Today we’ll be talking to the storied NorthSouth Books, the US branch of NordSüd Verlag. Heather Lennon, the managing director, was kind enough to carve out some time and answer our questions. So, let’s get to it! Firstly, what circumstances led to the creation of your company? Some publishing companies start out as passion projects—was … Continue reading Publishing Spotlight: NorthSouth Books
Thanks for swinging by the Publisher Spotlight! Today we’ll be hearing from Adam Freudenheim, the Publisher and Managing Director of Pushkin Press, headquartered in the grand old city of London. We asked him a few questions regarding Pushkin, which he was kind enough to share his insight on. Our questions are in italics, while his … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Pushkin Press
The third of the European novels in this August series of older women in fiction around the world is from Hungary, where the author lived between 1917 and 2007. Her work was not published during the Stalinist years. The title sets up the barrier between the narrator and the woman who lives behind the door. … Continue reading The Door by Magda Szabo
Founded by wife and husband duo Delaram Ghanimifard and Karim Arghandehpour in 2015, Tiny Owl publishing is one of the most exciting players in the world of children’s books today. Their creed is simple—bring the beauty of Persian culture and literature to the rest of the world. The elegance of this core tenet comes about … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Tiny Owl Publishing
Tove Jansson was a Finnish writer, and will be familiar to readers of children’s fiction as the creator of the Moomins. They appeared in books and cartoons and then newspapers, eventually in 12 countries. They were so successful that Walt Disney wanted to acquire them. He was turned down. Tove Jansson was much more than … Continue reading The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
This is the first in the European section of the month of older women in fiction around the world. Recommended by Deborah Levy, introducing this English version, she characterises the novels of Violette Leduc as works of genius and also a bit peculiar. She claims that Leduc was ‘rearranging the social and sexual scaffolding of … Continue reading The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc
Did you have a pen pal when you were little? Maybe someone from halfway around the world, whom you’d never seen, from a land you knew nothing about? That’s the premise of Yours Sincerely, Giraffe, a sweet, zany chapter book for ages 6-10, with charming illustrations by award-winning artist Jun Takabatake (Bologna Children’s Book Fair Graphics … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Yours Sincerely, Giraffe
The Older Women in Fiction around the world begins with fiction from North America. This is a choice from a writer friend of mine. Like many writers she is a reader and her choice continues the theme of older women who thwart expectations. Another former schoolteacher, like Olive Kitteridge, Eleanor Bannister might be expected to … Continue reading Eleanor and Abel by Annette Sanford
Loneliness in old age. It’s the biggest killer. An old woman has an idea about how to deal with it, especially at night when it hurts most. She approaches an acquaintance, Louis Waters with an unusual proposition and they begin a friendship with unexpected consequences for them both. This is the fourth post in the … Continue reading Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
It seems an impossible coexistence: German Grundlichkeit in one of the Amazonian cityscapes, filled with myths, religions, folk tales, and superstition. Yet, this is exactly what Cramer – scouting locations for a movie – has to grapple with if he is to survive in this personally exotic environment. Already with his first steps out of … Continue reading World Languages Review: Der Mann, der den Regen fotografierte (Germany)
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 