The September issue of WLT, Ferrante Fever, and more

News, Reviews, and Interviews 

The September issue of WLT is here! Get the print or digital issue today.

Science-fiction writer Liu Cixin won the 2015 Hugo Award for best novel. Check out the review for Liu’s prizewinning novel, The Three-Body Problem, in the latest issue of WLT.

Children’s author Dav Pilkey’s books are frequently at the top of banned book lists around the world. The Guardian caught up with him to talk about the importance of children’s literature and fostering a love of reading at an early age.

The Kremlin is backing an effort to make the “B-sides” of the Russian literary canon more accessible to a global audience. Its instigators have hailed the collection as a much-needed effort to improve the English-speaking world’s understanding of Russia’s past, present, and future through literature. 

The New Yorker documented “Ferrante Fever” as experienced at Community Bookstore in Park Slope on Tuesday night. The fourth and final book in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series was released this week. 

The ban on sending books to prisoners in the UK was officially lifted this week. In reflection, the Guardian shares Erwin James’s story on how books were vital to his survival inside prison and the life he has lived since then.

Fun Finds and Inspiration 

Salman Rushdie was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night, and he shared the story behind how he wrote a song for U2. 

A good first line can draw a reader into a book. The Huffington Post highlights 11 unforgettable first lines from works including Charles Bukowski, Joan Didion, Gabriel García Márquez, and more.

The Conarte Library in Monterrey, Mexico, featured this week by Book Riot is a beautifully designed reading space that “wraps the reader in.”