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Interesting news - LK's dark and delirious novel "Melancholy of Resistence" is set to become an opera, and will premier in Budapest on Dec 2! See the link here about the production - even though the article itself is poorly written, not even mentioning who it is that wrote the book!

Good point - although I read an analysis somewhere that the number of copies sold might also have had to do with the fact that the year was 2020 (people didn't have much else to do than sit home and read). Yes, always on the same day in the same restaurant, and they make sure that they have a...

Prix Goncourt has been awarded to Jean-Baptiste Andrea for his novel Veiller sur elle. Here is a review in Le Monde, and here is one in the Guardian. As I was reading speculations about Goncourt last week, I think that I have seen all three other candidates cited by the critics as potential...

Le prix Goncourt for 2023 will be announced on 7 November. There are four finalists: 1. Neige Sinno - Triste Tigre Probably the favourite, the book talks about the author's severe childhood trauma when she was subject to rape by her stepfather. 2. Gaspar Koenig - Humus Koenig is a politician...

As a member of the increasingly obsolete profession of classical philologists, I have the (extremely rare, and therefore all the more delightful) pleasure of being actually useful in the matter of Petronius. Petronius is a very mysterious character. The only thing possibly known about him comes...

Annie Ernaux was refused Algerian visa she was seeking in order to attend a literary festival there (source Le Monde). They say that it is possibly because she publicly defended an Algerian journalist harassed and detained by the Algerian government. Apparently, the Algerian ambassador in Paris...

Bibliothèque Richelieu (BnF) in Paris exhibits the manuscripts of Les Années ! (they also have the autograph of Mozart's Don Giovanni ?)

I just stumbled upon this picture of Mikhail Shishkin, and remembered this thread. Wowza!

I think I will go with (not necessarily in that order): 1. Adonis 2. Yan Lianke 3. Kadare or Al-Koni or Kang, I have not decided yet... Last year, I was so ready to vote! But, stupidly, I thought the voting was after the Nobel prize announcement (which, from this perspective, would actually...

You are very right, they kept the artwork for diplomas in Chemistry, Physics and Peace, but for some reason not for Literature and Medicine. Here are some examples that I like very much. I am sure that all Nobel laureates are extremely creative people, but it would seem to me that Literature...

Yes, I agree with you and the others 100%. Just for the sake of systematization, I think we can list four distinct ways in which this phenomenon of simplification is manifesting: (1) just boring unenthusiastic journalists in the audience; why can't we go? We'd create an atmosphere; (2) Mats...

I am happy for Jon Fosse! Out of the things I read, I really liked Det er Ales. I am looking forward to reading the Septology in due course. I am also so happy that they mentioned Tarjei Vesaas in the announcement (as being a part of the tradition which includes Fosse), although it is a shame...

FOSSE!

one minute!!!

It seemed to me that this pre-announcer said ''laureate and his works'' ??? But maybe she is pulling our leg it is still Xue

In this late hour, I am sending positive vibes to António Lobo Antunes (come on, Nobel committee, there is still time to fix your past mistakes, award him already!) Oh, the excitement is killing me!

I have unfortunately had a hectic month and wasn't able to contribute to the Speculation forum as much as I wanted, but I followed the discussions with excitement and am planning on getting up tomorrow at dawn to follow the announcement. The biggest chances seem to me to be with Fosse, Murnane...

That was also my line of reasoning before getting it right! I particularly like the blue one on the bottom right. Sad and frightening at the same time. I wonder what this one is? Book covers are haunting, especially the surrealist one that is second to the right in the bottom row. Reminds me of...

Examples of "woke" efforts to stifle ideologically non-compliant literature are as varied as they are disturbing: removal of To Kill a Mockingbird from necessary readings (example), outraged social media enthusiasts trying to kill a writer's book before it even gets published (example)...

Thank you for letting us know about this horror, @Laseratte. It seems that especially in the anglophone world writers (both contemporary and classical) are struggling to survive between the Scylla of fanatical religious puritanism and Charybis of righteous "wokisme." And irony is particularly...