its PEN/Faulkner award. The winner will be awarded the final prize at the award ceremony on May 5th. For more details, visit this link.

The five finalists are -

The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt

Improvement by Joan Silber

In the Distance by Hernan Diaz

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

The Tower of the Antilles by Achy Obejas

Man Booker Prize Longlist

The thirteen book longlist has been released for the Man Booker International Prize. This prize celebrates the best works of translated fiction from around the world. The shortlist of six books will be released on April 12th with the winner named in London on May 22nd.

This year's longlist titles include -

The 7th Function of Language by Laurent Binet (France), translated by Sam Taylor

The Impostor by Javier Cercas (Spain), translated by Frank Wynne

Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes (France), translated by Frank Wynne

Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck (Germany), translated by Susan Bernofsky

The White Book by Han Kang (South Korea), translated by Deborah Smith

Die, My Love by Ariana Harwicz (Argentina), translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff

The World Goes On by László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), translated by John Batki, Ottilie Mulzet and George Szirtes 

Like a Fading Shadow by Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain), translated by Camilo A. Ramirez

The Flying Mountain by Christoph Ransmayr (Austria), translated by Simon Pare

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (Iraq), translated by Jonathan Wright

Flights by Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), translated by Jennifer Croft

The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi (Taiwan), translated by Darryl Sterk

The Dinner Guest by Gabriela Ybarra (Spain), translated by Natasha Wimmer

Book Cover Art

Meet the designers of your favorite book covers is a great article about cover art designers. And they showcase a few of my favorites such as Rachel Willey and Rodrigo Corral. 

New Book Riot Podcast

I love all of the Book Riot podcasts but I'm so excited about their new non-fiction focused podcast called For Real which will cover all things non-fiction every other week! 

50 Books By and About Women of Color

I love this list from the Top Shelf Text blog (Madeleine has a great blog AND a fantastic Instagram account) which contains some wonderful books that you should definitely add to your TBR!

April Library Reads

Have you seen the April Library reads list? It's a great list and makes me eager to    You can find the full list in PDF format here. I find that these lists are always packed full of amazing reads! 

Science Tells Us Reading Books Should Be Your Priority

I have always known that reading should be a priority and this article just reinforces that knowledge!

That is it for me this week ... Have you heard of other bookish news you'd like share with us? We'd love to hear about them in the Comments! 

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

10 Most Famous Bookstores in the World

I loved this article on Literary Hub about the 10 most famous bookstores around the world. The best part is that I've already visited two of them ... the Strand in NYC and Powell's Books in Portland, OR. But, I'm adding many of the others to my bookstore bucket list!

National Book Critics Circle Winners for 2017 Announced 

The National Book Critics Circle winners for the 2017 publishing year were announced in New York on March 15th. There are some amazing books on this list so definitely take a look and be prepared to add many to your TBR list. 

Fiction: Improvement by Joan Silber 

Nonfiction: The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America by Frances FitzGerald

Poetry: Whereas by Layli Long Soldier

Biography: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser 

Autobiography: Nine Continents: A Memoir In and Out of China by Xiaolu Guo 

Criticism: You Play The Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Trainwrecks, & Other Mixed Messages by Carina Chocano 

Other awards included:

The John Leonard Prize was presented to Carmen Maria Machado for Her Body and Other Parties 

The Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing to Charles Finch

The Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award to John McPhee

Stephen Hawking Passes Away

I'm sure you've heard about his death already but I wanted to be sure to mention it in case you weren't aware. I have yet to read any of his books so I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you about one of his books. A Brief History of Time appears to be one of his most popular books. This book explains where the universe came from, how it works, where it's going. The best part? He uses non-technical terms to explain all of this so it's perfect for those of us who don't have a science background! He also has a memoir, My Brief History, which I've heard good things about. If you haven't read his work, this may be a perfect opportunity to pick one up and learn more about his work!

That is it for me this week ... Have you heard of other bookish news you'd like share with us? We'd love to hear about them in the Comments! 

Bookish News: A Weekly Update

The Women's Prize for Fiction 2018 Longlist

The Women's Prize for Fiction's 2019 long list has been announced and it's a fantastic list. I've read only three of them but at least four others are on my list to read already. I'm excited to go take a look at the novels I've never heard of and check them out. 

H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Sight by Jessie Greengrass

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy

Elmet by Fiona Mozley

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Diversity in Romance Publishing

The Ripped Bodice released their second annual Diversity in Romance Publishing report.  This report focuses on racial and cultural diversity in romance publishing and it's really quite eye-opening. I highly recommend taking a look at their report. 

The Story Prize 2018

Elizabeth Strout's short story collection, Anything Is Possible, is the 14th winner of the Story Prize, a $20,000 prize awarded annually to the author of the short story collection named best of the year by a paneled jury. The book must be written in English and first published in the U.S. The other finalists this year were authors Daniel Alarcón for The King Is Always Above the People and Ottessa Moshfegh for Homesick for Another World, each receiving $5,000. You can learn more here. 

That is it for me this week ... Have you heard of other bookish news you'd like share with us? We'd love to hear about them in the Comments!