Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's Blog, page 12
March 16, 2015
In Tough Times What Kind of Art Do We Need Most?
As a writer from Africa, I often find myself in private and public conversation about the “responsibility” of the African writer. Why, someone will usually ask or lament at a panel discussion or book talk, should African writers be burdened with writing about specific topics when American/European/etc. writers have the freedom to write what they... Read more.
Pulitzer Winner Marilynne Robinson Takes 2014 NBCC Award for Fiction
Marilynne Robinson can now add a National Book Critics Circle Award to her crowded trophy table. At the NBCC Awards ceremony held on Thursday, March 12, 2015, her novel Lila beat out formidable contenders��Rabih Alameddine���s An Unnecessary Woman,��Marlon James��� A Brief History of Seven Killings,��Lily King���s Euphoria,��and��Chang-rae Lee���s On Such a Full Sea��to win the... Read more.
Songeziwe Mahlangu's "Penumbra" Wins Etisalat Prize
Penumbra��by Songeziwe Mahlangu has earned��the 2nd Annual Etisalat Prize for Literature, edging out fellow shortlisted titles��An Imperfect Blessing��by Nadia Davids��and��Happiness, Like Water��by Chinelo Okparanta.��The prize aims to celebrate the best debut African writers of published fiction. Originally to be announced on February 22, 2015, the honor��was revealed on Sunday, March 15th at the Intercontinental Hotel... Read more.
March 13, 2015
Stop Being Afraid to Call Yourself a Writer
You may not be published. You may not be getting a check for your words. You may not be very good. Yet. You may have succeeded in getting an agent and a deal, only for your work to be a critical and/or commercial flop. You may have hit the deadline you gave yourself to give... Read more.
March 11, 2015
The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2015 Longlist is Here
How many novels do you have to write to earn a place on the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist? Turns out one (good one) is enough. Guardian.com helpfully included the number of novels each of the 20 longlisted contenders have written, and five of the 20 authors are debut novelists. In fact, there are... Read more.
PEN/Faulkner Awards Name 2015 Finalists
The contenders for the 2015��PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction are: Jeffery Renard Allen’s Song of the Shank Jennifer Clement’s Prayers for the Stolen Atticus Lish’s Preparation for the Next Life Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven Jenny Offill���s Dept. of Speculation Judges Alexander Chee, Marc Fitten, and Deirdre McNamer will decide on the winner who will...
Jalada Prize Announces Inaugural Longlist
The Jalada Prize for Literature has named seven stories to its first ever longlist: ���Last Wave��� by Ivor W. Hartmann ���eNGAGEMENT��� by Richard Oduor Oduku ���Discovering Time Travel��� By Suleiman Agbonkhianmen Buhari ���For Digital Girls Who Drink Tonic Water at the Bar When Purple Rain Isn���t Enough��� By Ytasha L. Womack ���Black Woman, Everybody���s Healer���... Read more.
Small Presses Are Winning the SEO War
In the U.S. alone, 600,000 to 1,000,000 books are published every year. To cut through the clutter and get in front of customers first, retailers duke it out a number of ways from author appearances and other in-store events to optimizing for certain search terms and words, and buying search terms and words on Google... Read more.
The LA Times Announces Book Prize Finalists
The LA Times Book Prizes will award T.C. Boyle, author of 25 books of fiction, the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement, and LeVar Burton, the Innovators Award for inspiring generations of readers with classic children’s series Reading Rainbow. The finalists, named across��ten genre categories, will find out if they have won at the awards... Read more.
