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The Naked Lunch
Literature, Rare items
William Burrough
SIGNEDThe Olympia Press, 1959 First edition, SIGNED. This carries a stamped 18NF over the original 1500F price. France adopted the nouveau franc in 1963, so we can assume that this edition didn't sell until after this point!€2,750.00
CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit! €2,750.00 -
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Ariel
Literature, Rare items
Sylvia Plath
First EditionFirst edition, First Impression Faber and Faber, 1965 A lovely edition fit for anybody's shelf! CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit!€500.00€500.00 -
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Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta
Literature, Rare items
Pablo Neruda
SIGNEDFirst edition of Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta, Santiago de Chile, 1967, signed by Pablo Neruda. This copy has travelled a little, though not quite as far and as poorly as Joaquín Murieta, and so shows some soiling and with a slightly faded signature, but is a nice example of this title with Neruda's typical cursive! COMES WITH A FIRST PRESSING VINYL of Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta recorded by Sergio Ortega Here it here.€1,200.00
CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit! €1,200.00 -
Pequeña Antologia
Literature, Rare items
Gabriela Mistral
SIGNEDLovely copy of this signed First Edition of Gabriela Mistral's unpublished poems. Inscribed by the author on the front free page to the Chilean poet Milo Navarro. Comes with a black and white photo from a Lunch at Escuela de Artes Graficas in Santiago de Chile. Picture at the center is Gabriela Mistral. Four from right is the Chilean poet Milo Navarro. Pages are clean with no marks or inscriptions. The Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist was the First Latin American (and, so far, the only Latin American woman) to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945. These Anthology of unpublished poems exemplify Mitral's interest in awakening in her contemporaries love for the essences of their American identity.€1,750.00
CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit! €1,750.00 -
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Madrid will be their Tomb:
Literature
the English language launch€0.00FREE ENTRY 1st December 20h00 Limited Tickets - 30
We're thrilled to host the Madrid launch of 'Madrid will be their Tomb', the English language translation of Elizabeth Duval's first novel! ‘Modest and powerfully beautiful, this is writing which illuminates human mystery and lifts the reader into the air, leaving them on an edge where their convictions tremble and shake.’ —JUAN MANUEL DE PRADA. ABC. About the book: Two occupied buildings: one the former headquarters of the NO-DO (a Francoist propaganda outlet) that has been taken over by a small group of fascists, the other the ruins of some abandoned film studios that have been converted into the barracks of a Marxist-Leninist cell. Drifting between these two spaces are Santiago and Ramiro; two characters who, although finding solace in two polarised political groups, cross paths and change each other’s lives. Discursive and devastating, Duval’s first novel is imbued with the same traits as the era she portrays. A sad, passionate, and all too real portrait of an ever more divided world, Duval’s story, in her powerful, shocking, yet considered prose, reminds us of the uncomfortable, but somewhat comforting similarities we may find with the “enemy”. About the author: Elizabeth Duval is an author and the spokesperson for Feminism, Equality and LGTBI+ rights for Sumar. In 2020 she published Reina, the first memoir in Spain by a woman from GenZ, as well as Exception, a verse poem. In 2021 she published the essay Después de lo trans and the novel Madrid será la tumba. In 2023 she published Melancolía, a sociopolitical essay on how to recover hope when facing a grim future. She is also a regular contributor for national media outlets like eldiario.es, Público, El País, and La Sexta. About the translator: Alice Banks is a translator from Spanish and French based in Madrid. In December 2022, Alice’s translation, Deranged As I Am, by Ali Zamir, was published by Fum d’Estampa Press. When she is not translating, Alice also works as a publisher at Fum d’Estampa Press and an Editorial Assistant for The European Literature Network, where she writes the monthly column, ‘La Española’. ‘A marvellous novel.’ —NADAL SUAU, EL ESPAÑOL.€0.00 -
Eleven Stories 2021 – 2023
Literary PrizeThe Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction is an international award for innovative new writing. The last three years of Eleven Stories contain some of the best contemporary short fiction. 2023 prize judged by: Mariana Enríquez, Ottessa Moshfegh, & Tiffany Tsao. Works by: Campbell Andersen, Jan Carson, N G F Clark, Paige Cowan-Hall, Phillippa Finkemeyer, Hadley Franklin, Jack Gain, Jay Gao, Samuel Glyn, Katie Hale, Annie Hayter, Grace Henes, Mia-Francesca Jones, Isha Karki, Stephen Lynch, Victoria Manifold, Evan Martinak, Andrea Mason, Ananya Mishra, Dipika Mukherjee, Nick Mulgrew, Connor Oswald, Nicholas Petty, Young Rader, Mariana Roa Oliva, David Ryan, Erin Scudder, Avigayl Sharp, Dizz Tate, Siri Katinka Valdez, Gavin Weale, Naomi Wood, Jona Xhepa.€25.00€25 for the 2021, 2022, & 2023 anthologies Books will be shipped once the 2023 anthology is delivered in November 2023
ABOUT THE 2023 SHORTLIST:
‘There is such energy in these stories. Such pulse!’ - TIFFANY TSAO, 2023 Judge
‘I like this prize especially because it’s so international. The voices aren’t coming from a limited cultural perspective, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s a breadth of wider experiences by the writers. They’re conveying something, and I think conveying something with urgency.’ - OTTESSA MOSHFEGH, 2023 Judge
ABOUT THE 2023 WINNING STORY:
‘['Falling' is] a story I haven’t read before: a story of loss, focused not on grief but on how others make use of the depth and power of death [...] beautiful in its economy, not a word too long or short. Moving, and yet very quiet. Precise and relaxed.’ — OTTESSA MOSHFEGH, 2023 Judge
‘honest and sensual [...] carrying a slight but intense wickedness.’ — MARIANA ENRÍQUEZ, 2023 Judge
ABOUT THE 2022 SHORTLIST:
'The stories were exquisitely written and completely delightful in their power to surprise and astonish in a remarkably few number of words. Reading these stories made me feel glad for the future of short stories and excited me for reading more. I hope other readers feel the same way.' - ANTON HUR
'In these rich and vibrant stories, the language surprises and delights. From surreal mouse proposals to the catharsis of visible grief, via the uncertainty of memory and perception, each of these stories creates a new, engrossing reality, while shedding light on our own.' - NATASHA BROWN
ABOUT THE 2021 SHORTLIST:
‘I loved reading the shortlist selection which realizes the Desperate Literature team’s ambition to reimagine and diversify contemporary writing. The stories represented are inquisitive, irreverential, critical, and fully committed to their respective creative projects. I’ve never been more hopeful for the future of fiction, and the Desperate Literature Prize plays no small part in this.’ — Isabel Waidner, 2021 Judge
€25.00 -
‘Eleven Stories 2023’
GIFTS, Literary Prize
.pdf + print€2.50 – €11.00Eleven Stories 2023 collects the shortlist from our sixth short fiction prize and is available in either:
PDF - €2.5 (which can be recouped against entry to the 2024 prize!) PRINT + PDF - €11 / a limited edition copy, numbered and stamped by our fine selves (OUT NOW) and the PDF to boot. **shipping is by Spanish postal service and doesn't carry tracking, which can be added for €15 on demand via email!
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S SHORTLIST:
‘There is such energy in these stories. Such pulse!’ - TIFFANY TSAO, 2023 Judge
‘I like this prize especially because it’s so international. The voices aren’t coming from a limited cultural perspective, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s a breadth of wider experiences by the writers. They’re conveying something, and I think conveying something with urgency.’ - OTTESSA MOSHFEGH, 2023 Judge
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S WINNING STORY:
‘['Falling' is] a story I haven’t read before: a story of loss, focused not on grief but on how others make use of the depth and power of death [...] beautiful in its economy, not a word too long or short. Moving, and yet very quiet. Precise and relaxed.’ — OTTESSA MOSHFEGH, 2023 Judge
‘honest and sensual [...] carrying a slight but intense wickedness.’ — MARIANA ENRÍQUEZ, 2023 Judge
The stories were exquisitely written and completely delightful in their power to surprise and astonish in a remarkably few number of words. Reading these stories made me feel glad for the future of short stories and excited me for reading more. I hope other readers feel the same way - ANTON HUR
In these rich and vibrant stories, the language surprises and delights. From surreal mouse proposals to the catharsis of visible grief, via the uncertainty of memory and perception, each of these stories creates a new, engrossing reality, while shedding light on our own. - NATASHA BROWN
Here's what the magnificent Rachel Cusk and Niven Govinden have to say about our 2020 selection:
‘I thoroughly enjoyed reading these submissions, which surprised me with their honest poise, their integrity, and their understated adherence to the values of literature. In the hands of some of these writers, the story form was brought to bear on the modern scene in new and astute ways.’ – Rachel Cusk ‘I was bowled over by the power, inquiry, and humour of these stories. They shine brightly in the mind after reading.’ – Niven Govinden€2.50 – €11.00
