Mandana
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Mandana
@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social
640 followers 650 following 110 posts
Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Nowruz Journal
Editor-at-Large, Chicago Review of Books
Board Member, National Book Critics Circle/VP Barrios Book in Translation Prize
President of the Board, The Flow Chart Foundation
زنان. زندگی. آزادی
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Mandana @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social · Dec 19
What an honor to run @bookcritics.bsky.social's Barrios Book in Translation Prize celebrating translators & authors! We're so proud of our 2024 longlist: a joyous cornucopia of languages, genres, publishers. Also😍& applause to our AMAZING longlist committee, a mix of member critics & board members!
Reposted by Mandana
bookcritics.bsky.social
Save the date! On Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern, please join us on Zoom for "Criticism 101: Book Review Fundamentals," led by Heather Scott Partington, former NBCC president and current treasurer and fiction chair.
September 11, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Mandana
bookcritics.bsky.social
NBCC’s Vice President/Barrios Prize and Co-Vice President/Membership interviewed Harryette Mullen about "Regaining Unconsciousness" for The Brooklyn Rail:
HARRYETTE MULLEN with Mandana Chaffa | The Brooklyn Rail
Harryette Mullen’s incisive eye, linguistic prestidigitation and multilayered connections are in exceptional form in her new collection Regaining Unconsciousness.
buff.ly
September 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Mandana
ndbooks.bsky.social
Read @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social’s marvelous interview of translator Hisham Matar and photographer Diana Matar, who worked together on Naguib Mahfouz’s dream book I FOUND MYSELF, in @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/07/25/f...
Finding Ourselves in Naguib Mahfouz’s Last Dreams: An Interview with Hisham and Diana Matar - Chicago Review of Books
When awarding the acclaimed Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz [1911-2006] the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, the Swedish Academy noted how “through works rich in nuance—now clear-sightedly realistic,...
chireviewofbooks.com
July 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
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chicagorevbooks.bsky.social
"It’s terrifying to realize that you’re no longer an authority on yourself."

@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with
@richard-siken.bsky.social on his new book "I Do Know Some Things" (@coppercanyonpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/08/27/a...
An Encyclopedia of the Self: An Interview with Richard Siken About "I Do Know Some Things" - Chicago Review of Books
Our interview with Richard Siken about his new collection, "I Do Know Some Things."
chireviewofbooks.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
💕
July 30, 2025 at 5:36 PM
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July 30, 2025 at 5:36 PM
@maris.bsky.social's new collection, out from @eccobooks.bsky.social right now!
July 8, 2025 at 11:17 PM
I loved talking with @maris.bsky.social about her debut (debut? how?) essay collection, which packs a wallop in a trim package (much like the author herself).

You will love this book, too.

Thanks to my @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social for the opportunity!
July 8, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Such a joy to talk with @maidervang.bsky.social about this beautiful collection (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) for my beloved @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social.
May 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Mandana
storystudiochicago.bsky.social
In this last video of the day, Rebecca Makkai explains the overarching mission of our organization, and truly, how your donations help us continue our work of building a writing community.

Stories Matter Foundation is truly for ANYONE who values the power of stories.

buff.ly/MaO89HN
May 8, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Mandana
nplusonemag.com
Our NEA grant was canceled.

Here’s a letter from our development director about what’s happening.
On Friday night, n+1—alongside many of our peer nonprofit arts organizations—received notice that our 2025 NEA grant has been terminated due to the Trump administration’s “shifting funding priorities.” We knew this might be coming, but receiving the official notice was still jarring, as was some of the messaging itself. It’s unclear to us whether we’ll still be able to recover the money we’ve been promised this year—a $12,500 grant meant to help us pay our authors, our editors, and to have the magazine printed and distributed to our readers. We’ve requested the funds we’ve already spent, and now we’re waiting to see if the money will come through. We’re trying to stay optimistic, but with the administration’s other announcement this week that the NEA might be shut down in its entirety, it’s hard to do so. I’m writing to ask for two things—first, for short-term, immediate assistance to help us replace these funds. You can make a donation through our website, or—if you’re in New York and free on June 10—you can buy a ticket to our annual benefit, the N Plus Ultra. Second, we ask for your ongoing support amid the challenges that we, and other small magazines, are already beginning to face. You can do that by subscribing, of course, convincing your friends to subscribe (or simply sending them a gift subscription), or by buying a bit of merch from our shop. And maybe most meaningfully, you can share the n+1 pieces you’re reading and stay engaged with (and be vocal in your support of) the independent media you care about most. We’ll need all the help we can get. With gratitude, Dani Oliver Development Director, n+1
May 4, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Mandana
jillwritergrrl.bsky.social
So proud of our @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social and their "Read Your Resistance" initiative. Writing and Reading have always been critical components of any successful movement. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/02/13/i... @storystudiochicago.bsky.social
Introducing "Read Your Resistance" - Chicago Review of Books
I’ve been more tuned into the news lately than is healthy, I’m sure. Each day I hold my breath as I learn what fresh new hell awaits this country. Many have written about how we’re living in unprecede...
chireviewofbooks.com
March 3, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Such an honor to speak with Dr. Eve L. Ewing about ORIGINAL SINS for my beloved @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social.
March 5, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Mandana
chicagorevbooks.bsky.social
"My hope is that people will use the book as a launchpad for community conversations, coalition-building, and hard reflection."

@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social talks with Eve L. Ewing about "Original Sins" (One World)
"Tell The Truth, Shame The Devil": Eve L. Ewing on "Original Sins" - Chicago Review of Books
Even in an era of multi-hyphenates, Chicago-native Dr. Eve L. Ewing’s achievements are exemplary: scholar, educator, cultural organizer, poet, playwright and comic book author to name a few. Her…
buff.ly
March 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Mandana
bookcritics.bsky.social
NBCC Vice President/Barrios Book in Translation Prize @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social interviewed @antonhur.com about his novel "Toward Eternity" for @wwborders.bsky.social:
“Making Space for Each Other”: Anton Hur on Toward Eternity, Translation, and Immortality - Words Without Borders
Mandana Chaffa uses the otherworldly premise of Anton Hur's novel Toward Eternity to discuss Hur's path to translation, community, and immortality.
buff.ly
March 3, 2025 at 5:02 PM
What a pleasure it was to talk with Anton Hur (@antonhur.com) about TOWARD ETERNITY (@harpercollins.bsky.social), for the great @wwborders.bsky.social (tremendous thanks to Susan Harris and @ninaperrotta.bsky.social)

wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
“Making Space for Each Other”: Anton Hur on Toward Eternity, Translation, and Immortality - Words Without Borders
Mandana Chaffa uses the otherworldly premise of Anton Hur's novel Toward Eternity to discuss Hur's path to translation, community, and immortality.
wordswithoutborders.org
January 27, 2025 at 8:05 PM
This is simply wonderful news!
mtaeckens.bsky.social Michael Taeckens @mtaeckens.bsky.social · Jan 21
Some news. Thanks to @shelf-awareness.com for sharing this. ❤️
Headshot of me (wearing brown glasses, a plaid sports coat in mauve and light blue, white shirt, and a navy blue tie) to the right of the announcement
January 24, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Joy! Announcing the 2024 Barrios shortlist! I'm so proud of our longlist committee & we had a spectacular time reading these books. Congratulations to the writers, translators & publishers!

If you're an @bookcritics.bsky.social member in good standing, why don't you join us to determine the winner?
bookcritics.bsky.social National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23
We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize! Congratulations to all of the finalists.
The finalists for the 2024 Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize are The Children of the Ghetto: Star of the Sea by Elias Khoury, translated from the Arabic by Humphrey Davies (Archipelago), Fiction, Herscht 07769 by László Krasznahorkai, translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet (New Directions), Fiction, A Last Supper of Queer Apostles by Pedro Lemebel, translated from the Spanish by Gwendolyn Harper (Penguin Classics), Nonfiction, Melvill by Rodrigo Fresán, translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden (Open Letter), Fiction, O by Judith Kiros, translated from the Swedish by Kira Josefsson (World Poetry), Poetry, and Traces of Enayat by Iman Mersal, translated from the Arabic by Robin Moger (Transit), Nonfiction.
January 23, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Check out our @bookcritics.bsky.social 2024 finalists: though my heart bleeds Barrios, so extraordinarily proud of all of our titles, and my beloved fellow board members, who are smart, intent, and so collaborative. Read these books!
bookcritics.bsky.social National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23
Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners! www.bookcritics.org/2025/01/23/n...
January 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Literary and arts administrator friends, do take a look at this opportunity at The Flow Chart Foundation:

www.flowchartfoundation.org/interim
Job Opportunities at Flow Chart — THE FLOW CHART FOUNDATION
www.flowchartfoundation.org
January 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Mandana
mdbell79.bsky.social
Squeezing in one last Substack entry for 2024, with my year in reading reflections for the year. I'm planning on returning to monthly craft essays in the new year, so more soon! Thanks for reading, as always!
#46: Reflection Creates Retention (My 2024 Year in Reading)
Happy holidays and Happy New Year!
open.substack.com
December 29, 2024 at 7:19 PM
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katekilla.bsky.social
And our friend Eric Liebetrau reviewed WOO WOO by the Australian novelist Ella Baxter. www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/26/a...
In Baxter’s ‘Woo Woo,’ making art while falling apart - The Boston Globe
The Australian novelist satirizes the art world but takes her main character seriously.
www.bostonglobe.com
December 26, 2024 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Mandana
csvich.bsky.social
#theatre new podcast episode: wherein i read scenes 1-12 from my play with songs THRUSH. open.spotify.com/show/28W8hp9...
open.spotify.com
December 26, 2024 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Mandana
csvich.bsky.social
"it feels as if the play is sitting in front of me and we are having a chat," says a colleague of mine about HUMAN INTEREST STORY. join us for an hour. on demand. with distance over time. handmade theatre/film.
vimeo.com/ondemand/hum...
Watch Human Interest Story Online | Vimeo On Demand
Meet RK. Here. In this place shared by you and I. RK would like to share a story with you about some things that happened once. Perhaps some of this story…
vimeo.com
December 25, 2024 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Mandana
ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social
I really loved this episode — pretty much everything the hosts said resonated with my experiences and feelings about the election, community, activism, etc.
December 23, 2024 at 6:16 PM