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Lambda Literary Awards 2019
You may have noticed that it is Pride Month! Make sure you show your support at the Pride events around you this month and go spend some money on some of these amazing queer authors! The Lambda Literary Awards are probably the most comprehensive LBGTQIA+ book awards in the country. Awarded in 24 categories, they highlight fiction, non fiction, poetry, genre writing, erotica and more! These awards were announced at the start of Pride Month on June 3rd. I can’t highlight every book but you can find the full list of winners HERE. 2019 Winners Lesbian Fiction – The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai – “In this visionary novel by…
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Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019
I promise that at some point I will start actually posting about the books I am reading, but with so many awards out at the moment (and so many of the awards going to authors of color), I feel like this is important too! The shortlist for the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction was actually amazing – every book I have read off this list was great! Shortlist The Silence of Girls by Pat Barker – “There was a woman at the heart of the Trojan war whose voice has been silent – till now. Briseis was a queen until her city was destroyed. Now she is slave to Achilles,…
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Book Awards – LBGTQ+ books, translations and more!
It seems it is well and truly book prize season! A number of book prizes have been awarded over the past week, and there are some really interesting books in the mix. Look below for updates on the Best Translated Book Award, the Dayne Ogilvie Prize and The Indie Book Awards. As always, you can find these winners and former prize winners on the master list of book awards HERE. Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers This annual award is given to an emerging writer from the Canadian LBGTQ community. Last year’s winner, Ben Ladouceur was the author of a poetry anthology called Otter. Winner nîtisânak by Lindsay Nixon…
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2019 Man Booker International Prize
The Man Booker International Prize was announced on May 21st. According to their website, this biannual prize is “recognizes one writer for his or her achievement in fiction. Worth £60,000, the prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.” This award does a great job of highlighting books translated into English from around the world, as you can see in this year’s shortlist. I haven’t read any of these at this point, but I am very interested, especially in Celestial Bodies as I know very little about Oman!…
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Returning to Blogging
I’m back! After over a year off, I am feeling ready to get back into writing about books, podcasts and the general challenge of consuming entertainment in a socially responsible manner. In general, I just love noticing and commenting on the ways that stories are told in our media, and I hope to amplify voices that don’t always get the attention they deserve. I first started blogging about reading when I attempted to read no white men for a year. This journey was documented in a blog called “Reading Diversely”, which you can visit by clicking the link above. The experience was a rewarding one and one that challenged some…
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Dangerous Fiction: Stories of the Displaced and Placeless – A Reading List by Omar El Akkad
A few months ago, I got the opportunity to attend a talk by Omar El Akkad, the author of the incredible book American War. We were in a small room with about 10 people, and I was in heaven. His talk was fascinating and centered on the ways that displacement and disruption can fracture personal identities. In addition, he did something that will always win me over. He gave us a book list. Some of the books I had read, some I had heard of, and some were completely new. I wanted to share this list with you. It is for those who read American War, and also for those…
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Dead Feminists: A Reading List
Recently, I picked up a beautiful book by Seattle printers Chandra O’Leary and Jessica Spring. Dead Feminists combines brief biographies of women who have worked for feminism and social justice with reproductions of prints they have designed for each woman. Their beautiful broadside prints highlight the words and accomplishments of women throughout the ages, from Sappho in ancient Greece to the Thea Ross, the inspiration for Tugboat Annie. Furthermore, Chandra and Jessica donate part of their proceeds from each print to charities and organizations related to the message and work of the feminist being profiled. These are still being made, and there make a limited run of between 100 and…
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The Golden State Killer: Podcast Recommendations
For someone who actively dislikes scary movies of all kinds, I am weirdly fascinated by true crime shows and podcasts. With the recent announcement that the case of the Golden State Killer (also knows as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker), I went back into my podcast archives and found some great podcasts for anyone who is interested in this absolutely horrifying case. One of the most fascinating things about this case for me is that because a book called I’ll Be Gone In The Dark came out about this case recently, many of these podcasts are activly intersecting with the recent arrest making them so much…
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Nature Notes: Spring Awakening
For me, the advent of spring is always delightfully frustrating. First, there are the first few days of sun, where my mood lifts and I get excited about the fresh air, shorts, hiking, and the incredible world around me. And then, inevitably, it snows or rains and I go stir-crazy! Over the past week in Montana, we seem to finally have transitioned to a longer lasting spring, and I am elated. My hammock is up, and I am dreaming about all the fun I will get to have over the next few months. One of the most enjoyable things about spring for me is the awakening of my naturalist senses.…
because stories are important
