It’s a big season for big names in literature

The last quarter of 2012 will see (and has seen) a dearth new releases from some of the biggest names in literature. Here is a quick look at four of them:

“Joseph Anton” by Salman Rushdie
This memoir recounts the years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against the author because of the publication of “The Satanic Verses.” The Ayatollah declared the book to be offensive to Islam (even though he was illiterate and hadn’t read the book itself) and went so far as to put a personal monetary bounty on Rushdie’s head. For nearly a decade, Rushdie lived under the constant threat of assassination but refuse to give into the fear, living a public life.

“NW” by Zadie Smith
“NW” is the postal for Northwest London and it is where we find four fictional characters growing up in an impoverished housing project. Described as a tragi-comic, the novel follows the lives of the four Londoners and bounces around from first to third person and from screenplay dialogue to very short stories. This is another testament to Smith’s unique ability to write in a picturesque manner.

“The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling
Finally, J.K. Rowling is throwing off the shackles of the lucrative world of wizards and magic to try her hand at, gasp, adult literature. In “The Casual Vacancy” tells the tale of a small English town that’s at war with itself – rich against poor, children against parents and teachers against pupils – with an election looming.

“Sweet Tooth” by Ian McEwan
McEwan, one of Rushdie’s bestest buddies, keep putting out great novels and “Sweet Tooth” might continue that trend. It’s being hailed for its protagonist, which, according to the New York Times, is McEwan’s best since Briony Tallis in “Atonement.”

Other new releases this fall and winter:
“This Is How You Lose Her” by Junot Diaz

“Back to Blood” by Tom Wolfe

“Telegraph Avenue” by Michael Chabon

“Who I Am” by Pete Townshend

About the Author

A Juilliard-trained writer, Kevin Kizer has fought against numerous world-champion writers during his career, besting the reigning middle weight writing champion in an exhibition bout in Helsinki in 1976. He also played a crucial role on the U.S. gold-medal winning writing team during the 1984 Pan-Am games, where he came off the bench in dramatic fashion to write the winning prepositional phrase just as time expired.