opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 June 2026

11 June: Princess of Asturias Award for Literature | Griffin Poetry Prize changes | FAF Translation Prizes
12 June: Women's Prizes | Runciman Award
13 June: Walter Scott Prize | Keith Ridgway Q & A | The Anniversary review
14 June: Václav Havel Library | (Not) buying books retail ? | Summer reading suggestions
15 June: Dazai in Mitaka | Ünnepi Könyvhét | Fuck America review
16 June: Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize | Minumsa's 'World Literature Collection' | Historical Biography prize
17 June: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur | Sami Rohr Prize | Weston International Award | Mo Yan in Russia
18 June: Europese Literatuurprijs shortlist | Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalists | Carlo Ginzburg (1939-2026) | Translating Uketsu | Traveling Practice review
19 June: Großer Österreichische Staatspreis | Q & As: M. John Harrison - Max Lawton - Rongbin Han | Society of Authors' Awards
20 June: Académie française prizes | 'Not Yet Read: Ayi Kwei Armah' | Translation in ... South Korea

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       Académie française prizes

       The Académie française has announced (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) its big batch of annual prizes -- seventy-five ! -- with Nancy Huston (Fault Lines, etc.) winning the Grand Prix de la Francophonie, François Ozon winning the prix du cinéma René-Clair, and Olivier Mannoni's translation of Arthur Koestler's The Gladiators winning the prix Jules-Janin.

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

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       'Not Yet Read: Ayi Kwei Armah'

       At the Harare Review of Books Jacqueline reports on a recent exhibit, Cauleen Smith’s “Not Yet Read: Ayi Kwei Armah” at the Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, December 2025.
       The artist found that Ayi Kwei Armah's books: "are said to be difficult to find through mainstream -- and particularly Western-literary distribution channels" -- as they certainly, sadly, are. This is a neat way of raising awareness of that/them.

       I'm pleased to have managed to get my hands on quite a few of Armah's books -- though not necessarily the editions the artist painted; see the Armah titles under review at the complete review:

• The Healers
• KMT: in the house of life
• Osiris Rising
• Two Thousand Seasons
• See also Oge Odege on Ayi Kwei Armah, Radical Iconoclast
• See also Robert Fraser on The Novels of Ayi Kwei Armah

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

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       Translation in ... South Korea

       In The Korea Times Jung Min-ho reports that LTI Korea chief bets on human translators despite rapid AI development, bless their souls.
       Yes:

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the global translation landscape, the head of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) is making a counterintuitive bet: The future of literary translation will rely not less on humans, but more.

       I thought their plans for a graduate degree-granting programme had advanced further, but:

The initiative is currently under review by the Ministry of Education, with LTI Korea aiming for approval by late this year and a potential opening as early as next year. Chon expressed confidence in the timeline, citing growing government recognition of the need for stronger translation support to boost Korea’s cultural exports.

       Well, we'll see how things go .....

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

       Großer Österreichische Staatspreis

       They've announced that Clemens J. Setz (Die Bienen und das Unsichtbare, etc.) will receive this year's Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature, the highest arts prize the government awards.
       There are various other arts-categories in which this prize can be awarded, and they only give out one a year -- this year is the first literature award since 2022.
       Setz gets to pick up the prize on 21 October.

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

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       Q & A: M. John Harrison

       At minor literature[s] Cristina Politano has “The older I get, the more I distrust discourse”: An Interview with M. John Harrison, mainly about his latest, The End of Everything; see also the Serpent's Tail publicity page.

       An always interesting author, more of whose work I hope to cover (only Light and Signs of Life are currently under review at the complete review).

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

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       Q & A: Max Lawton

       Via I am pointed to Josh Milton-Bell's Gesturing Towards Pure Language: in conversation with writer and translator Max Lawton at Public Parking.
       Among Lawton's observations:

Arno Schmidt has a cult following in English. But the English Arno Schmidt today is not getting published by anyone. All these houses have given up that role. American Psycho today would not be published, or maybe published by a small, weird press, and for me, American Psycho and Infinite Jest are the two best American novels of the last 50 years. Those books are not getting published right now.

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

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       Q & A: Rongbin Han

       Via a re-post here I'm pointed to Aliceliu's Q & A at The Monitor, Make China Great Again w/ Rongbin Han, mainly about his book, Make China Great Again: Online Alt-History Fiction and Popular Authoritarianism; see also the Columbia University Press publicity page
       Fascinating stuff, including:

To say that internet literature is a vibrant industry would be an understatement. It’s immensely influential; internet literature is the upstream sector of China’s pan-entertainment industries. A report shows that between 2018 and 2019, out of the top 100 most popular TV dramas and movies, 42 were adapted from web novels. So, the economic value is part of the story.

But more importantly, it encourages citizens to participate in the construction of state ideology: the Chinese Dream, a concept coined by President Xi Jinping. Because of popular participation, citizens may more willingly embrace the co-produced ideology, which allows the state to gain legitimacy without relying on coercive means and makes party rule more effective and less costly. For an authoritarian regime, that’s really ideal.

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

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       Society of Authors' Awards

       The Society of Authors has announced the winners of its 2026 awards.
       There are nine different awards, some with multiple winners.

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

       Europese Literatuurprijs shortlist

       They've announced the five-title shortlist for this year's Europese Literatuurprijs, a Dutch prize for the best European novel published in Dutch translation.

       Interesting to see that no books written in English made the cut (though, of course, books by US and Canadian authors are not eligible for this Europeans-only prize).
       Among the finalists: Mircea Cărtărescu's Theodoros -- which is coming out in English translation ... next October ?; see the publicity pages from Penguin Classics and Deep Vellum.

       The winner of the Europese Literatuurprijs will be announced 2 September.

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

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       Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalists

       The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation has announced (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) the finalists for this year's prizes -- honoring: "writers whose work demonstrates the power of the written word to foster peace", six each in the two categories, fiction and non --, as well as that Ann Patchett will receive the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.

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

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       Carlo Ginzburg (1939-2026)

       Historian Carlo Ginzburg has passed away; see, for example, the obituary (possibly paywalled ?) in The New York Times.

       (And, yes, he was the son of the great Natalia Ginzburg (It's Hard to Talk About Yourself, etc.).)

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

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       Translating Uketsu

       At nippon.com Jim Rion writes about A Strange Twist of Fate: Translating Uketsu's Eerie Worldview into English, about this mysterious author and his books that have proved so popular both in Japan and now also abroad.
       (Of Uketsu's books I've only seen Strange Pictures, which ... sufficed.)

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

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       Traveling Practice review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Norishiro Yusuke's Traveling Practice, coming in English from Honford Star.

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

       Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur

       They've announced the winner of this year's Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and it is Lídia Jorge.

       Several of her works have been translated into English -- with Misericórdia ('Mercy'; "over 30.000 copies sold in Portugal / Over 22.000 copies sold in France" !) forthcoming from Archipelago; see also Lídia Jorge at Literarische Agentur MertinWitt for information about more of her books.

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

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       Sami Rohr Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature -- a US $100,000 prize that alternates between honoring a work of fiction and one of non; this was a non-fiction year -- and it is The Gates of Gaza, by Amir Tibon; see also the publicity pages from Little, Brown and Scribe.

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

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       Weston International Award

       The Writers' Trust of Canada has announced the winner of this year's Weston International Award, a C$75,000 author award honoring: "career achievement in nonfiction writing" and it is Hanif Abdurraqib.

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

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       Mo Yan in Russia

       At Realnoe Vremya Ekaterina Petrova reports on Mo Yan in Russia: the Nobel laureate follows in the footsteps of Dostoevsky, Sholokhov, and Tolstoy, as he recently spent several days traveling through the country.
       She also mentions that Mo's Sandalwood Death won the "Yasnaya Polyana Prize in the 'Foreign Literature' nomination" in 2025 -- and that: "The writer himself admitted that he considers the novel one of the most important in his career".

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

       Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, awarded for a work: "written in any living European language by any author living or dead", and it is Colin Bramwell, for his translation of Fower Pessoas, by Fernando Pessoa; see also the Carcanet publicity page.

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

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       Minumsa's 'World Literature Collection'

       South Korean publisher Minumsa has now released the 500th volume in its 세계문학전집 ('World Literature Collection') series, and at The Chosun Daily Hwang Ji-yoon writes about this impressive series and the interesting choice for the 500th volume, in Minumsa Releases 500th World Literature Collection Volume with Korean-German Classic.
       Also good to see some numbers:

The top five best-selling titles in the collection are Hermann Hesse’s Demian (810,000 copies), J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (670,000 copies), Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human (600,000 copies), George Orwell’s Animal Farm (590,000 copies), and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (510,000 copies). To date, 38 countries, 245 authors, 394 works, and 210 translators have participated, with 99 works by 32 Nobel Prize in Literature laureates. The total cumulative circulation exceeds 23 million copies.

       A neat-looking overview-book, 세계문학전집 이야기 ('The Story of the World Literature Collection') is due out shortly (see the Minumsa publicity page); I'd certainly love to see that in translation.

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

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       Historical Biography prize

       They've announced (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) the winner of this year's Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, and it is The Mirror of Great Britain, by Clare Jackson; see also the Allen Lane publicity page

       The winner gets both: "a £5,000 cheque and a bound copy of Elizabeth Longford’s memoir, The Pebbled Shore". (Bound? As opposed to a loose-leaf copy ? Was that an option?)

       I do also like their FAQs (here), such as:

Who can submit a book ?

There are no submissions. Publishers do not enter books for the prize.

       (Yes, yes, they do go on to explain: "The Prize calls in books from relevant publishers each January, at the request of the Judges, for their consideration".)

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

       Dazai in Mitaka

       In The Japan Times Eric Margolis goes on The search for Osamu Dazai's memory in his hometown Mitaka (possibly paywalled ?), visiting the Cafe Phosphorescence and other local sights, with some nice pictures.

       (The only Dazai title under review at the complete review is A Shameful Life.)

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

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       Ünnepi Könyvhét

       They held this year's Festive Book Week -- the 97th ! -- in Budapest over the last few days (disappointingly the book-week is not actually a week-long event), and at hlo they report that Minister for Social Relations and Culture Announces New Measures at 97th Book Week, a welcome change after the ugly Orbán years, with the minister, Zoltán Tarr, apologizing: "for the neglect of this field" under previous administration(s).
       Much here that sounds promising -- including that:

We are planning a translation support package. We are inviting this marginalized profession and its creators to engage in genuine dialogue and conversation

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

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       Fuck America review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Edgar Hilsenrath's 1980 novel, Fuck America.

       This was first published as Bronskys Geständnis ('Bronsky's Confession'), but eventually Hilsenrath decided to go with this title; it seems to have gone over well with most of the translated editions (though the Italians went with the previous title) -- though not with the English translation, which was pretty late in coming and seems to have attracted no notice whatsoever. (This despite the fact that Hilsenrath's break-out novel, The Nazi and the Barber, was published in English translation several years before it came out in the original German, and also despite the largely New York-setting of this novel.)

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

       Václav Havel Library

       Via I am pointed to Jules Eisenchteter's piece at expats.cz explaining Why Prague’s Václav Havel Library is on the verge of collapse.
       It sounds like quite the mess, and is of course unfortunate; the library has done good work and obviously there's great potential here. (Still, anything personality-focused, such as this obviously is around Havel, is, of course, problematic.)
       Current (and relatively new) director Tomáš Sedláček apparently has ... ideas:

Sedláček, a vocal critic of the “Prague café” scene he felt had monopolized the legacy of the playwright-statesman, had vowed to shake things up at the library by using AI tools to streamline operations and run the institution with a leaner staff, as well as launching a public, “Eurovision-style” competition for artists to design a new symbol of freedom.

       One hopes they figure things out.

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

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       (Not) buying books retail ?

       The Authors Guild reports on and summarizes a New Authors Guild Study: Only 25 Percent of Readers Paid for a New Copy of a Print Book or Ebook Read in the Previous Month; see also the full report (warning ! dreaded pdf format !).
       The breakdown is interesting, especially that only 19 per cent of respondents 'bought new' some of their reading from the previous month (with an additional 6 per cent obtaining their reading via 'paid subscription' (apparently Kindle Unlimited and the like). (It does seem worth noting that an additional 19 per cent reported obtaining their reading from their 'personal collection' -- much of which, presumably, they 'bought new' at some point in the past.)
       Ten per cent was 'bought used' -- not that much, but an impressive percentage of the total of purchased books -- while almost thirty per cent (29) was borrowed from the library, with an additional sixteen per cent 'other borrow, free'.
       As someone who almost never pays retail -- I am fortunate to get many free review copies, and I am also very cheap and poor, so when I purchase a book I tend to do so used; if I had easy access to a good library I would make more extensive use of that as well -- I am not exactly surprised by the retail-avoidance, but given how bustling all the bookstores I've been in recently are this doesn't seem like a catastrophic situation: people are apparently eager for books, and enough of them are buying them new to keep the businesses (booksellers; publishers) afloat.
       (You can see where all my books come from here; ironically, I did pay full price for a book within the last month -- for the first time in years .....)

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

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       Summer reading suggestions

       The seasonal filler-material is upon us, with The Guardian offering both a run-down of 70 brilliant books for the summer (brilliant, folks ! brilliant ! (yeah, they might be overselling that one a bit)) and (the slightly more interesting) What to read this summer by Mark Haddon, Samantha Harvey, Zadie Smith and more, with a very solid line-up of authors making suggestions.

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

       Walter Scott Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and it is The Matchbox Girl, by Alice Jolly; see also the Bloomsbury publicity page.

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

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       Keith Ridgway Q & A

       At the Irish Times David Hayden has a Q & A with Author Keith Ridgway: ‘Dooneen is the most beautiful place on Earth, as far as I’m concerned’ -- mainly about his new novel, Dooneen.
       Among Ridgway's responses:

I have read all of Georges Simenon’s Maigret books, and I love his work. He’s a fantastic writer to read for other writers, because they are all about writing. The ways in which he describes Maigret breaking a case is exactly the way a writer approaches characters and plot, showing that understanding human situations, and solving a case, is a work of imagination.

       See also the publicity pages for Dooneen from Fitzcarraldo Editions and New Directions.

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

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       The Anniversary review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Andrea Bajani's Premio Strega-winning novel, The Anniversary, coming out soon in the UK from Penguin Classics, and at the end of August in the US, from Other Press.

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

       Women's Prizes

       They've announced the winners of this year's Women's Prizes, with The Correspondent by Virginia Evans winning the Fiction prize, and The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet winning the Non-Fiction prize.
       See also the publicity pages from Crown and Penguin for The Correspondent.
       See also the publicity pages from Allen Lane and Penguin for The Finest Hotel in Kabul.

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

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       Runciman Award

       The Anglo-Hellenic League has announced the winner of its Runciman Award, "awarded annually by the League for a work wholly or mainly about some aspect of Greece or the world of Hellenism", and it is Lifelines, by Julian Hoffman; see also the Elliott & Thompson publicity page.

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

       Princess of Asturias Award for Literature

       They've been announcing the winners of the various Princess of Asturias Awards -- there are quite a few categories -- and they've now announced this year's Literature winner, and it is Julian Barnes, selected from thirty-seven candidates.
       Several of his works are under review at the complete review:

• Arthur & George
• England, England
• The Lemon Table
• Love, etc.
• The Sense of an Ending
• Talking it Over

       Among other Princess of Asturias winners this year are: Patti Smith (Arts), Lionel Messi (Sports), and Studio Ghibli (Communication and Humanities)
       The award ceremony will be in October.

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

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       Griffin Poetry Prize changes

       The Trustees of the International Griffin Poetry Prize have announced a few changes -- including reïnstating the C$65,000 Canadian Poetry Prize
       Also: translated "collected" volumes will no longer be eligible -- but translated "selected" volumes will remain eligible.

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

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       FAF Translation Prizes

       The French-American Foundation has announced the winners of its annual Translation Prizes, with Charlotte Mandell winning in the Fiction category with her translation of Mathias Énard's The Deserters -- see also the publicity pages from New Directions and Fitzcarraldo Editions -- and Ryan Bloom winning in the Nonfiction category with his translation of Albert Camus' The Complete Notebooks -- see also the publicity page from the University of Chicago Press).
       I haven't seen either of these, but they certainly look of interest.

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

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