Oct 13 Marlon James becomes first Jamaican-born author to win Man Booker prize By Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Marlon James is the first Jamaican-born writer to win the 2015 Man Booker prize for Fiction. James’ book, "A Brief History of Seven Killings," explores gang violence in Jamaica through the lens of the attempted killing of Bob Marley in… Continue reading
Oct 08 Svetlana Alexievich, investigative journalist from Belarus, wins Nobel Prize in Literature By Corinne Segal The Swedish Academy awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday to Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian investigative journalist who has collected hundreds of firsthand accounts on international conflicts including World War II, the Soviet War and the Chernobyl disaster. Continue reading
Sep 15 Why Agatha Christie is even more awesome than you thought By Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Today marks the 125th birthday of famed British novelist Agatha Christie, a pioneer of detective fiction. Continue reading
Aug 11 100-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien book to be published this summer By Corinne Segal A 1914 manuscript that formed the early basis for J.R.R. Tolkein's works of epic fantasy will be widely published for the first time this summer. Continue reading
Jul 29 Man Booker Prize unveils 2015 longlist By Margaret Sessa-Hawkins The Man Booker Prize for Fiction this morning released its longlist of 13 titles that will compete for the world's most prestigious award for fiction written in English. Continue reading
Jun 09 Watch 6:10 New Yorker's 'Comma Queen' offers a guide for the grammatically insecure By PBS News Hour In "Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen," Mary Norris recounts a life of grammatical grief and glory as a copy editor for The New Yorker. Norris joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss the magazine’s style standards, and whether… Continue watching
Jan 20 Chast, Piketty, Rankine among 2014 National Book Critics Circle nominees By Victoria Fleischer On Monday, 30 finalists were named for the National Book Critics Circle awards. The NewsHour has talked to many of the authors whose works are being considered, including Roz Chast, Hector Tobar, Thomas Piketty and Claudia Rankine. Continue reading
Jan 15 Not Trending: Nigeria's generous new literature prize boosts African writers By News Desk Here's a story that isn't dominating the headlines, but deserves a close look: Three African authors are nominated for a relatively new fiction literature prize, and the finalist will walk away with £15,000 and a continental book tour. The Etisalat… Continue reading
Dec 12 Watch New stories -- not for kids -- in Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Pioneer Girl' autobiography By PBS News Hour Laura Ingalls Wilder is known for the “Little House” series, based her family’s journey across the American plains. But until now, Wilder’s autobiography, “Pioneer Girl,” has never been published. Jeffrey Brown speaks with Pamela Smith Hill, author of “Laura Ingalls… Continue watching