# literary festival (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover literary festival. Page: Feed: --- ## [Two Live Events This Week](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/08/17/two-live-events-this-week/) _2026-08-17 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ Come hang out with me and some amazing authors at two live events this week! On Tuesday I will be at the Brooklyn Books and Booze event at the Barrow’s Intense bar in Industry City. The event is free (other than all the books and all the booze you buy!) And speaking of booze, they \[…\] ## [Black Hole Heart is a World Fantasy Award Finalist](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/08/10/black-hole-heart-is-a-world-fantasy-award-finalist/) _2026-08-10 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ I should have posted about this last week, but it took me a while to process. Even after nearly a week I am rather speechless that Black Hole Heart and Other Stories is a World Fantasy Award finalist in the Collection category! Huge congratulations to the brilliant K.A. Teryna, to our publisher Patrick Swenson of \[ \] ## [Book of the month: Ryan Falzon](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/07/29/book-of-the-month-ryan-falzon/) _2026-07-29 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ As the heatwaves rippled across Europe, one summer novel held me gripped. It comes from Foundry Editions, an indie publisher set up in 2023 to champion literature from around the Mediterranean and notable, like fellow leading internationalist houses Fitzcarraldo and And Other Stories, for their distinctive covers (in this case designed to capture the visual \[ \] ## [Planets Publication Day!](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/07/28/planets-publication-day/) _2026-07-28 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ Planets is officially out today! If you haven t preordered a copy for some strange reason, go get it now! It s available most places, though a couple of audiobook vendors are still behind in making the files available. If you DID preorder it and you read it, would you please take a moment to review it, \[ \] ## [Obligatory Book Promo Stuff](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/07/27/obligatory-book-promo-stuff/) _2026-07-27 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ Ahead of the book launch tomorrow, I am doing loads of cool media stuff. Two podcasts dropped between Friday and today where you can listen to me talk about writing humor, Voltaire, and other fun things: Writers of the Future Podcast: Amusing Jews Podcast: Enjoy and don t forget to snag a copy of Planets if \[ \] ## [Podcasting the world](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/07/22/podcasting-the-world/) _2026-07-22 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ It s been my pleasure to be involved with a number of podcasts focusing on reading and/or translation in recent months in various capacities – as a guest, interviewer and producer. As such, I thought I d give a roundup of some of my favourites, not least because I suspect people who like this blog would enjoy \[ \] ## [Free Virtual Incomprehension Workshop](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/07/09/free-virtual-incomprehension-workshop/) _2026-07-09 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ For anyone who s interested, there s a rare opportunity to join one of my Incomprehension Workshops online next week. Hosted by the Interfaith Center in Oxford, Ohio, US, this virtual, 90-minute workshop is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Simply register here. Full details below. Hope to see you there! The Incomprehension Workshop with Ann \[ \] ## [Book of the month: Jeyamohan](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/06/30/book-of-the-month-jeyamohan/) _2026-06-30 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ If you ve never heard of Jeyamohan, I wouldn t be surprised. Until recently, his work wasn t widely available in English outside India. That is starting to change: next month Hachette in the UK (and FSG Originals in the US) is bringing out his novel White Elephant, translated from the Tamil by Priyamvada Ramkumar. This was the \[ \] ## [The Seriously Funny Bundle](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/06/22/the-seriously-funny-bundle/) _2026-06-22 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ I am curating a humor Storybundle! It features funny books from some of my favorite authors, and you can get the entire bundle for as little as $30! That s just $2 per book, or the price of a cup of coffee (in 2019). Seriously you can get all of these for the price of like \[ \] ## [Book of the month: Iris Wolff](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/05/28/book-of-the-month-iris-wolff/) _2026-05-28 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ Last month I had the honour of introducing the Indie Press Network s spring showcases, two virtual events presenting some of the key titles coming out from small presses in the UK and Ireland in the next few months. As indie presses have long been the heartland of translated literature, I was only too pleased to \[ \] ## [Refer a Friend, Earn Rewards (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/sudFi5dm7uZ3) _2026-05-28 · **Sponsored**_ Earn rewards when friends get the Graphite Business Card through your referral. ## [Unidentified Funny Objects 10 is published!](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/05/27/unidentified-funny-objects-10-is-published/) _2026-05-27 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ Happy book birthday to Unidentified Funny Objects 10! With nearly 1000 copies preordered via Kickstarter, our own website, Amazon, and book stores, this may be the strongest launch in the series yet. The ebook is presently live on all of the platforms below (and I will edit the post as more platforms approve it). The \[ \] ## [Event Appearance: Literary Festival in Ruse, Bulgaria](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/05/19/event-appearance-literary-festival-in-ruse-bulgaria/) _2026-05-19 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ I will be a guest at the literary festival in Ruse this coming weekend, where I will participate on panels, do a reading and a kaffeeklatch. If you happen to be in that part of Europe, I hope you will consider attending! https://fantasyriver.libruse.bg ## [Relearning to Read ebook now available](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/05/18/relearning-to-read-ebook-now-available/) _2026-05-18 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ Eight months after the launch of the paperback of Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-knowing, the ebook edition has hit the virtual shelves. It’s been lovely and humbling to see responses to the book so far. Prospect magazine called it ‘a genius move… In 12 short chapters it rips up the rules about reading and \[ \] ## [New publication: “Origin Story” in Nature Futures](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/05/06/new-publication-origin-story-in-nature-futures/) _2026-05-06 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ I have a new story out at Nature today. It s about AI, unhinged billionaires, and goldfish. You know; science fiction. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01077-8 ETA: Use the link below to read the story for free, without a subscription: https://rdcu.be/fimZC ## [Book of the month: Tsering Döndrup](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/04/30/book-of-the-month-tsering-dondrup/) _2026-04-30 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ I wonder if you’ve considered any books from Tibet so far, Chris Peacock wrote in a comment on this blog a few weeks back. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of translations from so-called “minority” peoples and languages in China such as Uyghur, Mongolian, and Tibetan. Still a small number, relatively speaking, \[ \] ## [The Digital Aesthete published in China](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/04/05/the-digital-aesthete-published-in-china/) _2026-04-05 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ The Digital Aesthete, an anthology about the intersection of AI and art (written by humans!) is now available in China from the Shanghai Translation Publishing House and in collaboration with the Future Affairs Administration. The Mandarin Chinese edition of the book is called AI Masters and here s the cover: If, for some reason, you cannot \[ \] ## [Book of the month: Ysabelle Cheung](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/03/31/book-of-the-month-ysabelle-cheung/) _2026-03-31 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ This book came onto my radar during the brilliant event about writing female experience I attended at Hong Kong International Literary Festival earlier this month. The panel featured three local authors, who spoke arrestingly about how they capture the pressures facing young women in Hong Kong today. As soon as I heard the premise of \[ \] ## [Last Chance – Planets](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/03/25/last-chance-planets/) _2026-03-25 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ The Kickstarter ends tomorrow (Thursday) evening, so this is your last chance to get on board. Backers will receive the ebooks significantly ahead of the release date, with print and audio books to follow as they are completed. Don t miss out on the rewards (and the opportunity to support me as the author as well \[ \] ## [Planets – Final Week on Kickstarter](https://alexshvartsman.com/2026/03/20/planets-final-week-on-kickstarter/) _2026-03-20 · Alex Shvartsman · Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction_ The Best of All Possible Planets has entered its final week on Kickstarter and as I write this we re presently at 71% funded. Kickstarter is all about the first 48 hours and the last 48 hours and everything else is a slog, but it s still tough to watch the numbers climb slowly, not knowing whether \[ \] ## [Hong Kong International Literary Festival](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/03/17/hong-kong-international-literary-festival/) _2026-03-17 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ Just a week after I returned from the Dibrugarh University International Literature Festival in Assam, India, I jetted off again, this time to take part in the 25th annual Hong Kong International Literary Festival. My engagements there began with an intense schedule of school visits. Jetlag notwithstanding, I was picked up at 7.15am on my \[ \] ## [AI Summaries & Audio Briefings (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/mX6LSq2zewl1) _2026-03-17 · **Sponsored**_ Read AI summaries and listen to concise audio briefings for the latest stories. ## [Book of the month: Tatiana Țîbuleac](https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2026/02/28/book-of-the-month-tatiana-tibuleac/) _2026-02-28 · Ann Morgan · A year of reading the world_ Moldova was one of the trickiest European countries to source an English translation from when I set out to read a book from every country in 2012. After months of searching, I blind-bought The Story of An Ant by Ion Drutse, translated from the Moldovan by Iraida Kotrutse, a volume that I couldn t help feeling \[ \]