Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real."[1] In 2007, The Observer stated: "In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world."[2]
Granta has published twenty-seven laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature.[1] Literature published by Granta regularly win prizes such as the Forward Prize, T. S. Eliot Prize, Pushcart Prize and more.[3]
This section needs expansion with: coverage of the first decades of the journal, its reception, and its influence. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016)
Granta was founded in 1889[4] by students at Cambridge University as The Granta, edited by R. C. Lehmann, (who later became a major contributor to Punch). It was started as a periodical featuring student politics, badinage and literary efforts. The title was taken from the medieval name for the Cam, the river which runs through the town, but is now used only for two of that river's tributaries. An early editor of the magazine was R. P. Keigwin, the English cricketer and Danish scholar; in 1912–13 the editor was the poet, writer and reviewer Edward Shanks.
During the 1970s the publication, faced with financial difficulties and increasing levels of student apathy, was rescued by a group of interested postgraduates, including writer and producer Jonathan Levi, journalist Bill Buford, and Peter de Bolla (now Professor of Cultural History and Aesthetics at Cambridge University). In 1979, it was successfully relaunched as a magazine of "new writing",[7] with both writers and audience drawn from the world beyond Cambridge. Bill Buford (who wrote Among the Thugs originally as a project for the journal) was the editor for its first 16 years in the new incarnation. Ian Jack succeeded him, editing Granta from 1995 until 2007.
In April 2007, it was announced that Jason Cowley, editor of the Observer Sport Monthly, would succeed Jack as editor in September 2007. Cowley redesigned and relaunched the magazine; he also launched a new website. In September 2008, he left when he was selected as editor of the New Statesman.
Alex Clark, a former deputy literary editor of The Observer, succeeded him as the first female editor of Granta.[8] In late May 2009, Clark left the publication[9] and John Freeman, the American editor, took over the magazine.[9]
As of 2006[update], Granta's circulation was almost 50,000.[10]
Ownership
In 1994, Rea Hederman, owner of The New York Review of Books, took a controlling stake in the magazine. In October 2005, control of the magazine was bought by Sigrid Rausing.
Granta Books
In 1989, then-editor Buford founded Granta Books.[11] Granta's stated aim for its book publishing imprint is to publish work that "stimulates, inspires, addresses difficult questions, and examines intriguing periods of history." Owner Sigrid Rausing has been vocal about her goal to maintain these standards for both the magazine and the book imprint, telling the Financial Times, "[Granta] will not publish any books that could not potentially be extracted in the magazine. We use the magazine as a yardstick for our books.... We are no longer going to look at what sells as a sort of argument, because it seemed to me that we were in danger of losing our inventiveness about what we wanted to do."[12] Authors recently published by Granta Books include Michael Collins, Simon Gray, Anna Funder, Tim Guest, Caspar Henderson, Louise Stern and Olga Tokarczuk.
When Rausing purchased Granta, she brought with her the publishing imprint Portobello Books.[13] Granta Books and Portobello Books are distributed by The Book Service in the UK.[14] Granta Books are distributed by Ingram Publisher Services in the US.[15]
Granta Best of Young British Novelists
In 1983, Granta (issue #7) published a list of 20 young British novelists as names to watch out for in the future. Since then, the magazine has repeated its recognition of emerging writers in 1993 (issue #43), 2003 (issue #81) and 2013 (issue #123). In 1996 (issue #54), Granta published a similar list of promising young American novelists, which was repeated during 2007 (issue #97). In 2010 Granta issue #113 was devoted to the best young Spanish-language novelists. Many of the selections have been prescient. At least 12 of those identified have subsequently either won or been short-listed for major literary awards such as the Booker Prize and Whitbread Prize.
Dan Rhodes contacted others on the 2003 list to try to persuade them to make a joint statement in protest against the Iraq War, which was gaining momentum at the time. Not all the writers responded. Rhodes was so disappointed he considered stopping writing, but has continued.[19]
^"Top 50 Literary Magazine". EWR. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^John Haffenden, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
^J. P. C. Roach, "The University of Cambridge: The modern university (1882-1939)", in A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge (1959), pp. 266–306; and F. A. Rice, The Granta and its contributors, 1889-1914, London: Constable, 1924.
^Elise Blanchard. "London-Based Lit Mags". The Review Review. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
^Stephen Brook "Granta names Alex Clark as first female editor", The Guardian, 28 May 2008.
^ abOliver Luft, "Alex Clark steps down as Granta editor", The Guardian, 29 May 2009.
^"Granta: A new chapter at the original literary journal 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine", The Independent, 11 December 2006 (accessed 2 March 2007).
^"Publishers We Work With - Book Distribution | Ingram Content Group". Retrieved 12 November 2017.
^"Lists, lists, lists..." 9 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine New Writing |Granta Magazine, 19 November 2010.
^"Review: Politics by Adam Thirlwell". The Guardian. 30 August 2003.
^Bedell, Geraldine (5 January 2003). "Granta's grotto: Every decade Granta's list of Britain's best young novelists causes a literary sensation. Here The Observer presents an exclusive preview of the winners for 2003". The Observer.
^3am Interview: "A SMALL BUT SATISFYING KICK IN BLAIR'S NUTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH DAN RHODES", 3 AM Magazine, July 2003, accessed 14 March 2013.
Further reading
The Best of Granta Reportage. Granta Books in association with Penguin Books. 1994. ISBN978-0-14-014071-2.
External links
Granta official website
Granta Books official website
Finding aid to Granta records at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
January 24, 2023
granta, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, schola. For other uses see Granta disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Granta news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its belief in the power and urgency of the story both in fiction and non fiction and the story s supreme ability to describe illuminate and make real 1 In 2007 The Observer stated In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window determined to witness the world 2 GrantaGranta 142EditorSigrid RausingCategoriesLiterary magazineFrequencyQuarterlyPublisherSigrid RausingTotal circulation 2006 almost 50 000Founded1889 134 years ago 1889 First issueRelaunch 1 September 1979CountryUnited KingdomBased inLondonLanguageEnglishWebsitewww wbr granta wbr comISSN0017 3231Granta has published twenty seven laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1 Literature published by Granta regularly win prizes such as the Forward Prize T S Eliot Prize Pushcart Prize and more 3 Contents 1 History 2 Rebirth 3 Ownership 4 Granta Books 5 Granta Best of Young British Novelists 5 1 1983 5 2 1993 5 3 2003 5 4 2013 6 Granta Best of Young American Novelists 6 1 1996 6 2 2007 6 3 2017 7 Granta Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists 7 1 2010 7 2 2021 8 Granta Best of Young Brazilian Novelists 8 1 2012 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksHistory EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section needs expansion with coverage of the first decades of the journal its reception and its influence You can help by adding to it June 2016 Granta was founded in 1889 4 by students at Cambridge University as The Granta edited by R C Lehmann who later became a major contributor to Punch It was started as a periodical featuring student politics badinage and literary efforts The title was taken from the medieval name for the Cam the river which runs through the town but is now used only for two of that river s tributaries An early editor of the magazine was R P Keigwin the English cricketer and Danish scholar in 1912 13 the editor was the poet writer and reviewer Edward Shanks In this form the magazine had a long and distinguished history The magazine published juvenilia of a number of writers who later became well known Geoffrey Gorer William Empson 5 Michael Frayn Ted Hughes A A Milne 6 Sylvia Plath Bertram Fletcher Robinson John Simpson and Stevie Smith Rebirth EditDuring the 1970s the publication faced with financial difficulties and increasing levels of student apathy was rescued by a group of interested postgraduates including writer and producer Jonathan Levi journalist Bill Buford and Peter de Bolla now Professor of Cultural History and Aesthetics at Cambridge University In 1979 it was successfully relaunched as a magazine of new writing 7 with both writers and audience drawn from the world beyond Cambridge Bill Buford who wrote Among the Thugs originally as a project for the journal was the editor for its first 16 years in the new incarnation Ian Jack succeeded him editing Granta from 1995 until 2007 In April 2007 it was announced that Jason Cowley editor of the Observer Sport Monthly would succeed Jack as editor in September 2007 Cowley redesigned and relaunched the magazine he also launched a new website In September 2008 he left when he was selected as editor of the New Statesman Alex Clark a former deputy literary editor of The Observer succeeded him as the first female editor of Granta 8 In late May 2009 Clark left the publication 9 and John Freeman the American editor took over the magazine 9 As of 2006 update Granta s circulation was almost 50 000 10 Ownership EditIn 1994 Rea Hederman owner of The New York Review of Books took a controlling stake in the magazine In October 2005 control of the magazine was bought by Sigrid Rausing Granta Books EditIn 1989 then editor Buford founded Granta Books 11 Granta s stated aim for its book publishing imprint is to publish work that stimulates inspires addresses difficult questions and examines intriguing periods of history Owner Sigrid Rausing has been vocal about her goal to maintain these standards for both the magazine and the book imprint telling the Financial Times Granta will not publish any books that could not potentially be extracted in the magazine We use the magazine as a yardstick for our books We are no longer going to look at what sells as a sort of argument because it seemed to me that we were in danger of losing our inventiveness about what we wanted to do 12 Authors recently published by Granta Books include Michael Collins Simon Gray Anna Funder Tim Guest Caspar Henderson Louise Stern and Olga Tokarczuk When Rausing purchased Granta she brought with her the publishing imprint Portobello Books 13 Granta Books and Portobello Books are distributed by The Book Service in the UK 14 Granta Books are distributed by Ingram Publisher Services in the US 15 Granta Best of Young British Novelists EditIn 1983 Granta issue 7 published a list of 20 young British novelists as names to watch out for in the future Since then the magazine has repeated its recognition of emerging writers in 1993 issue 43 2003 issue 81 and 2013 issue 123 In 1996 issue 54 Granta published a similar list of promising young American novelists which was repeated during 2007 issue 97 In 2010 Granta issue 113 was devoted to the best young Spanish language novelists Many of the selections have been prescient At least 12 of those identified have subsequently either won or been short listed for major literary awards such as the Booker Prize and Whitbread Prize The recognition of Adam Thirlwell 16 and Monica Ali on the 2003 list was controversial as neither had yet published a novel 17 Thirlwell s debut novel Politics later met with mixed reviews Ali s Brick Lane was widely praised citation needed Those controversially excluded in 2003 included Giles Foden Alex Garland Niall Griffiths Zoe Heller Tobias Hill Jon McGregor who won the International Dublin Literary Award less than ten years later Patrick Neate Maggie O Farrell and Rebecca Smith 18 Dan Rhodes contacted others on the 2003 list to try to persuade them to make a joint statement in protest against the Iraq War which was gaining momentum at the time Not all the writers responded Rhodes was so disappointed he considered stopping writing but has continued 19 1983 Edit Martin Amis William Boyd Maggie Gee Kazuo Ishiguro Adam Mars Jones Salman Rushdie Julian Barnes Ursula Bentley Pat Barker Buchi Emecheta Ian McEwan Shiva Naipaul Graham Swift Rose Tremain Clive Sinclair Alan Judd Philip Norman A N Wilson Christopher Priest Lisa St Aubin de Teran 1993 Edit Kazuo Ishiguro Hanif Kureishi Ben Okri Esther Freud Caryl Phillips Will Self Iain Banks Adam Lively Helen Simpson Tibor Fischer Nicholas Shakespeare Philip Kerr Lawrence Norfolk Louis de Bernieres A L Kennedy Alan Hollinghurst Candia McWilliam Anne Billson Adam Mars Jones Jeanette Winterson 2003 Edit Monica Ali Nicola Barker Rachel Cusk Peter Ho Davies Susan Elderkin Philip Hensher A L Kennedy Hari Kunzru Toby Litt David Mitchell Andrew O Hagan David Peace Dan Rhodes Ben Rice Rachel Seiffert Zadie Smith Adam Thirlwell Alan Warner Sarah Waters Robert McLiam Wilson 2013 Edit Naomi Alderman Tahmima Anam Ned Beauman Jenni Fagan Adam Foulds Xiaolu Guo Sarah Hall Steven Hall Joanna Kavenna Benjamin Markovits Nadifa Mohamed Helen Oyeyemi Ross Raisin Sunjeev Sahota Taiye Selasi Kamila Shamsie Zadie Smith David Szalay Adam Thirlwell Evie WyldGranta Best of Young American Novelists Edit1996 Edit Sherman Alexie Madison Smartt Bell Ethan Canin Edwidge Danticat Tom Drury Tony Earley Jeffrey Eugenides Jonathan Franzen David Guterson David Haynes Allen Kurzweil Elizabeth McCracken Lorrie Moore Fae Myenne Ng Robert O Connor Chris Offutt Stewart O Nan Mona Simpson Melanie Rae Thon Kate Wheeler Katharine Weber 2007 Edit Daniel Alarcon Kevin Brockmeier Judy Budnitz Christopher Coake Anthony Doerr Jonathan Safran Foer Nell Freudenberger Olga Grushin Dara Horn Gabe Hudson Uzodinma Iweala Nicole Krauss Rattawut Lapcharoensap Yiyun Li Maile Meloy ZZ Packer Jess Row Karen Russell Akhil Sharma Gary Shteyngart John Wray 2017 Edit Jesse Ball Halle Butler Emma Cline Joshua Cohen Mark Doten Jen George Rachel B Glaser Lauren Groff Yaa Gyasi Garth Risk Hallberg Greg Jackson Sana Krasikov Catherine Lacey Ben Lerner Karan Mahajan Anthony Marra Dinaw Mengestu Ottessa Moshfegh Chinelo Okparanta Esme Weijun Wang Claire Vaye WatkinsGranta Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists Edit2010 Edit Andres Barba Oliverio Coelho Federico Falco Pablo Gutierrez Rodrigo Hasbun Sonia Hernandez Carlos Labbe Javier Montes Elvira Navarro Matias Nespolo Andres Neuman Alberto Olmos Pola Oloixarac Antonio Ortuno Patricio Pron Lucia Puenzo Andres Ressia Colino Santiago Roncagliolo Samanta Schweblin Andres Felipe Solano Carlos Yushimito Alejandro Zambra 2021 Edit Andrea Abreu Jose Adiak Montoya David Aliaga Carlos Manuel Alvarez Jose Ardila Gonzalo Baz Miluska Benavides Martin Felipe Castagnet Andrea Chapela Camila Fabbri Paulina Flores Carlos Fonseca Mateo Garcia Elizondo Aura Garcia Junco Munir Hachemi Dainerys Machado Vento Estanislao Medina Huesca Cristina Morales es Alejandro Morellon Michel Nieva Monica Ojeda Eudris Planche Savon Irene Reyes Noguerol Aniela Rodriguez Diego ZunigaGranta Best of Young Brazilian Novelists Edit From left to right Antonio Prata pt Javier Arancibia Leandro Sarmatz Julian Fuks Antonio Xerxenesky Vinicius Jatoba Miguel del Castillo and Emilio Fraia 2012 Edit Cristhiano Aguiar pt Javier Arancibia Contreras pt Vanessa Barbara Carol Bensimon Miguel del Castillo Joao Paulo Cuenca Laura Edler Emilio Fraia Julian Fuks Daniel Galera Luisa Geisler Vinicius Jatoba Michel Laub Ricardo Lisias Chico Mattoso pt Antonio Prata pt Carola Saavedra Tatiana Salem Levy Leandro Sarmatz Antonio XerxeneskySee also Edit Literature portalList of Granta issuesReferences Edit a b About Granta Magazine Simon Garfield From student rag to literary riches The Observer 30 December 2007 Prizes Granta Magazine Top 50 Literary Magazine EWR Retrieved 17 August 2015 John Haffenden Oxford Dictionary of National Biography J P C Roach The University of Cambridge The modern university 1882 1939 in A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Volume 3 The City and University of Cambridge 1959 pp 266 306 and F A Rice The Granta and its contributors 1889 1914 London Constable 1924 Elise Blanchard London Based Lit Mags The Review Review Retrieved 4 October 2015 Stephen Brook Granta names Alex Clark as first female editor The Guardian 28 May 2008 a b Oliver Luft Alex Clark steps down as Granta editor The Guardian 29 May 2009 Granta A new chapter at the original literary journal Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Independent 11 December 2006 accessed 2 March 2007 About Granta Books Granta Books Granta Books Retrieved 13 June 2016 Isabel Berwick Lunch with the FT Sigrid Rausing The Financial Times 6 November 2009 About Portobello Books permanent dead link The Independent Alliance Publishers We Work With Book Distribution Ingram Content Group Retrieved 12 November 2017 Lists lists lists Archived 9 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine New Writing Granta Magazine 19 November 2010 Review Politics by Adam Thirlwell The Guardian 30 August 2003 Bedell Geraldine 5 January 2003 Granta s grotto Every decade Granta s list of Britain s best young novelists causes a literary sensation Here The Observer presents an exclusive preview of the winners for 2003 The Observer 3am Interview A SMALL BUT SATISFYING KICK IN BLAIR S NUTS AN INTERVIEW WITH DAN RHODES 3 AM Magazine July 2003 accessed 14 March 2013 Further reading EditThe Best of Granta Reportage Granta Books in association with Penguin Books 1994 ISBN 978 0 14 014071 2 External links EditGranta official website Granta Books official website Finding aid to Granta records at Columbia University Rare Book amp Manuscript Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Granta amp oldid 1133201448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
