News

A round-up of literary news, from prize longlists to lockdown reading and a stage adaptation.

An Italian author’s letter to the UK

The writer Francesca Melandri, based in Rome, has written an open letter to readers in the United Kingdom setting out what they might expect as the country moves into lockdown. She draws on her own experience of the restrictions already in place in Italy.

How Italian readers are coping in lockdown

The crime writer Massimo Carlotto has described how readers across Italy are recommending books to one another during the lockdown. Publishers, authors, bookshops and libraries have all been working to keep books in people’s lives at a difficult time.

Georgian memoir longlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize

Sacred Darkness by Levan Berdzenishvili, translated by Brian James Baer and Ellen Vayner, has been named as one of ten titles on the longlist for the 2020 EBRD Literature Prize.

Ferrante adaptation opens at the National Theatre

My Brilliant Friend, the stage adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel, began its run at the National Theatre on 12 November.

Disoriental shortlisted for women in translation prize

Négar Djavadi’s novel Disoriental was shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2019.

Laurent Gaudé’s reading list for Europe

The Guardian published a list of ten books about Europe, curated by Laurent Gaudé, author of Our Europe.

A new series for explorers

A new collaboration between Europa Editions and Iperborea has been announced, titled The Passenger and described as being for “explorers of the world”.

South African crime novel shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger

Karin Brynard’s Weeping Waters was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger in 2019.

Elena Ferrante on women and storytelling

Writing in The New York Times, Elena Ferrante argued that “power is a story told by women”, adding that for centuries men had colonised storytelling and that “that era is over”.

Ferrante documentary arrives in London

A documentary about Elena Ferrante and her global readership, Ferrante Fever, opened in London on Friday 17 May. The film examines the appeal of an author whose work has sold ten million copies in fifty countries and been adapted into a hit television series.