1. “E. Ethelbert Miller to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award” by Melanie S. Hatter. “If you don’t know E. (Eugene) Ethelbert Miller, it’s likely you’ve been living deep in the Amazon rainforest. Though slim and soft-spoken, Miller is a giant across the DC region and throughout the literary community. A much-celebrated poet, he is also known for his advocacy, his sharp wit, and his passion for using language to bridge divides between cultures. He is always ready with an encouraging word and an eagerness to uplift fellow writers. For these reasons, we’re proud to announce that he’ll receive the Independent’s Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Washington Writers Conference.”


2. “Remembering John Feinstein” by Eugene L. Meyer. “John eagerly earned his place in that distinguished group, but he was different. Temperamental, self-confident, sometimes arrogant, combative, blustery, loud, and funny. He was destined for greater fame as the prolific author of more than 40 books, most bestsellers; as a radio and cable sports commentator; and as a Post sports columnist, filing his last piece the day before he died. But before all that, there was the death squad.”


3. “An Interview with W. Ralph Eubanks” by Holly Smith. “I’m reminded of something Toni Morrison wrote about the duty of a writer in challenging times in our history. ‘This is precisely the time when artists go to work — not when everything is fine, but in times of dread. That’s our job!’ As a writer whose work explores the American South and seeks to explore silences about the region’s past — as well as the ways that the South serves as a mirror to the rest of the country — I see my work as president of the guild as an extension of my work as a writer. Writers cannot be silenced or be punished for exploring silences. That is part of the work of the Authors Guild.”


4. Jennifer Bort Yacovissi’s review of Dream Count: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Knopf). “One of Adichie’s most resonant recurring themes is that of cultural disconnect — less a divide than an unbridgeable chasm that swallows nuance, understanding, and empathy. In Kadi, she has imagined the most exquisitely relatable character, in whose life the reader is fully immersed by walking miles and miles in her shoes.”


5. Bob Duffy’s review of Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine by Padraic X. Scanlan (Basic Books). “Padraic X. Scanlan’s Rot, thoroughly factual and staidly dispassionate, is built-to-order for serious students of European history. It’s a masterful dissection of the origins, advance, and tragic consequences of the Irish Potato Famine, which reached its devasting apogee between 1846 and 1849. But be prepared. If you’re looking for the story-friendly cushioning of more popularly oriented bestseller candidates, you won’t find that sort of tumble-forward narrative pacing here.”

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