Writers in Cuba, San Francisco’s bookstores, and more

News, Reviews, and Interviews

To celebrate the start of political relations between the United States and Cuba, Restless Books has begun a new blog series asking Cuban writers what it feels like to be a writer in Cuba today. (For more on this subject, see Leonardo Padura’s essay from the May 2013 issue, “Writing in Cuba in the Twenty-first Century.”)

Wonderful news from Saqi Books this week! The publisher announced that it would once again resume its English-language translation series, despite reports from last year that the publisher was facing an uphill financial battle.

Can’t get enough of literary sensation Karl Ove Knausgård? He recently delivered this speech during the Oxfam Novib/PEN Awards for Freedom of Expression, honoring Libyan writer and journalist Razan al-Maghrabi, Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist Jila Bani-Yaghoub and her husband and fellow journalist Bahman Ahmadi-Amouee, and Sudanese poet, writer, and journalist Abdelmoneim Rahama.

In an interview with NPR Books this week, author Marie Mutsuki Mockett describes her new book, a journey through Japan’s rituals for mourning.

For Your Calendar

If you work in poetry translation, consider submitting an application for the Stephen Spender Prize before May.

You can help shape this year’s ALTA Conference by submitting your panel, roundtable, or workshop proposal by May 1.

If you are or know someone who is a talented student hungry to work in publishing, Publishing Perspectives is currently looking for an editorial and production intern.

Fun Finds and Inspiration

San Francisco is home to some of the world’s greatest independent bookstores. This short tour gives you a quick look at eight of them.

Did an elephant stomp on your ear? These untranslatable idioms are hilarious!

To celebrate her birthday this week, read and save these nine quotes from Virginia Woolf that can be applied to any situation.