· January, 2009

Stories about Literature from January, 2009

Best Blogs Brazil: Winners by jury, public and hacker votes

Who won the Best Blogs Brazil 2008? Specialists and the public went to the polls and the winners were announced at Campus Party last week. The competition, which did not offer a money prize just prestige, was taken very seriously by contenders, some even willing to cheat to win.

31 January 2009

Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth

What if one day Jesus and Buddha descended to Earth to spend their holidays? And what if they lived together in a cheap apartment in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo? This is what Hikaru Nakamura, a young Japanese manga author, was thinking of when he came up with Saint Oniisan, a manga published in the monthly magazine Morning 2 in 2007 that become a hit in the last few months after the publication of the first two episodes as single volumes last year.

31 January 2009

Kenya: Writing Queer Kenya

Writing Queer Kenya is accepting submissions from Kenyan queers, “We lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals, in a word, queers, have had the distinct un-pleasure of being told we...

29 January 2009

Taiwan: Books, Writers & Videos

China Times in Taiwan announces "Books of the Year" and makes short videos for awarded writers to share their writing experiences and perspectives. Hopefully their ideas will be portrayed through the power of images.

25 January 2009

Brazil: A true competition between e-books and paper books?

The Brazilian blogsphere is full of literature available online at collective blogs and websites, individual authors' blogs and governmental initiatives. The nations' best selling author, Paulo Coelho, is right when he says that the free distribution of e-books actually encourages the sales of paper books - at least in times when the reader still prefers reading on paper.

24 January 2009

The Egyptian Bloggers Bookfair

With more than 15 new titles, Egyptian bloggers take the 2009 Cairo International Book Fair by storm. Marwa Rakha reports how bloggers are planning to organise group visits to make the most out of the annual show.

22 January 2009

The Balkans: Harold Pinter and Milosevic

Marko Attila Hoare of Greater Surbiton writes about Harold Pinter's association with the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic and explains why he feels “roughly as sad about Pinter’s death...

18 January 2009

Guyana: Speaking Up

“Last August during a Carifesta event, I witnessed what was akin to a public scolding of a young woman who dared to ask a panel of older Caribbean writers and...

15 January 2009