Bookforum’s summer issue is being shipped to subscribers and hitting newsstands soon! This marks our first issue produced in conjunction with our new publishing partner, The Nation, a venerable magazine committed to fiercely independent journalism. Our mission is to continue the conversation where we left off, delivering essays by writers who are deeply engaged with books and contemporary culture.
When the magazine was shuttered late last year, we weren’t sure we’d ever be able to make this magazine again, and the essays in our summer 2023 issue, as you’ll see, reflect our own preoccupations with death, rebirth, money, belonging, and the place of art in society. Sarah Nicole Prickett’s essay on Jacqueline Rose begins with the reviewer about to hit a deer with her car. Moira Donegan goes long on trauma and justice, and Charlotte Shane writes about loving the Beach Boys so much that it drives her a little nuts. We wanted to find out whatever happened to the systems novel, so we called Christian Lorentzen. Also in this issue, you’ll find Jane Hu on Emma Cline’s novel of a grifter in the Hamptons, Harmony Holiday on Christina Sharpe’s Ordinary Notes, Jamie Hood on Nobel-winner Annie Ernaux, Jesse Barron on how rich people write about their own privilege, Tarpley Hitt on the demise of crypto, Matthew Shen Goodman on hubris and self-help in the UFC, Angelo Hernandez-Sias on why Lorrie Moore’s new novel features a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario with a man and his dead ex-girlfriend on a road trip (Freud pops up all over this Bookforum), and so much more—this is just a sneak peek.
We hope you’ll subscribe to read more and spread the word to help Bookforum continue our mission.
If you’re new to the magazine, take a look at our archives and check back here on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Wednesdays for Paper Trail, our regular roundup of publishing news and reading recommendations.