Clear will be published this August in Germany as Ein Klarer Tag, in this beautiful edition from Luchterhand, translated by Eva Bonné.
I talked to Miwa Messer about Clear and other things for the Barnes & Noble Poured Over podcast - you can listen here
I talked to NPR's Scott Simon about Clear on Weekend Edition - listen here
I'll be in conversation about Clear at Topping's book shop in Edinburgh on May 8th at 7.30pm. Tickets here
On Sunday March 24th at 4pm I'll be talking to Johny Pitts about Clear on BBC Radio 4's Open Book. Details here
I’ll be in conversation at Hay on May 26th at 2.30 pm with Francis Spufford. We’ll be discussing Clear and Cahokia Jazz. Tickets here
I'm very much looking forward to this conversation on Friday May 24th at 6pm. It's a City of Literature event run by the National Centre For Writing and Norfolk and Norwich Festival, and we'll be talking about solitary landscapes and the longing for connection, even when words fail us. Tickets here.
Clear has been chosen by American booksellers for April's Indie Next List. You can see the list here
You can listen to Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Book Club podcast about Clear here
Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh: Tuesday March 5th
Foyles, London: Wednesday March 6th
Storysmith, Bristol: Wednesday March 13th
Topping, Bath: Thursday March 14th
Daunt, Marylebone, London: Friday March 15th
Oxford Literary Festival: Sunday March 17th
‘A deft and graceful yarn about language, love, and rebellion against the inhumane forces of history.’
Read the full review here
Clear has been picked by Zoe Ball for her BBC Radio 2 Book Club. More here
I'm delighted to see Clear on this list of books coming out this year. Read about all of them here (£)
'Perceptive and beautiful... This is divine.'
Read the full review here
I've reviewed Victoria Kielland's new novel My Men, translated from the Norwegian by Damion Searls, in The Guardian.
The Sunday Times' chief fiction critic Peter Kemp picks his best novels and stories about travel from the past 60 years (£).
Skios Michael Frayn
The Mission House Carys Davies
Hunters in the Dark Lawrence Osborne
The Two Faces of January Patricia Highsmith
Cross Channel Julian Barnes
The Mandelbaum Gate Muriel Spark
Bodily Harm Margaret Atwood
Golden HIll Francis Spufford
Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie
I'm delighted to say my new novel Clear will be coming out next spring from Granta in the UK and Scribner in the US - more details here in The Bookseller
I'll be in conversation with David Constantine and Sarah Harte on Tuesday April 18th at 7pm for the launch of the nineteenth Cork World Book Festival in Ireland. You can book for this and other events with Sarah Baume, Joseph O'Connor and more here
Sophie Raworth and Patrick Ness choose three books which ‘take on early colonialism on two different continents, in West by Carys Davies and Remembering Babylon by David Malouf respectively, and Patrick’s choice of Howard’s End by EM Forster.’
The piece aired on Tuesday March 14th at 16.30. It is available on BBC iPlayer here.
Andrew Holgate, who is stepping down after 23 years as literary editor of The Sunday Times, has picked his favourite books — I’m so delighted to see West among them.
The full list is here (£)
I’ll be in conversation online with the novelist, short story writer and poet, David Constantine, on Wednesday November 16th at 7pm. We’ll be talking about the passions that drive our work, and the principles we believe to be the foundations of great literature.
Full programme and tickets here
October 4: Jon McGregor on beginnings
October 18: Wendy Erskine on character
October 25: Kit de Waal on editing your own work
November 1: Chris Power on detail
November 8: Carys Davies on point of view
November 15: Tessa Hadley on time
You can book here
My short story collection The Redemption of Galen Pike, first published in 2014, has been re-issued with this beautiful new cover, designed by Christopher Hamilton-Emery.
I loved being on the panel of 16 authors and critics tasked with picking the finest English language novels published since Joyce’s classic. Each of us nominated 20 novels, and you can read about those that made the final cut here.
I’m delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. See the full list of new Fellows in The Guardian.
La Missione is coming out in Italy on June 29th, from Bompiani.
This will be out on April 8th from Editions du Seuil with the title Le Voyage de Hilary Byrd.
Friday October 8th - Sunday October 10th 2021, 18:00 BST Online
Five short, sharp workshops and a one-on-one session with each tutor, plus a chance to ask your own technical questions of them in an evening open hour.
More details and booking here
See the full list of 50 fiction and 50 non-fiction books in The Times here and The Sunday Times here
Scottish: Andrew O’Hagan Mayflies
Welsh: Carys Davies The Mission House
Irish: Caoilinn Hughes The Wild Laughter
More on Waterstones June Books of the Month here
The Sunday Times Short Story Award invites writers to talk about their favourite short stories - I was thrilled to hear Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory and Circus of Wonders, talking here about The Travellers, from my collection The Redemption of Galen Pike.
I’m delighted to be joining the Aldeburgh Bookshop Book Club via Zoom on Monday July 12th at 6pm for a discussion of The Mission House. Booking information here.
The paperback of The Mission House - out on June 3rd - is the Sunday Times Paperback of the Week.
More here (£)
20 novels translated from nine different languages into Dutch are longlisted for this year’s prize. Click here for the list of titles, authors and translators. Shortlist announced in June.
I’m delighted to be talking about The Mission House to the prize-winning novelist, poet and short story writer Caoilinn Hughes next Friday, April 16th, 12.00-13.00 CT, 18.00-19.00 GMT. It’s the first in her new online series of bi-monthly interviews with UK and Irish writers for the Chicago-based bookshop, Exile In Bookville. Tickets here
‘A singular voice… Davies’ writing is sublime’ —Toronto Star
Full review here
The 18th International Ankara Story Days festival will be held online this year between March 1-15, 2021. I’ll be talking to Pelin Buzluk about the stories in Kuytu (The Redemption of Galen Pike) on March 12th at 17.00 GMT. Full programme here
‘The Mission House is a careful, quiet, skillful drama of well-meant misunderstandings and cultural divisions. The interactions are polite and repressed, but the story is galvanized by the “passion simmering under the surface of things. Always, every once in a while, the lid blowing off, and nothing, it seemed, that anyone could do to stop it happening”’ —The Wall Street Journal
Full review here (£)
Guest host David Sedaris presents three stories about recollection and redemption as part of WNYC Radio’s Selected Shorts series. In Sibyl by Carys Davies, read by Jane Kaczmarek, two lonely vacationers are brought together. Andre Braugher performs an excerpt from Toni Morrison’s master work, Beloved. And a daughter returns home to help her aging father in an excerpt from Rachel Khong’s bittersweet novel Goodbye, Vitamin, performed by Jennifer Ikeda
Read more about Selected Shorts here
The National Centre For Writing in Norwich has put together another of its excellent online packs for writers. I joined four other writers to talk about dialogue here
My very grateful thanks to my editor, Sarah Goldberg, and to all at Scribner.
The Mission House - Het Missie Huis - is out today in the Netherlands, translated into Dutch by the brilliant Nicolette Hoekmeijer. Huge thanks to Nicolette and to all at Meulenhoff
Link to the book here
O, The Oprah Magazine has picked its 20 Best Books To Fall In Love With this month and describes The Mission House as ‘luminous… an elegant tale that probes the jagged shadows of colonialism. Davies is a writer to watch—and to savor’
Full article here
My essay for Lit Hub on the storming of the Capitol, Brexit, and the rise of Hindu nationalism is here
The UK paperback edition of The Mission House will be out in June from Granta with this beautiful new cover
‘Lightly yet deftly crafted, hovering in tone somewhere between comedy, tragedy, and fable.'
Full review here
'Part mystery, part romance, this charming story is set in the present but has the feel of an earlier time.’
Full review here
I’m absolutely delighted that The Mission House has been chosen as The Sunday Times Novel of the Year. More here
‘Beautifully done, with the same resonant concision as Carys Davies’s fine first novel West, it’s a haunting picture of colonialism’s long legacy.'
See the full list of Society of Authors’ 2019 nominations here.
I'm so pleased to see West included in this list. Click here for the full list.
I've reviewed William Boyd's new novel in The Guardian here.
My novel, West, with this beautiful cover from Scribner, will be out in the U.S. in April 2018, just ahead of its publication in the U.K.
The Redemption of Galen Pike is a Women's National Book Association choice in the U.S. for its Great Group Reads 2017. Details and advice for reading groups here:
The Globe and Mail's editors and reviewers have compiled a list of their favourite hundred books of 2017 here.
The Redemption of Galen Pike is on the Toronto Star's list of the top 10 books of last year. See the full list here.
Thrilled that the Toronto Star has included West on their list of 20 forthcoming books to look out for. Take a look at the full list here.
I'm delighted to have a story in this new anthology celebrating the Fly's first twenty years. Edited by Declan Meade and Sarah Gilmartin, it collects 40 short stories first published in the magazine and includes fiction by Colin Barrett, Kevin Barry, Sara Baume, Claire-Louise Bennett, Claire Keegan, Molly McCloskey and Lisa McInerney. More details here.
As the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award winner is announced, the paper's Culture editors have picked their favourite tales - delighted to see them include The Quiet, from my collectionThe Redemption of Galen Pike
See the full list here.
On Sunday, April 22nd, at 4pm GMT I'll be talking about West with Mariella Frostrup. Full details here
I’ve written an essay about the nineteenth century’s fascination with woolly mammoths. Read it here.
The wonderful Woodstock Bookshop is 10 years old and I'm delighted to be part of the celebrations on the evening of Friday May 11th. Social historian Julie Summers will be talking about her new book Uninvited Guests and I'll be talking about West.
Some of my favourite visions of unfathomable territory, published here.
I've written an essay for Granta on the importance of artistic failure. Follow this link to read it.
It's been a great pleasure being one of the judges of the New York Public Library's 2018 Young Lions Fiction Award, which champions emerging writers. The winner will be announced on June 7th and chosen from among this year's finalists, who have just been announced.
I'm delighted to be appearing at this in Zagreb on May 28th and 29th and in Rijeka on May 30 and 31st. Full programme here.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
West by Carys Davies
Time Is a Killer by Michel Bussi
Mrs Whistler by Matthew Plampin
Lullaby by Leila Slimani
See the full list of 100 recommended books here.
I've reviewed Hernan Diaz's captivating debut novel in The Guardian here:
I'll be in conversation with Cathy Galvin about the Guillemot Factory's new limited edition series of short stories, and about the lure of the West. More info here.
I'll be in conversation with Danny Denton in Cork on September 12th, with Andrew Holgate in Cheltenham on October 13th, Katy Shaw and Sarah Moss in Manchester on October 14th, Jan Carson in Belfast on October 17th. Details here:
Vulture has published its list of the top 10 audiobooks of the year so far here.
I'm delighted The Sunday Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Independent Review of Books have picked West as one of their books of the year.
This is just out from Yüz Kitap - you can buy it here.
Cynan Jones and I will be teaching this week-long course together in Devon Nov 25th-30th with Tessa Hadley as our visiting writer. You can book here.
Applications are open for The Word Factory's 2019-2020 Apprenticeship scheme. I'll be joining Lisa Blower, Chris Power and Leone Ross to mentor four emerging short story writers. How you apply depends on where you live, so check the Word Factory website here for details. Deadline February 7th.
On Sunday March 10th at 7pm Sarah Moss, author of Ghost Wall, and I will be talking about our books.
For tickets visit the festival website here.
Paperback editions of West will be out in the UK and US in early April.
It's been a great pleasure to be one of the judges for this and to be able to announce an outstanding shortlist:
The Coast of Leitrim – Kevin Barry
What Can You Do With A General – Emma Cline
Comme – Paul Dalla Rosa
All the Poems Contained Within Will Mean Everything to Everyone – Joe Dunthorne
In Silhouette – Louise Kennedy
A Partial List of the Saved – Danielle McLaughlin
