On the Fifth Anniversary of the Africa Writes Festival
Today marks the start of the fifth annual Africa Writes Festival, in London. We asked organizer Sheila Ruiz, who originally pitched the idea to the Royal African Society, about her memories from the...
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How to Choose a Book to Read This Summer
Choosing your next book, particularly when you’ve carved out a little summer holiday time for just reading, can be daunting. Thankfully, the Strand Bookstore put together this flowchart, which takes...
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21 Books You Should Read This July
Pond, Claire-Louise Bennet (Riverhead Books) Claire-Louise Bennett’s debut novel captures our attention in whispers more than it does with bells or whistles. It’s not a “loud” novel. It doesn’t explain...
View ArticleThe Art of the Short Story: Helen Phillips and Matthew Vollmer
Writer Charles D’Ambrosio said of one of Matthew Vollmer’s story collections: “Virtuosic in its variations yet held together by a ballast of obsession, Future Missionaries of America has more range...
View ArticleNicole Dennis-Benn and Chinelo Okparanta Tell Their Own Stories
Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, is available now from Liveright; Chinelo Okparanta’s latest novel is Under the Udala Trees. Nicole Dennis-Benn: In a 2015 Guardian article, author...
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Six Writers on the Genius of Marcel Proust
In honor of the 145th birthday of French writer Marcel Proust (yesterday, July 10th), we asked six of our favorite contemporary writers why his work is still so important. Siri Hustvedt Marcel Proust...
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Nico Muhly on the Oddness of Deadlines, and the Power of Opera
Nico Muhly talks with Paul Holdengraber about adapting Hitchcock, being challenged to a duel, and the genius of C.P. Cavafy (among other things). Nico Muhly on the nature of commissions… If I tell...
View ArticleNico Muhly on Music as Language and Writers in Paris
In part two of their conversation composer Nico Muhly and Paul Holdengraber discuss the transcendence of great writing and the claustrophobia of a certain way of thinking about Paris. Head here to...
View ArticleWhat It’s Like to Write Crime Fiction in the Era of Black Lives Matter
This spring, we contacted three successful crime-fiction writers, Rachel Howzell Hall, Bill Loehfelm, and Henry Chang to have a conversation about race, law enforcement, and literature. Specifically,...
View ArticleLiterary Long Weekend: Indie Books and Local Food in Hudson, NY
If you like books and/or food (you probably do), and live in the New York City area, a quick Amtrak train ride north to Hudson (on the Hudson) may be something you should consider for the weekend. This...
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Women Writing Brazil
PEN America’s journal Glossolalia advocates for writers with limited access to the global reading community. By publishing works from lesser-translated languages, they connect storytellers to audiences...
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18 Books You Should Read This August
Uproot: Travels in Twenty-First-Century Music & Global Digital Culture, Jace Claton (FSG Originals) Jace Clayton’s creative work is rigorous, challenging, and eye-opening. That’s as true for the...
View ArticleWerner Herzog on Volcanoes, North Korea, and the Internet
In part one of Werner Herzog’s wide-ranging conversation with Paul Holdengraber, the two discuss the human side of massive volcanoes, making promises to North Koreans, and that thing known as the...
View ArticleAn Entourage of One: On the Road with Stephen King
Earlier this summer, Stephen King undertook a hectic multi-city tour of America in support of his latest book, End of Watch. But rather than hit the standard, book-tour metropoles, King chose to visit...
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20 Writers From Around the World on the Olympics
Despite the hurdles confronting this year’s Brazil Olympics, the Games have a wonderful way of bringing people around the world together. We asked twenty authors hailing from all over the globe—from...
View ArticleWerner Herzog on the Books Every Filmmaker Should Read
In part two of their conversation, Werner Herzog and Paul Holdengraber discuss the most important things a filmmaker must learn, the (first) time a b-movie cowboy lived in the White House, and the art...
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What Do Chefs Read?
King Phojanakong, Kuma Inn What are your five favorite books? Art of War by Sun Tzu; Don Quijote by Miguel Cervantes; Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn; Tetsuya: Recipes From Australia’s Most Acclaimed...
View ArticleWho’s Meaner: Book Critics or Restaurant Reviewers?
Critics—those heartless pathologists of Great Art—are not unlike the Devil, or perhaps Dracula, in the sense that they can appear in many guises in order to seduce or eviscerate their vulnerable prey....
View ArticleHow is Reviewing a Restaurant Like Reviewing a Book?
We asked Lit Hub editor John Freeman (and past president of the National Book Critics Circle) to sit down with renowned New York food writer Robert Sietsema (former Village Voice restaurant reviewer)...
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A Librarian’s Reading Listfor the Dog Days of Summer
As the end of August is looming, we asked our librarian friends from across the country to recommend last-minute summer reads, one book to take on that last long weekend escape. Here are twelve...
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