Trends in digital publishing, lit award announcements, and Japanese classics
So many longlists, shortlists, finalists, and winners were announced for various literary prizes this week. Look below for links to prize announcements and commentary from people across the web and the globe.
News, Reviews, and Interviews
Words Without Borders’ newest issue looks at writing from Haiti three years after the massive earthquake that devastated the country.
The Literary Platform looks back at 2012 and forward to 2013 for trends in digital publishing.
Seamus Heaney writes about his experiences translating Beowulf at Saltana’s website.
Author-activist Samar Yazbek was recently interviewed about watching the Syrian uprising from her exile.
The shortlist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction has been announced! The final winner will be determined in April.
The finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards were revealed this week, and several writers featured in WLT appear on the lists.
The Mantle has a new piece by WLT contributor Shaun Randol about Iraqi artists taking refuge in Syria.
Sharon Olds was announced as this year’s TS Eliot Prize recipient.
Hari Kunzru recently wrote a piece for the Page Turner blog about the mounting fear Hungarian intellectuals feel due to censorship.
For Your Calendar
The deadline to apply as a Book Giver for the 2013 World Book Night is January 25.
Submit your work to the 2013 Best Translated Book Award - entries accepted until January 31.
The 2013 Yale Writers’ Conference is currently open to applications. Program highlights include courses on flash fiction, literary criticism, and expatriate fiction. Don’t miss!
Tickets for the Tulsa Reads events with author Margaret Atwood have gone on sale. Make sure you get yours!
Fun Finds and Inspiration
Several Japanese classics are now available in the public domain and are free to read online.
A new exhibit at the Art Institute Chicago, called “Picturing Poetry,” features illustrations to several well-known verses.
Maria Popova reviews Francine Prose’s advice about reading like a writer at the Brain Pickings blog.
NPR discussed the joy and wonder of technical bookstores at its website this week.
Perhaps this list of words that don’t actually exist but are needed for dissertations will pique your fancy.
