Haruki Murakami unveils his new short story at a Tokyo literary event

TOKYO — Only 1,100 lucky audience members were there to hear the yet-to-be published short story “Kaho,” read aloud by bestselling Japanese author Haruki Murakami himself. The reading took place at a Friday night book event called “The Owl Reads in Spring” — a fundraiser for the Waseda International House of Literature library at Murakami’s … Read more

Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to sedition and collusion charges

HONG KONG — Prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to three charges of sedition and collusion with foreign countries in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. Lai, a media tycoon who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, faces one count of conspiring to print seditious publications to incite … Read more

Author receives German prize in scaled-down format after comparing Gaza to Nazi-era ghettos

BERLIN — The Russian-American writer Masha Gessen received a German literary prize Saturday in a ceremony that was delayed and scaled down in reaction to an article comparing Gaza to Nazi German ghettos. The comparison in a recent New Yorker article was viewed as controversial in Germany, where government authorities strongly support Israel as a … Read more

Oxford University Press has named ‘rizz’ as its word of the year

Oxford University Press has named “rizz″ as its word of the year to highlight the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone’s ability to attract or seduce another person ByThe Associated Press December 4, 2023, 5:36 AM FILE – An Oxford English Dictionary is shown at the headquarters of the Associated … Read more

How reading helped Bill Gates change careers after Microsoft

Career changes can be hard, even for Bill Gates — who credits a simple, lifelong habit for his switch from a narrow-minded, decades-long focus on computers and software to international philanthropy. “I had a long period from about age 18 to 40 where I was very monomaniacal … Microsoft was everything,” Gates, 68, recently told … Read more

Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare awarded French Legion of Honor title by Macron

Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare has been awarded the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor title by French President Emmanuel Macron ByLLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press October 16, 2023, 4:01 PM FILE – Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare arrives at the Elysee Palace to receive the France’s Legion d’Honneur medal by French President Francois Hollande, in Paris, … Read more

Unpublished works and manuscript by legendary Argentine writer Cortázar sell for $42,120 at auction

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — A buyer from Argentina paid $42,120 for a manuscript of works, including seven unpublished stories, by legendary Argentine writer Julio Cortázar at an auction Thursday in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. The bundle of 60-year-old sheets bound together with metal fasteners bearing the inscription “Julio Cortázar. Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. Paris. … Read more

Group of Islamic Cooperation mulls proposals to take care of Quran burning at emergency assembly

Iraq’s overseas minister has known as for the Group for Islamic Cooperation to kind a committee for talks with the European Union over its member international locations allowing the desecration of the Quran and to enlist volunteers to file lawsuits to halt th… ByABBY SEWELL and DAVID KEYTON BEIRUT — Iraq’s overseas minister known as … Read more

Creator Salman Rushdie awarded prestigious German prize for his literary work and resolve

Author Salman Rushdie has been awarded a prestigious German prize for his literary work and for his resolve and optimistic perspective within the face of fixed hazard FILE – Creator Salman Rushdie attends the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala Thursday, Could 18, 2023, in New York. Rushdie has been awarded a prestigious German prize for … Read more