Jun 04 Edmund White, groundbreaking bard of gay literature, dies at 85 By Hillel Italie, Associated Press White documented and imagined the gay revolution through journalism, essays, plays and such novels as “A Boy’s Own Story” and “The Beautiful Room is Empty.”… Continue reading
May 28 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan dissident and author who was giant of global literature, dies at 87 By Hillel Italie, Associated Press The Kenyan man of letters wrote dozens of fiction and nonfiction books that traced his country's history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny and challenged not only the stories told but the language used to tell them. Continue reading
May 05 Novelist Percival Everett, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins among Pulitzer winners in the arts By Hillel Italie, Associated Press Everett’s Pulitzer confirmed the million-selling “James” as the most celebrated and popular U.S. literary novel of 2024, and accelerated the 68-year-old author’s remarkable rise after decades of being little known to the general public. Continue reading
Apr 14 Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and Nobel laureate, dies at 89 By Franklin Briceno, Ciarán Giles, Associated Press Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel literature laureate and a giant of Latin American letters for many decades, has died. Continue reading
Dec 30 10 of the best books of 2024, according to these experts By Jeffrey Brown Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and Gilbert Cruz, editor of The New York Times Book Review, recap their highlights. Continue reading
Oct 06 WATCH: South Korean author Han Kang wins Nobel Prize for literature By Daniel Niemann, Jill Lawless, Mike Corder, Associated Press Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson praised Han's "physical empathy for the vulnerable, often female lives" of her characters. Continue reading
Jun 20 Need a summer read? Here are 17 books from our experts By Jeffrey Brown, Lena I. Jackson If you’re lucky enough to have a quiet place to retreat from the heat this summer, we’ve got a symphony of suggestions for novels and nonfiction to keep you entertained. Continue reading
May 01 Paul Auster, celebrated and experimental author, dies at 77 By Hillel Italie, Associated Press Called the “dean of American post-modernists” and “the most meta of American meta-fictional writers,” Auster blended history, politics, genre experiments, existential quests and self-conscious references to writers and writing. Continue reading
Dec 15 Here's a dozen books from 2023 you should read, critics say By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Alison Thoet As the year comes to a close, we're sitting down with book critics to discuss some of the best books released in 2023. NPR's Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan and New York Times books editor Gilbert Cruz share their… Continue reading
Oct 04 WATCH: Norwegian writer Jon Fosse awarded 2023 Nobel Prize in literature By David Keyton, Mike Corder, Associated Press One of his country’s most-performed dramatists, Fosse, 64, has written some 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry and essays. Continue reading