Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
Publishers Weekly recaps the first day of Reimagining Bookstores, a two-day virtual forum led by Praveen Madan of Kepler’s Books through which over six hundred booksellers and publishing workers are envisioning a better future for bookselling. “How can we reimagine bookstores to deepen literacy, strengthen our communities, and pay decent, living wages to our employees?” asked Madan.
“I found the act of translating Ditlevsen’s Gift more devastating than any other translation I’ve done. I felt as though she were my best friend and she was betraying me in every chapter.” Translator Michael Favala Goldman praises the “emotional intensity” of Tove Ditlevesen’s work. (New Yorker)
Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz, and Antonio Mercero have come forward as the writers behind the pseudonym Carmen Mola. The three men revealed their identities by accepting the Planeta Prize, which offers a prize of €1 million (approximately $1.2 million), in person. The revelation has drawn some scrutiny. Writer and activist Beatriz Gimeno commented, “Quite apart from using a female pseudonym, these guys have spent years doing interviews. It’s not just the name—it’s the fake profile that they’ve used to take in readers and journalists. They are scammers.” Mola has previously been billed as “Spain’s Elena Ferrante.” (Guardian)
Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman, coauthors of The Very Nice Box, discuss their complementary writing styles. “Laura is just more generative,” says Gleichman. “Her chapters would be longer in general; they would just be more raw and funny.” (Guernica)
“I began making a fun world using these fantastic elements, in which people could transform and change—and I found I could finally get some visceral release or pleasure from the process of writing.” Joss Lake reflects on the speculative elements in his debut novel, Future Feeling. (Believer)
Brendan Kennelly, a highly admired Irish writer who authored over thirty books of poetry, has died. He was eighty-five. (Literary Hub)
Words Without Borders has hired Adam Dalva to serve as its books editor. A writer and a critic, Dalva has contributed to the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, among other publications.
In the midst of the ongoing supply chain crisis, Publishers Weekly has created a spreadsheet to track publication date changes.
