Helen Oyeyemi

Peaces , Helen Oyeyemi (Riverhead 978-0-593-19233-7, $27.00, 272pp, hc) April 2021. Peaces is my second encounter with Helen Oyeyemi’s work. The first book of hers I read was 2016’s What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a collection of stories that Kirstyn McDermott and I discuss at length on The Writer and The Critic podcast. I found reading the collection to be an invigorating experience, inspired by Oyeyemi’s embrace of the strange and the fantastic; her playful approach to story-telling and her precise use of language and technique (the final story in What Is Not Your Is Not Yours, as Kirstyn notes on the podcast, is a near-perfect example of second-person perspective). To one degree or another, all of this is present in Peaces, a short, beguiling, and outlandish story about the inner turmoil that comes with not being seen, both figuratively and literally.

At The New Republic, thoughts on Helen Oyeyemi’s new novel. The Strategist has resources for anyone looking to contribute to pandemic relief in India. Gabino Iglesias reviewed Elissa Washuta’s White Magic for NPR. Catapult published new nonfiction by Ross Showalter. At the Southeast Review, talking writing and craft with Brandon...

Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.

Whereas the road trip novel has such a storied place in literature that it is its own genre, the train novel is notable for being somewhat on the margins, thanks to its firm association with mysteries and intrigue and not much else. Helen Oyeyemi’s latest novel, Peaces, confronts this stereotype, playing with it before subverting it completely, all with a dizzying clarity.

——— JULIANA UKIOMOGBE: Describe your ideal writing atmosphere. What gets you in the mood?. HELEN OYEYEMI: I tend to write in bed, so lots of pillows are just the thing. I’d also want to get an appropriate playlist going (but played through loudspeakers, not headphones). UKIOMOGBE: Do you eat or...

At Vulture, an interview with Helen Oyeyemi. PEN America and Belt Magazine are teaming up for an event on community narratives. The winners of this year’s Windham Campbell Prizes have been announced. Untapped Cities explored the Brooklyn Public Library’s outdoor reading room. The Quietus talked books with Sam Byers. Is...

This year's Wordplay festival will run from May 2 to May 8. Like last year, it will be all virtual, but unlike last year, the events will be concentrated on one week rather than spread out through the month. Children's sessions will be in the morning each day. Afternoon sessions...