Paper Trail

Longlist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize Announced


Brandon Taylor. Photo: William J. Adams

Bryan Washington, Lauren Groff, Percival Everett, Dana Spiotta, Brandon Taylor, Joshua Cohen, and others have been long-listed for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

A new conspiracy theory is taking root on Reddit, where some are arguing that novelist Thomas Pynchon is ghost-tweeting for director Paul Thomas Anderson under the pseudonym Sam Harpoon.

Spotify is getting into the audiobook business.

At the Paris Review, Alex Abramovich interviews music critic and poet Joshua Clover about his new book on Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ song “Roadrunner”: “I didn’t choose ‘Roadrunner’ because its recording timeline and its image of a person literally circulating through the night allowed me to discuss these things. I chose it because it’s magic. I have felt its magic for a long time but never had a good story about it.”

On Monday, November 15, at 7:30 Eastern time, Rita Dove will read from and discuss her new book of poetry, Playlist for the Apocalypse, at the 92nd Street Y. You can watch the event in person or online.