opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 February 2026

11 February: Translation prizes | Литературная премия "Новые Горизонты"
12 February: Cees Nooteboom (1933-2026) | Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist | Prix Naissance d'une œuvre finalists
13 February: Queen Mary Prize longlist | Highland Book Prize longlist
14 February: Κρατικά Βραβεία Λογοτεχνίας | Freudenheim Translation Prize | Listen review
15 February: Prix Jean d'Ormesson longlist
16 February: Q & As: Julian Barnes - Rana Dasgupta
17 February: Michael Silverblatt (1952-2026) | 'The Booker in the age of Epstein'
18 February: Dublin Literary Award longlist | The loss of literary criticism Q & A | What We Can Know review
19 February: Nation­al Jew­ish Book Awards | L.A.Times Book Prize finalists | Q & As: Teolinda Gersão - Richard Hell
20 February: Swiss Literature Awards | Newspaper book coverage

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       Swiss Literature Awards

       The Swiss government has announced its annual literary awards, including the Grand Prix, which went to Corinne Desarzens, and the translation prize, which went to Christian Viredaz. Seven authors also won the individual prizes, including Jonas Lüscher.
       See also the (brief) swissinfo report, Swiss Grand Prix for literature goes to Corinne Desarzens.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Newspaper book coverage

       At Poynter Amaris Castillo finds that When newspapers cut book coverage, communities lose more than reviews.

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       Nation­al Jew­ish Book Awards

       The (American) Jewish Book Council has announced the winners of the Jew­ish Book Awards, in all its many categories.
       Hostage, by Eli Shara­bi, was named Jew­ish Book of the Year, while Yardenne Greenspan's translation of Dog by Yishay Ishi Ron won the Hebrew Fic­tion in Translation-category.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       L.A.Times Book Prize finalists

       As Malia Mendez reports, they've announced the finalists for this year's Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.
       I have not seen a single one of these .....
       The winners will be announced 17 April.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Q & A: Teolinda Gersão

       In the Portuguese American Journal Maria Duran has a Q & A with the City of Ulysses-author, in Teolinda Gersão | Narrative talent transcending literary boundaries.

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       Q & A: Richard Hell

       New York Review Books recently re-issued Richard Hell's Godlike -- see their publicity page -- and at Interview Chris Molnar has a Q & A with the author, in “I Don’t Respond Well to Rejection”: One Hour With Richard Hell.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Dublin Literary Award longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Dublin Literary Award.
       Two of the twenty novels left in the running are under review at the complete review: The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk and Perspectives (published as: Perspective(s) in the US, because ...) by Laurent Binet.
       The shortlist will be announced 7 April and the winner will be announced will be announced 21 May.

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       The loss of literary criticism Q & A

       At WAMU Haili Blassingame has a Q & A with Ron Charles and Maureen Corrigan about What the loss of literary criticism means for book lovers and beyond -- both audio and a (not great) transcript (scroll dwn and click on 'expand' under 'Transcript').

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       What We Can Know review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Ian McEwan's latest, What We Can Know.

       (I finally got my hands on a (library) copy .....)

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       Michael Silverblatt (1952-2026)

       Host of the KCRW radio show 'Bookworm' Michael Silverblatt has passed away; see, for example, The Los Angeles Times' report.
       As they put it:

His show represents one of the most significant archives of conversations with major literary powerhouses from the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

       Admirably:

One of the most important tenets of Silverblatt's approach was that he not only read the book he was discussing on his show that day, but also read the entire oeuvre of the authors he interviewed.

       I'm afraid I never heard any of his programmes (I'm a text- rather than audio-consumer ...).

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       'The Booker in the age of Epstein'

       At Frontline Tabish Khair finds: 'Like Epstein’s tight circle of power and privilege, the Booker Prize too thrives on who knows whom and who publishes where. The centre nods, while writers from the margin struggle to be see', in Decoding the Booker in the age of Epstein.

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       Q & A: Julian Barnes

       Julian Barnes has a new novel out -- Departures, which I hope to see ... at some point -- and at El País Rafa de Miguel has a Q & A with the author, in: Julian Barnes: ‘I’ve become more left-wing because the center has moved rightwards’.
       Among the questions: "Is this really your last book, or is it one of those literary tricks ?"

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       Q & A: Rana Dasgupta

       At Asia Sentinel Majid Maqbool has an Interview with book author Rana Dasgupta
       Among his responses:

I see the nation-state system as a mechanism for transferring resources from poor regions to rich ones, and for exporting war, poverty and ecological destruction in the opposite direction. In order really to understand what our world is about, it’s essential to look at Africa, which bears by far the deepest scars of this process. Read the Congolese novelist Jean Bofane, for instance.

       I have lots of issues with the nation-state concept/system as well, though these perhaps are not the ones that come to mind to me first; still, I can certainly get on board with the advice to read Bofane: see, for example, my reviews of: Congo Inc. and Casablanca Story.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Prix Jean d'Ormesson longlist

       They've announced the twelve titles in the running for the prix Jean d'Ormesson, chosen by the jurors of the prize, who are free to choose any books they want; see, for example, the Actualitté report.
       Among the titles: a collected edition of all of the books Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares co-wrote, as well as the French translation of Theodor Fontane's Unwiederbringlich (available from New York Review Books in English, as Irretrievable).

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       Κρατικά Βραβεία Λογοτεχνίας

       The Greek Ministry of Culture has announced the winners of the 2025 State Literary Awards (for works published in 2024).
       The novel prize went (unanimously) to Σου γράφω από την κοιλιά του κτήνους, by Minos Efstathiadis; see also the Μεταίχμιο publicity page or the Iris Literary Agency information page ("4000 copies sold in four months !").

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Freudenheim Translation Prize

       They've announced the winner of the new Freudenheim Translation Prize, a prize celebrating: "excellence in translating fiction and non-fiction into English, highlighting the power of Jewish literature to engage international and diverse audiences", and it is Peter Filkins' translation of Elias Canetti's The Book Against Death.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Listen review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Sacha Bronwasser's Listen, which came out in English a few months ago.

       Oddly, this is the second novel in a row that I have reviewed that was first published in its original language in 2023 (and in English in 2025) and which features a protagonist taking a photography class in which the Boulevard due Temple-daguerreotype is discussed at some length (the other work being Karl Ove Knausgaard's The School of Night).
       A strange coïncidence.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Queen Mary Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize -- as the Republic of Consciousness Prize (UK/Ireland) is now called.
       Ten books -- one of which is under review at the complete review: Mistress Koharu by Tsujihara Noboru, from Honford Star.
       The winner will be announced 25 March.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Highland Book Prize longlist

       The Highland Society of London has announced the longlist for the Highland Book Prize/Duais Leabhair na Gàidhealtachd, celebrating: "the finest published work that recognises the rich talent, landscape, and cultural diversity of the Scottish Highlands".

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Cees Nooteboom (1933-2026)

       Sad to hear that the great Cees Nooteboom has passed away; see, for example, The Guardian's report or the reaction from the Dutch royal family.
       Several of his books are under review at the complete review:

• All Souls Day
• The Captain of the Butterflies
• 533 Days
• The Following Story
• In the Dutch Mountains
• Lost Paradise
• Mokusei
• Rituals
• Roads to Santiago

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist

       The Women's Prize for Non-Fiction has announced the longlist for this year's prize -- sixteen titles.
       The shortlist will be announced 25 March, and the winner on 11 June.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Prix Naissance d'une œuvre finalists

       They've announced the 'première sélection' of six authors for this year's prix Naissance d'une œuvre -- a French literary prize awarded to a French-writing author for their fourth, fifth, or sixth work. It's notable because it pays out €20,000 -- not many French literary prizes pay out much money, so this is unusual -- and also because it's awarded for: "une œuvre romanesque, à l’exception d’ouvrages d’auto-fiction", i.e. a novel, as long as it's not a work of autofiction .....
       The winner will be announced 20 May.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Translation prizes

       The Society of Authors has announced the winners of its translation prizes -- nine this year (some are biennial).

       The only winning title under review is the winner of the Bernard Shaw Prize, for a translation of a: "full-length Swedish language works of literary merit and general interest" -- Agnes Broomé's translation of Lydia Sandgren's Collected Works.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Литературная премия "Новые Горизонты"

       As Ekaterina Petrova reports in Fantastic horizons at Realnoe Vremya: "Winners of “Novye Gorizonty” (New Horizons) were awarded at the House of Writers' Creativity in Peredelkino, and they discussed how Russian science fiction has begun to turn its face towards the reader".
       As is the case with much contemporary Russian fiction, not much is seen in translation nowadays .....
       The official prize site doesn't seem to be active any longer.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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