Before Covid hit, my family often traveled to Germany. There, we found “Asian” restaurants in many small German towns. I had to chuckle at the generalization. Did these restaurants serve East Asian food? South Asian? Chinese? Indian? Thai? I considered, too, how even the flavors, textures and colors of what gets called “Chinese food” vary greatly by region.
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The Sarton Awards are presented in four categories (memoir, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, nonfiction). The award program is named in honor of May Sarton, who is remembered for her outstanding contributions to women’s literature as a memoirist, novelist, and poet. Sarton memoirs, novels, and nonfiction books are distinguished by the compelling ways they honor the lives of women.
The Gilda Prize: “It’s Always Something” is named in honor of comedian Gilda Radner. Gilda memoirs are distinguished by their fresh voices, their honesty, and their authenticity. They make us laugh (even when we want to cry).
Read the list here!
Every time the Animal Control van crept down my block, I’d pray that it wouldn’t stop at my house. As a childless widow with four dogs, I’d become the neighbourhood Crazy Dog Lady. It was only a matter of time before I reached the extremity documented on reality television shows.
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On a damp afternoon a few years ago, descending a stone ramp adjacent to a cobblestone lane, I slipped on a slick patch. Landing on my seat, I bounced upward and sideways off the ramp, rather like a cartoon character. After somehow revolving in midair, I descended to the lane beneath the ramp, where I went splat on my stomach, arms outspread.
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“As a journalist, I’d always been interested in finding that space between what people say and what they do. That’s the way we use rhetoric to hold politicians accountable… As a novelist, I’m much more interested in that fertile territory between what we say and what we think.”
Kristen Millares Young
Watch the full conversation here!
O, the Oprah Magazine, features the Rebel Women’s Lit Caribbean Reader Awards, including Donna Hemans’s Tea by the Sea, which won the award for Best Fiction!
When my daughter got into Berenstain bears, it was all my fault. I remembered loving the series, associating them with my old school library and a particular comfort there. So I bought her book after book when she was three. As I read them with her, she was fascinated. Here were books about real struggles with family and friends. But I was horrified. I’m not the only one to express the surprise at how regressive these books read (see Sara Petersen’s Washington Post article about it) these days. And like others revisiting this childhood favorite, I too was able to see little else besides the misogyny.
Read the full essay here.
When Jennifer Risher joined Microsoft in 1991, she met her husband, and with him became an extra-lucky beneficiary of the dot-com boom. By their early thirties, they had tens of millions of dollars. Today, there are millions of people like her…
Take a listen here!
Every year we love sharing the books that inspire our mission and programming. One of the first steps to dismantling structural racism is understanding the past and how the past affects the present. It is also important to prioritize the content of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) thought leaders as you learn about the depth and complexity of racism, how all of us are complicit (to varying degrees) in reinforcing its effects, and how you can have a role in unlearning through antiracism practice every day. So get into our essential list for reading in 2021, revisit our lists from 2019 and 2020, and let us know which books you are most excited to dive into. Oh; and be sure to read through to the end for a surprise announcement.
This was a deeply engaging conversation with author and poet Sebastian Matthews. He survived a terrible head-on collision and wrote a wonderful book called Beyond Repair about his experience. We went into some wonderful places with this one. Sebastian was very open and authentic and a joy to engage with here.
Click here to listen!
Even with all the extra “free time” sheltering in place gave us this year, there was a lot going on. Between learning how to work from home, helping kids with virtual learning, struggling to pay the bills, and finding new ways to cure months-long bouts of boredom, it was hard to get a breath in edgewise. Curling up with a good book? In this economy?!
If you weren’t able to find much time for yourself this year, don’t be discouraged. First, you got through the year, and that’s a big enough accomplishment as it is. Second, it’s never too late to give yourself some much-needed “me time.” So whenever you’re ready, grab that book you’ve been dying to read and get cozy.
We’ve compiled 10 of the best new books released this year that might’ve slipped under the radar while you were busy attending to 2020’s raging dumpster fire.
Everyone loves a good list and there are no shortage of book recommendations from celebrities, media outlets and booksellers. I love looking at my overcrowded shelves and this year I added even more fantastic books. (FYI, the books I have read on the left and books I want to read on the right!) I had the wonderful opportunity to interview dozen’s of authors for the Q & A section of my reviews and enjoyed live discussions with many at my bookclub zoom meetings this year; what an honor to connect with so many brilliant writers and learn more about their stories and the writing process.
Over 1800 people readers, we are happy to announce the winners for the Inaugural Caribbean Readers’ Award! The Caribbean Readers’ Award recognizes outstanding works in Caribbean Literature. The prize is given to one fiction novel, YA novel, middle grade/tween novel, nonfiction works, short stories, and translated literature. Rebel Women Lit also recognized individuals who embody the spirit of Rebel Women Lit and have made recognizable contributions in their field and in the Caribbean Literature community. The selected awardees are highlighted as Rebel Women Lit Critics and Honorees.
Read more here!
Boreal, an imprint of Red Hen Press is dedicated to northern literature. Mia Heavener [UNDER NUSHAGAK BLUFF], Mary Odden [MOSTLY WATER: REFLECTIONS RURAL AND NORTH], and Thomas McGuire [STELLER’S ORCHID] have all been featured for their respective books.
In her long-awaited second novel, Donna Hemans, the author of River Woman (2002), weaves a compelling tale of longing—to belong, to find family and a sense of home, to be fulfilled, and ultimately to discover the truth.
Read more here!
