Born in Leicester, England, in 1946, Julian Barnes
is the author of two books of stories, two collections of essays,
a translation of Alphonse Daudets In the Land of Pain,
and nine previous novels. His most recent work is Nothing
to be Frightened of, an exploration of death, religion, and
family.
In France, he is the only writer to have won both
the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, and in 2004 he
became a Commandeur de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres. In England
his honors include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber
Memorial Prize. He has also received the E. M. Forster Award from
the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He lives in
London.
Nothing to be Frightened
of, his latest book, is published by
Jonathan Cape, Random House Canada, and Knopf.
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New Julian Barnes Interview -- The Oxonian Review of Books
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Arthur & George Wins the San Clemente Literary
Prize
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From
Xesús Fraga, Barnes's Galician translator:
Julian Barnes has been awarded the Arcebispo
San Clemente literary prize in the category of foreign fiction
for Arthur & George. The prize is given by a jury
formed by students from five secondary schools of Galicia,
in the Northwest of Spain, who choose the best novel they've
read in the last year in three categories: written in Galician,
in Spanish and any foreign language. Arthur & George received
six votes, while the other shortlisted novels, Terrorist,
by John Updike, and Italian Shoes, by Henning Mankell, received
one and three votes.
Previous winners of the San Clemente prize
have been Paul Auster, Javier Marías, Mario Vargas
Llosa, Alessandro Baricco, Jonathan Coe, José Saramago,
Antonio Tabucci, Carlos Fuentes and Manuel Rivas, among other
writers. All of them visited Santiago de Compostela to receive
their prize. The next ceremony will probably be held in March
and last year's winner, Haruki Murakami, will also attend.
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England, France, and Sicily
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Ford Madox Ford -- The Good Soldier
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The
Folio Society has published Ford Madox Ford's The Good
Soldier with an introduction by Julian Barnes.
The introduction was also published as
"The
Saddest Story in the 7 June 2008 issue of The
Guardian.
From the introduction:
"This is the saddest story I
have ever heard." What could be more simple and declaratory,
a statement of such high plangency and enormous claim
that the reader assumes it must be not just an impression,
or even a powerful opinion, but a "fact"? Yet
it is one of the most misleading first sentences in all
fiction. This isn't - it cannot be - apparent at first
reading, though if you were to go back and reread that
line after finishing the first chapter, you would instantly
see the falsity, instantly feel the floorboard creak beneath
your foot on that "heard".
For more information on the Folio edition,
please visit the publisher's website: www.foliosociety.com.
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What I'm Reading: Julian Barnes
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Julian Barnes discusses what he is currently
reading as part of an article associated with this year's
Hay Festival. Of particular note is The Collected Stories
by Lorrie Moore, published by Faber and Faber this
month. Barnes interviewed Moore as one of the festival's
events this year.
To read Barnes's contribution, visit
the Guardian website for 25 May: http://books.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2282168,00.html
You may purchase Lorrie Moore's The
Collected Stories from Faber
and Faber, Amazon.co.uk,
or one of a number of local independent
booksellers.
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New Short Story by Julian Barnes
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Julian Barnes has published a new short story
in the May 19, 2008, issue of The New Yorker. Read
the story, titled "East
Wind" on their website, or pick up an issue at your
local bookseller or newstand.
At The New Yorker website, you can
also read other works written by Barnes, including:
"Trespass"
[Fiction]
"The
Past Conditional" [Excerpt from Nothing to be
Frightened of]
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Nothing to be Frightened of
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I
dont believe in God, but I miss him. Julian Barnes
new book is, among many things, a family memoir, an exchange
with his brother (a philosopher), a meditation on mortality
and the fear of death, a celebration of art, an argument with
and about God, and a homage to the French writer Jules Renard.
Though he warns us that this is not my autobiography,
the result is like a tour of the mind of one of our most brilliant
writers.
When Angela Carter reviewed Barness first
novel, Metroland, she praised the mature way he wrote about
death. Now, nearly thirty years later, he returns to the subject
in a wise , funny and constantly surprising book, which defies
category and classification except as Barnesian.
Publication Dates
Jonathan
Cape: 6 March 2008
LRB Limited Edition:
available 14 March 2008 (signed on 4 March)
Random
House Canada: 15 April 2008
Knopf:
2 September 2008
Order a copy online via Random
House, Amazon.co.uk,
Random
House Canada, Amazon.ca,
Knopf,
Amazon.com,
or one of a number of local independent
booksellers.
Past Press
Julian Barnes discusses his work with Mark
Lawson for Front
Row (BBC Radio 4), 3 March 2008.
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Coffee with Aristotle
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Julian
Barnes writes the foreword to Coffee with Aristotle,
a new book by Jonathan Barnes, the noted Aristotle scholar ...
and Julian's brother.
Book Description:
Not many people can claim to have invented
a new science, but Aristotle invented two: zoology and logic.
More than two millennia after his death, Aristotles
thought still influences us. Here, over coffee (a drink Aristotle
never tasted), he converses with refreshing and illuminating
simplicity about everything from causation and deduction to
the role of women and the wonders of the natural world in
a pre-scientific age.
Order a copy from the Duncan
Baird website or via Amazon.co.uk
or Amazon.com.
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Julian Barnes in South America
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Julian Barnes visited South America in January and February
as part of a trip sponsored by the British Council. Articles
about his visit will be posted shortly. In the meantime, try
'Julian
Barnes, el inglés que hizo reír a Buenos Aires
[Julian Barnes: The Englishman Who Made Buenos Aires Laugh].'
Clarin.com, 8 Feb. 2008.
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Photos from his stop in Buenos Aires are
courtesy of Carlos Mamud / British Council. |
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This plaque was placed across from a similar plaque honoring
Borges, just outside the library where Borges worked as
a young man. |

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Julian Barnes Conference -- Call for Papers
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JULIAN
BARNES AND THE EUROPEAN TRADITION
Liverpool Hope University
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June, 2008
The photo to the right was taken
at the conference during Barnes's interview with John Mullan.
As part of the event, Barnes also read selections from his work.
Visit
the conference website.
Photo copyrighted by Alan Edwards
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