See how many novels you can connect with phrases from the plays of William Shakespeare.
J. D. Biersdorfer
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Tag: Books and literature
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Try This Quiz on Book Titles Inspired by Shakespeare Lines
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Mattel and Alex Aster team up for Barbie young adult novel, ‘Barbie: Dreamscape’
NEW YORK — The publishing arm of Mattel Inc. is teaming with million-selling novelist Alex Aster on a Barbie young adult novel in which the iconic doll embarks on a journey across “treacherous, magical lands.”
“Barbie: Dreamscape,” scheduled for July 28, is the first novel for young adults out of Mattel Publishing since the imprint was announced three years ago. The novel is not tied to the blockbuster 2023 “Barbie” movie and no screen adaptation is currently planned, according to Mattel.
The toy and family entertainment company is calling Aster’s book a “coming-of-age story” that finds Barbie declared “Fateless” at the graduation ceremony of the “enchanted” Swancrest Academy.
“To earn a Fate, she must journey across treacherous, magical lands in search of the mysterious beings who control the destinies of everyone in Heartland — and the buried truths that could change her world forever,” Thursday’s announcement reads in part. “Because to forge her own path, Barbie must step out of the box … and into the unknown.”
The publishing imprint is focused on Mattel’s “extensive catalog of children’s and family entertainment franchises,” including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket. Earlier this week, Mattel Inc. announced it had created an autistic Barbie doll, part of the Fashionistas line committed to diversity.
Aster, a social media favorite best known for her “Lightlark” series and for the adult novel “Summer in the City,” said in a statement that Barbie dolls were a formative part of her childhood.
“I spent countless hours making up stories starring each of my dolls, and I still remember the excitement of opening a new box, adding another character to my tales, marveling at each accessory,” she said.
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‘Chariots of the Gods’ author Erich von Däniken dies at 90
BERLIN — Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific community, has died. He was 90.
Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he had died the previous day in a hospital in central Switzerland. His daughter Cornelia confirmed the information to Swiss news agency SDA.
Von Däniken rose to prominence in 1968 with the publication of his first book “Chariots of the Gods,” in which he claimed that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians were visited by alien astronauts and instructed in advanced technology that allowed them to build giant pyramids.
The book fueled a growing interest in unexplained phenomena at a time when thanks to conventional science man was about to take its first steps on the Moon.
“Chariots of the Gods” was followed by more than two dozen similar books that sold 60 million copies in 32 languages, spawning a literary niche in which fact and fantasy were mixed together against all historical and scientific evidence.
While von Däniken managed to shrug off his many critics, the former hotel waiter had a troubled relationship with money throughout his life and frequently came close to financial ruin.
Born in 1935, the son of a clothing manufacturer in the northern Swiss town of Schaffhausen, von Däniken is said to have rebelled against his father’s strict Catholicism and the priests who instructed him at boarding school by developing his own alternatives to the biblical account of the origins of life.
After leaving school in 1954, von Däniken worked as a waiter and barkeeper for several years, during which he was repeatedly accused of fraud and served a couple of short stints in prison.
In 1964, he was appointed manager of a hotel in the exclusive resort town of Davos and began writing his first book. Its publication and rapid commercial success were quickly followed by accusations of tax dodging and financial impropriety, for which he again spent time behind bars.
By the time he left prison, “Chariots of the Gods” was earning von Däniken a fortune and a second book “Gods from Outer Space” was ready for publication, allowing him to commit himself to his paranormal passion and travel the world in search of new mysteries to uncover.
Throughout the 1970s von Däniken undertook countless field trips to Egypt, India, and above all Latin America, whose ancient cultures held a particular fascination for the amateur archaeologist.
He lectured widely and set up societies devoted to promoting his theories, later pioneering the use of video and multimedia to reach out to ever-larger audiences hungry for a different account of history.
No amount of criticism dissuaded him and his fans from believing that Earth has been visited repeatedly by beings from Outer Space, and will be again in the future.
In 1991 von Däniken gained the damning accolade of being the first recipient of the “Ig Nobel” prize for literature — for raising the public awareness of science through questionable experiments or claims.
Even when confronted with fabricated evidence in a British television documentary — supposedly ancient pots were shown to be almost new — von Däniken insisted that, minor discrepancies aside, his theories were essentially sound.
In 1985 von Däniken wrote “Neue Erinnerungen an die Zukunft” — “New Memories of the Future” — ostensibly to address his many critics: “I have admitted (my mistakes), but not one of the foundations of my theories has yet been brought down.”
Although his popularity was waning in the English-speaking world by the 1980s, von Däniken’s books and films influenced a wave of semi-serious archaeological documentaries and numerous popular television shows, including “The X-Files,” which featured two FBI agents tasked with solving paranormal mysteries.
His last major venture, a theme park based on his books, failed after just a few years due to lack of interest. The “Mystery Park” still stands, its man-made pyramids and otherworldly domes rotting as tourists prefer to explore the charms of the nearby town of Interlaken and the imposing Swiss Alps that surround it.
Erich von Däniken is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth Skaja, Cornelia and two grandchildren.
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Brain Health Challenge: Try a Brain Teaser
Welcome back! For Day 4 of the challenge, let’s do a short and fun activity based around a concept called cognitive reserve.
Decades of research show that people who have more years of education, more cognitively demanding jobs or more mentally stimulating hobbies all tend to have a reduced risk of cognitive impairment as they get older.
Experts think this is partly thanks to cognitive reserve: Basically, the more brain power you’ve built up over the years, the more you can stand to lose before you experience impairment. Researchers still don’t agree on how to measure cognitive reserve, but one theory is that better connections between different brain regions corresponds with more cognitive reserve.
To build up these connections, you need to stimulate your brain, said Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at NYU Langone Health and the founder and chief medical officer of the telehealth platform Isaac Health. To do that, try an activity that is “challenging enough that it requires some effort but not so challenging that you don’t want to do it anymore,” he said.
Speaking a second language has been shown to be good for cognition, as has playing a musical instrument, visiting a museum and doing handicrafts like knitting or quilting. Reading is considered a mentally stimulating hobby, and experts say you’ll get an even bigger benefit if you join a book club to make it social. Listen to a podcast to learn something new, or, better yet, attend a lecture in person at a local college or community center, said Dr. Zaldy Tan, the director of the Memory and Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai. That adds a social component, plus the extra challenge of having to navigate your way there, he said.
A few studies have found that playing board games like chess can be good for your brain; the same goes for doing crossword puzzles. It’s possible that other types of puzzles, like those you find in brain teaser books or from New York Times Games, can also offer a cognitive benefit.
But there’s a catch: To get the best brain workout, the activity should not only be challenging but also new. If you do “Wordle every day, it’s like well, then you’re very, very good at Wordle, and the Wordle part of your brain has grown to be fantastic,” said Dr. Linda Selwa, a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “But the rest of your mind might still need work.”
So play a game you’re not used to playing, Dr. Selwa said. “The novelty seems to be what’s driving brain remodeling and growth.”
Today, we want you to push yourself out of your cognitive comfort zone. Check out an online lecture or visit a museum with your challenge partner. Or try your hand at a new game, below. Share what novel thing you did today in the comments, and I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 5.
Dana G. Smith
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Michael Schumacher, author of Alan Ginsberg and Eric Clapton biographies, dies at 75
Wisconsin author Michael Schumacher, who produced an array of works ranging from biographies of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died at age 75
MADISON, Wis. — Michael Schumacher, a Wisconsin author who produced a diverse array of works ranging from biographies of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died. He was 75.
Schumacher’s daughter, Emily Joy Schumacher, confirmed Monday that her father passed away on Dec. 29. She did not provide the cause of death.
Schumacher produced such varied biographies as “Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker’s Life;” “Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton;” and “Dharma Lion: A Biography of Allen Ginsberg” — a prominent Beat Generation poet and writer.
Other biographies included “Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers & the Birth of the NBA” and ”Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics.” Eisner was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in American comic books and was a pioneer of the graphic novel concept.
Though he was born in Kansas, Schumacher lived most of his live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He studied political science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside but left the school just one credit short of graduating, his daughter said. He gravitated toward writing at a young age, she said, and basically built two writing careers — one focused on biographies and another on Great Lakes lore.
Living on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Schumacher produced accounts of how the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975; a November 1913 storm that claimed the lives of more than 250 Great Lakes sailors; and how four sailors fought to survive on Lake Michigan after their ship sank in a storm in 1958.
Emily Joy Schumacher described her father as “a history person” and “a good human.” She said he worked longhand, filling countless flip notebooks and later transcribing them on a typewriter. She said she still remembers the sound of the keys clacking.
“My dad was a very generous person with people,” Emily Joy Schumacher said. “He loved people. He loved talking to people. He loved listening to people. He loved stories. When I think of my dad, I think of him engaged in conversation, coffee in his hand and his notebook.”
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Do You Know the Notable Buildings Mentioned in These Books?
A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself. This week’s literary geography quiz highlights buildings that inspired authors, often to the point of including the structures in their novels. (Many of the buildings are still open to visitors.) To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be revealed. At the end of the quiz, you’ll find links to the books if you’d like to do further reading.
J. D. Biersdorfer
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Children’s author David Walliams denies inappropriate behavior after publisher drops him
LONDON — British children’s author and comedian David Walliams has denied allegations of inappropriate behavior after publisher HarperCollins dropped him.
Walliams, 54, is one of the U.K.’s bestselling children’s book authors and a former judge on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”
In a statement on Friday, HarperCollins said: “After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.”
A spokesperson for Walliams said in a statement that he “has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.”
“He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice,” the statement said.
The publisher said it would not comment on internal matters, “to respect the privacy of individuals.”
“HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns,” it said.
Walliams has published over 40 children’s books and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, according to his website. Several of them, including “Gangsta Granny,” have been adapted into a BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.
Walliams left his role as judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
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Try This Quiz and See How Much You Know About Jane Austen
“Window seat with garden view / A perfect nook to read a book / I’m lost in my Jane Austen…” sings Kristin Chenoweth in “The Girl in 14G” — what could be more ideal? Well, perhaps showing off your literary knowledge and getting a perfect score on this week’s super-size Book Review Quiz Bowl honoring the life, work and global influence of Jane Austen, who turns 250 today. In the 12 questions below, tap or click your answers to the questions. And no matter how you do, scroll on to the end, where you’ll find links to free e-book versions of her novels — and more.
The New York Times Books Staff
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Bestselling British writer Joanna Trollope dies at 82
LONDON (AP) — British writer Joanna Trollope, whose bestselling novels charted domestic and romantic travails in well-heeled rural England, has died, her family said Friday. She was 82.
Trollope’s daughters, Antonia and Louise, said the writer died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire, southern England, on Thursday.
Trollope wrote almost two dozen contemporary novels, including “The Rector’s Wife,” “Marrying the Mistress,” “Other People’s Children” and “Next of Kin.” They were often dubbed “Aga sagas,” after the old-fashioned Aga ovens found in affluent country homes.
Trollope disliked the term, noting that her books tackled uncomfortable subjects including infidelity, marital breakdown and the challenges of parenting.
“That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage,” she once said. “It was so patronizing to the readers, too.”
Trollope’s most recent novel, “Mum & Dad,” examined the “sandwich generation” of middle-aged people looking after both children and elderly parents.
Trollope also published 10 historical novels under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.
Trollope, a distant relative of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, was born in Minchinhampton in the west of England in 1943. She studied English at Oxford University, then worked in Britain’s Foreign Office and as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1980. She became a household name after “The Rector’s Wife” was adapted for television in 1991.
Trollope’s novel “Parson Harding’s Daughter” won a novel of the year award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association in 1980. In 2010, the association gave her a lifetime achievement award for services to romance.
In 2019, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.
Her literary agent, James Gill, called Trollope “one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
“Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and — of course — her readers,” Gill said.
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Bestselling British writer Joanna Trollope dies at 82
British writer Joanna Trollope, known for her bestselling novels about romantic escapades in rural England, has died at 82
LONDON — British writer Joanna Trollope, whose bestselling novels charted domestic and romantic travails in well-heeled rural England, has died, her family said Friday. She was 82.
Trollope’s daughters, Antonia and Louise, said the writer died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire, southern England, on Thursday.
Trollope wrote almost two dozen contemporary novels, including “The Rector’s Wife,” “Marrying the Mistress” and “Next of Kin.” They were often dubbed “Aga sagas,” after the old-fashioned Aga ovens found in affluent country homes.
Trollope disliked the term, noting that her books tackled uncomfortable subjects including infidelity, marital breakdown and the challenges of parenting.
“That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage,” she once said. “It was so patronizing to the readers, too.”
Trollope also published 10 historical novels under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.
In 2019, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.
Her literary agent, James Gill, called Trollope “one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
“Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and — of course — her readers,” Gill said.
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5 notable books by author Sophie Kinsella, who died at age 55
Sophie Kinsella, who has died at age 55, had a special talent for characters who persevered through the most embarrassing mishaps — often of their own making.
Here are five novels that helped keep readers laughing, and relating, over the past 30 years.
“The Tennis Party” (1995)
Fellow writers could only envy Kinsella’s success, how early it came and how seemingly easy. As the author would remember, she was a 24-year-old financial journalist who, while commuting by train one day, thought to herself, “I want to have a go at this, I want to write a book.” Within two years, she was the bestselling author of “The Tennis Party,” under her real name, Madeleine Wickham.
Released in the U.S. as “40 Love,” her debut novel centered on the misadventures of a weekend tennis party and introduced readers to her conversational touch about everything from love to money to … tennis.
“They all have a lot of baggage,” the author explained on her website. “They sleep with each other, they behave very badly, drink a lot of Pimms, thrash tennis balls around, and things come to a head quite intensely.”
“The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic” (2000)
She published her first several books as Wickham, before becoming a global brand as “Sophie Kinsella.” Spurred by this first “Shopaholic” novel, millions would cheer on the hopelessly indebted financial journalist Becky Bloomwood, who helps keep the economy turning with her “investments” in clothing, household and other products.
Among the most cherished fantasies in her dreamworld: that some “dotty old woman in Cornwall” will mistakenly receive her “humongous” credit card bill and pay if off without checking the name. Becky, meanwhile, will be sent the woman’s bill for three tins of cat food, “which, naturally, I’ll pay without question.”
The 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” based on the first two of Kinsella’s nine-novel series, starred Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
“Can You Keep a Secret?” (2003)
As Kinsella, the novelist had a mission to get her characters in trouble. Emma Corrigan has a proper job as a marketing assistant and a proper and “heartbreakingly handsome” boyfriend. She is also prone to panic and distraction, to going about in public with her blouse unbuttoned or unleashing a spurt of soda on a client’s shirt. And she has a few secrets she would like to hold on to, whether it’s pouring orange juice on the plant of a colleague who annoys her or how she sometimes holds back laughter while having sex — “just normal, everyday little secrets.”
This book was adapted into a 2019 movie starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin.
“The Undomestic Goddess”
(2005)
Her alliteratively named characters were ever fish out of water, sometimes on the driest land. Samantha Sweeting is a London lawyer who can’t take it anymore, boards a train to the countryside and finds herself working as a housekeeper, for which she has no known skills.
“I had so much fun charting Samantha’s comedy disasters in the kitchen, her battles with the ironing board, her gradual slowing down and relaxing and finding love,” the author writes on her website. “It’s a story of an uber-professional realizing there’s more to life than work, and starting to appreciate the little things.”
“Twenties Girl” (2009)
Just your typical supernatural adventure, in which 27-year-old Lara Lington is visited by the ghost of her flapper-great aunt Sadie and sent off to retrieve Sadie’s long-lost necklace. Subplots include Lara being dumped by her boyfriend and Lara wondering if she can succeed in business as a headhunter.
She also lies a lot, to her parents. Yes, her work is going great. Yes, she loved their Christmas gift. No, she doesn’t just subsist on pizza and yogurt and vodka. And so on: “Seven lies. Not including all the ones about Mum’s outfit.”
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Nobel laureate Han Kang’s first nonfiction book in English to be released next spring
NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Han Kang’s first book of nonfiction to come out in English will be released next spring.
The Korean author’s “Light and Thread” is scheduled to be published March 24 by Penguin Random House imprints in the U.S., the United Kingdom and other English-speaking regions. Published in Korean this year and translated into English by Maya West, e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, “Light and Thread” includes Han’s Nobel lecture from 2024, along with other writings and photographs.
“As I arranged the essays, poems, diary entries, and photographs to be included in this book, I imagined all of its spaces — from the first page to the last — enveloped in light,” Han said in a statement released Friday. “I am grateful and glad that this light, imbued into this English translation, continues to encounter readers.”
Han, the first South Korean to win the Nobel literature prize, is best known for the novel “The Vegetarian,” winner of the International Booker Prize in 2016.
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Rick Atkinson’s Revolutionary War trilogy to be adapted into graphic editions
Military historian Rick Atkinson, known for his Revolutionary War trilogy, is venturing into graphic books
NEW YORK — Prize-winning military historian Rick Atkinson, a comic book fan growing up, hadn’t imagined his own work being suitable for the illustrated format.
Ten Speed Graphic announced Tuesday that a graphic edition of “The British Are Coming,” the first volume of Atkinson’s acclaimed Revolutionary War trilogy, will be out next June, shortly before the country’s 250th anniversary. Five more graphic books are planned, to be written by Nora Neus and illustrated by Federico Pietrobon, with Atkinson in close collaboration.
“They are entirely amenable to my suggestions, ‘This isn’t quite right,’ or ‘I think this needs to be explained,’” Atkinson told The Associated Press. “With the drawings, I pointed out that John Adams, at the time the revolution began was a relatively young man. And they had made him look like the paunchy, bald John Adams of the vice presidency. And they fixed it.”
Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize winner for his World War II book “An Army at Dawn,” has been working on his revolutionary trilogy for a decade and published the second volume, “The Fate of the Day,” this spring. Widely regarded as among the best living military historians, he was a featured commentator in Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” documentary and has made numerous joint appearances with the filmmaker. He is currently working on the final book of his trilogy.
The author says that he was initially skeptical about the new project. With early memories of Superman comics, he wondered how any illustrator might adapt deeply-researched books that run longer than 500 pages. But the graphic format has been used on everything from “The Odyssey” to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. Atkinson changed his mind after Ten Speed Graphic, a Penguin Random House imprint, sent him several adaptations, including of the life of Frederick Douglass and Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.”
“I saw that the comic books of my youth have evolved considerably and I was enthused about it,” Atkinson said. “They said, ‘We acknowledge this is serious history that you do. We don’t intend to dumb it down. Our ambition is to widen the audience, to pitch this story of the American founding to an audience that perhaps might be intimidated by a 560 page book.’”
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Can You Identify Lines From These Classic Science Fiction Novels?
Welcome to Literary Quotable Quotes, a quiz that tests your recognition of memorable lines. This week’s installment highlights lines from notable 20th-century science fiction novels. In the five multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books if you want to experience the entire work in context.
J. D. Biersdorfer
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Ex-French President Sarkozy to publish prison memoir as appeal looms
PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will publish a book about his recent time behind bars, titled “Diary of a Prisoner,” on Dec. 10, his publisher Fayard announced Friday. The house is part of the media group controlled by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
Sarkozy trailed the release in a post on X, writing that in La Santé prison “the noise is, unfortunately, constant” and that “the inner life of man becomes stronger in prison.” He spent three weeks in detention there this autumn.
The former head of state, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, was convicted on Sept. 25 of participating in a criminal organization over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign. He was released pending appeal on Nov. 10, and his appeal against the conviction is scheduled to be heard from March 16 to June 3.
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All eyes in publishing are turned to the 76th annual National Book Awards
NEW YORK (AP) — The 76th National Book Awards will unveil this year’s winners Wednesday night, with novels by Megha Majumdar and Karen Russell, and a memoir by Yiyun Li among the finalists in one of the most high-profile literary events.
Hundreds of writers, publishers, editors and other industry professionals are expected to gather at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan for a dinner ceremony that will include honorary awards for fiction writer George Saunders and author-publisher Roxane Gay. Emmy-winning actor-comedian Jeff Hiller will host, and Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae is the musical guest.
Competitive awards will be announced for five categories — fiction, nonfiction, translated literature, young people’s literature and poetry. Winners will each receive $10,000.
Nominees range from Majumdar’s futuristic narrative “A Guardian and a Thief” to Russell’s spellbound tale set in 1930s Nebraska, “The Antidote,” to Julia Ioffe’s feminist history, “Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy.” Li is a finalist for “Things in Nature Merely Grow,” her tragic account of the suicides of her two sons.
The National Book Awards are presented by the nonprofit National Book Foundation. Each competitive category is voted on by judging panels that include writers, booksellers and critics and select winners from hundreds of books submitted by publishers.
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US investment firm RedBird pulls out of buying Britain’s Telegraph newspaper
LONDON — U.S. investment firm RedBird Capital said Friday that it has dropped its offer to buy the publisher of Britain’s 170-year-old conservative Daily Telegraph newspaper for about 500 million pounds ($660 million).
RedBird, which was leading a consortium for the purchase, said in May that it had reached an in-principle agreement to become the controlling owner of the Telegraph Media Group.
“We remain fully confident that the Telegraph and its world-class team have a bright future ahead of them and we will work hard to help secure a solution which is in the best interests of employees and readers,” RedBird said in a statement Friday.
The Telegraph group publishes the daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers, both of which are closely allied to Britain’s Conservative Party.
The group sold The Spectator, one of the world’s oldest political magazines, last year for 100 million pounds to hedge fund investor Paul Marshall. He is the co-owner of U.K. channel GB News, which launched four years ago as a right-leaning, Fox News-style alternative to mainstream news channels.
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As China cracks down on stories about men in love, female fans mourn the idealized romances
For Cindy Zhong, like many young Chinese women, a relaxing night used to mean curling up with a steamy story about two men in love. Then her favorite authors, and their tales, started disappearing.
Fans of the popular Danmei same-sex romance genre, written and read mainly by straight women, say the Chinese government is carrying out the largest crackdown yet on it, effectively neutering the enjoyment.
In the vast world of fantasy, Danmei is relatively straightforward: Two men stand in for idealized relationships, from chaste to erotic. Some scholars believe the stories appeal to Chinese women as a way to sidestep the country’s conservative gender values and imagine relationships on a more equal footing.
“Women turn to Danmei for pure love, especially as they face pressure from families, peers and society to get married and have kids,” said Aiqing Wang, a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool who studies Chinese popular culture and internet literature.
The once-niche Chinese literary subculture has seen a boom in recent years, with novels adapted into blockbuster television series and translated into Western languages.
Danmei — also known as “Boys Love” in English — has also caught the eye of Chinese authorities. At least dozens of writers have been interrogated, arrested and charged with producing and selling obscene materials in China in the past year, according to media reports and witness accounts online.
Some writers have stopped publishing or taken work offline. Websites have shut down or removed many stories, leaving the tamest behind.
“Chinese female readers can no longer find a safe, uncensored space to place our desires,” said Zhong, an educator in her 30s.
Writers have said they enjoy directing lives that aren’t their own.
“When I was writing, I felt so powerful that I could create a world,” said Zou Xuan, a teacher who used to write Danmei for fun and has been reading them for a decade.
From erotica to flowery romance
China’s government has been tightening its grip on the LGBTQ+ community, shutting down rights groups and social media accounts, despite removing homosexuality from its list of mental illness in 2001. Same-sex relationships are not criminalized.
Even though China’s censorship apparatus has long disapproved of same-sex love stories, the most popular Danmei stories have become bestselling books and been adapted into cartoons, video games and TV series. Adaptations often get around censorship by changing the characters to a heterosexual couple or presenting the relationship between male leads as an intense “friendship.”
The stories, usually published online by amateurs, are some of the most widely read fiction in China. Ranging from the flowery to the heavily erotic, they can include scenes of men fighting with a sword and a flute in ethereal ancient costumes or sex scenes in nature after rainfall.
Danmei is “a utopian existence,” said Chen Xingyu, a 32-year-old freelance teacher living in the southwestern city of Kunming. “I would be less happy without it.”
Some of the most popular stories, such as Heaven Official’s Blessing and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, have been translated into English, building a global fan base and cracking The New York Times paperback bestseller list.
The stories’ language “is very flowery and poetic, which I really enjoy,” said Kayla McHenry, who works in a law firm in Pennsylvania and reads stories in translation.
But the author of those, Yuan Yimei, better known under her pen name Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, was sentenced in 2020 to three years in prison for “illegal business operation” after selling her self-published Danmei books. She was released on parole in 2021.
Silencing writers
It is hard to know how many writers have been caught up in China’s crackdown.
Danmei writers, mostly young females, claimed in social media posts that were later censored that they were detained and questioned by police in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, and expressed humiliation and fear that a criminal record could ruin their future.
An official at the Lanzhou Public Security Bureau declined to comment, saying the cases are under investigation. Gansu provincial police didn’t respond to an AP request seeking comment.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm the reports.
Even in Taiwan, beyond the reach of China’s censors, there are effects of the crackdown on the mainland.
Haitang, a major platform for the stories and headquartered in Taiwan, closed temporarily in June, warning writers not to continue writing “if the content does not comply with the laws and regulations of where the writers are located.”
The website recently returned with drastically fewer stories and writers. Readers noticed that stories saved in their accounts were taken down. It was unclear if the authors or the website had done it.
Another popular Danmei site, Sosad.fun, based outside China with at least 400,000 registered readers, shut down in April.
Neither website responded to emails seeking comment.
Despite the crackdowns, Danmei stories are still available in China, but fans say they’re tamer and lack erotic appeal. And with most of the best writers gone, they say that what remains just isn’t that good.
Some now publish overseas
Some fans said they have given up reading Danmei stories, but others chase the racy details that brought them to the genre.
“Stories I read in high school were much more explicit than those I read nowadays,” said Chen in Kunming. “I have to spend more time and try harder to find them. I need this content to fill my life.”
Chen said some authors are publishing their work abroad, leaving it to readers to get them into China and pass around paper books or digital files informally.
Other readers said they were turning to online comics translated from Japanese or Korean.
Despite the narrowing space for the same-sex stories in China, experts said women and their desires have changed in ways that won’t disappear.
“The awakening of female consciousness, the desire of reading and not being ashamed of what they want to read is irreversible,” said Xi Tian, an associate professor of East Asian Studies at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.