Mason Bates' Met-bound opera 'Kavalier & Clay' based on Michael Chabon novel premieres in Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (AP) — When composer Mason Bates approached Michael Chabon about turning his novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” into an opera, he said the writer told him frankly that “opera was not his thing.” “He was very supportive of the...

Book Review: Richard Price returns with another portrait of urban America, ‘Lazarus Man'

Is there a better writer of urban American stories than Richard Price? His resume is hard to beat: To episodes of HBO’s “The Wire,” and “The Night Of,” and novels like “Clockers,” “Lush Life,” and “Freedomland,” fans can now add “Lazarus Man.” The story...

British writer Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel 'Orbital' wins the Booker Prize for fiction

LONDON (AP) — British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth. Harvey was awarded the 50,000-pound ($64,000) prize...

British writer Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel 'Orbital' wins the Booker Prize for fiction

Percival Everett's 'James' is a finalist for Carnegie Medal for fiction

NEW YORK (AP) — Percival Everett's “James” has received yet another literary nomination. Everett's reworking of Mark Twain's “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is among the finalists for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, $5,000 honors for fiction and nonfiction presented by the...

Book Review: 'Those Opulent Days' is a mystery drenched in cruelties of colonial French Indochina

It’s not often that a historical novel is set in the Vietnam of the 1920s, a period when the land in Indochina was occupied and exploited by French colonizers. It’s also unusual that such a novel would be a whodunit murder mystery. “Those Opulent Days,” the debut novel of...

Children's book by chef Jamie Oliver is withdrawn after criticism from Indigenous Australians

LONDON (AP) — A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians. The Guardian newspaper reported Saturday that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander...

Q&A: Cillian Murphy on following ‘Oppenheimer’ with the Irish drama ‘Small Things Like These’

Cillian Murphy didn’t read “Small Things Like These” looking for a film to do. He was simply a fan of the author, Claire Keegan. Her story, nominated for the Booker Prize, was a work of historical fiction about the Magdalene laundries in Ireland and an ordinary man with...

‘The pictures, they look at you.’ A stroll with novelist John Banville through Spain's Prado Museum

MADRID (AP) — It’s the eyes peering from the canvases that get him, their gaze piercing the boundary between art and life. That’s why acclaimed Irish novelist John Banville prefers to visit Spain’s Prado Museum during its opening hours — even though he's been invited to...

Tina Knowles to tell her story in 'Matriarch,' a memoir scheduled for next year

NEW YORK (AP) — Tina Knowles will have a memoir out next spring with a title that will not surprise her many admirers. The fashion designer and mother of Beyoncé, Solange Knowles and “bonus daughter” Kelly Rowland has a deal with Random House Publishing Group for...