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Joe Scapellato on “The Made-Up Man” and the Myth of the Self
In Scapellato’s new novel, a man is pulled into a noir detective mystery he doesn’t want to solve.
We’re All Tourists Now, So Let’s Stop with the Endless, Tedious Quests for Authenticity
In Iceland, overtourism has transformed the island in a few short years — and locals and visitors alike try to grapple with the change.
‘I Believe That Silence Is Ineffective’: Devi S. Laskar on Invisibility and American Terror
Laskar’s debut novel imagines an alternate ending to an incident from her real life: When law enforcement agents raided her home, and confiscated her unfinished novel, what if she had refused to comply?
To Compromise With the Facts of Living
In Elizabeth McCracken’s new novel “Bowlaway,” the past and future are mysteriously entangled.
‘Craft Is My Belief System. My Obligation To Writing Is Religious.’
Nathan Englander talks about the “super-American world” of Orthodox Judaism, Philip Roth’s funeral, and training himself to write his new novel “kaddish.com” while daydreaming.
Namwali Serpell on Doing the Responsible Thing — Writing an Irresponsible Novel
“I joke that this is the great Zambian novel you didn’t know you were waiting for.”
America Is Still Hard To Find
Kathleen Alcott’s latest novel is a dramatic reenactment of the ethical dilemmas posed in antiwar activist Father Daniel Berrigan’s ’60s manifesto.
If You Were a Sack of Cumin
In the midst of the Syrian Civil War, three grown siblings attempt to fulfill their father’s final wish. The journey is dangerous, but that’s no surprise; nowadays, death is always hard work.
‘Every Woman Writer Feels Like She’s Starting Over Without Any Guides’
Ann Leckie talks about “The Raven Tower,” the erasure of women writers from the canon, the privilege inherent to ‘the anxiety of influence,’ and the power of tradition.
