From prestigious awards to exciting new projects, the literary world brought readers and writers a number of compelling news stories in the beginning of December. Here is a wrap-up of recent global literary headlines.
2016 PEN Literary Awards Longlists Announced
The PEN American Center will be awarding over $200,000 this year with the finalists being announced on February 2, 2016. Nominees from small and large publishers come from the areas of debut fiction, essay compilations, literary science writing, and more.
Margaret Atwood Ventures into Graphic Novels
The award-winning author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Oryx and Crake”, among many other works and genres, is partnering with Dark Horse Comics for a series of graphic novels with a new hero that is part cat and part owl.
UNESCO Names Nottingham as a City of Literature
The home of D.H. Lawrence was just announced to join one of only twelve cities in the world, including the likes of Dublin and Krakow.
South Korean Literary Magazine for Disabled Writers Releases 100th Issue
Bang Gui-hee, publisher of the literary quarterly Sotdae Literature, has published more than 400 writers in the last twenty-five years.
Two Novels Included in Spoken Word Grammy Nominees
In a field including Former President Jimmy Carter and actor/comedian/author Amy Poehler, two novels were nominated: “Patience and Sarah”, by Isabel Miller (read by Janis Ian and Jean Smart) and “Blood on Snow” by Jo Nesbo (read by Patti Smith).
Change Seven Magazine 