Much has changed in the world of letters since 1890, when Oscar Wilde famously wrote that “the critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.” These days, when Goodreads reviews and social media takedowns outnumber dwindling book review publications and shrinking newspaper book pages, what role does professional criticism still
Please join critics E. Tammy Kim (The New Yorker), Nora Caplan-Bricker (Jewish Currents), Zoe Hu (Bookforum, Dissent) and Jennifer Wilson (The New York Times) for a conversation about labor, class, and how they impact the work of book reviewing. NBCC board member Adam Dalva will lead the discussion, asking these critics about some of their
The NBCC is honored to bring together the translators of 5 of the 6 finalists for the inaugural Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize in a panel discussion about the art and craft of translation. Our panelists include Jennifer Croft, Boris Dralyuk, Mara Faye Lethem, Christina MacSweeney, and Mark Polizzotti. The discussion will be moderated
On November 8, 2023, the NBCC hosted a Zoom panel discussion featuring authors of several newly released books about climate change, arguably the preeminent issue of our time. Our panelists—David Gessner, Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, Premee Mohamed, Christopher Preston, and Elizabeth Rush—covered topics from the authors’ own intersections with climate change to the literary market’s appetite for
Like everything in publishing, book reviews are in flux, with mainstream venues reducing reviews in exchange for fawning interviews and book roundups that feel like marketing fluff pieces. This panel of book critics will discuss why they write book reviews, the state of book reviewing today, the need for diversity in book reviewers and in
In its fiftieth anniversary year, the National Book Critics Circle gathers literary critics who have been defining the future of contemporary cultural criticism. Three NBCC criticism award chairs, who have had their fingers on the pulse of critical engagement for the past decade, are joined by three NBCC-honored critics in a reading and wide-ranging conversation
Three leading critics and translators—Sarah Chihaya (book critic and author of The Ferrante Letters), Laura Marris (translator of The Plague), and Justin Rosier (chair, National Book Critics Circle Criticism Committee)—will discuss the challenges and benefits of reviewing translated literature with Words Without Borders Books Editor Adam Dalva. The conversation will focus on both the ethics of
Register for our finalists reading at this link: https://www.wildboundlive.com/events/nbcc2024. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Register for our awards ceremony and reception at this link: https://www.wildboundlive.com/events/nbcc2024. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Join Maureen Freely, translator of Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü, winner of the 2023 Barrios Book in Translation Prize, in conversation with Mandana Chaffa, Vice President of the Barrios Book in Translation Prize, on October 9, 2024, 6:30 pm ET Attendance free; registration required: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rZluUFwcRECWFc72AMmIvw
In its fiftieth anniversary year, the National Book Critics Circle gathers literary critics who have been defining the future of contemporary cultural criticism in recent years in a wide-ranging interactive roundtable conversation about the future of the form. With Jane Ciabattari, Anita Felicelli, Jonathan Leal, and Oscar Villalon. Moderated by NBCC President Heather Scott Partington.