'Among the finest of Indian writing': Irish Times on Jaspreet Singh's Chef

The Bloomsbury edition of Jaspreet Singh's Chef, launched in London earlier this month, is making the right kind of splash (that we from across the pond in the Véhicule Press family are watching with interest and Rogan Josh-warmed hearts). Chef was first published by Esplanade Books, Véhicule's fiction imprint, in 2008. Eileen Battersby writes in Irish Times:

Chef is an elegant, angry novel, and curiously European in tone. It is worthy to stand among the finest of Indian writing, while also being different. It is bleak, solitary and intense. There are none of the familiar set pieces, none of the exasperated exchanges.

See also: Times, BBC interview, Metro.UK, The Independent, Guardian, The Australian

Singh Makes Telegraph's Top New Novelists for 2010

Ahead of Bloomsbury's March release of Chef, Jaspreet Singh has made it onto the Sunday Telegraph's list of the Top New Novelists of 2010. Chef was originally published by Esplanade Books/Vehicule Press in 2008. Congratulation Sahib!

What do Auster, Roth and Singh have in common?

The 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award longlist has been announced. We're tickled pink that Jaspreet Singh's novel, Chef, has made the list, nominated by Calgary Public Library. Chef is published in Véhicule's Esplanade Books fiction series edited by Andrew Steinmetz.

Bloomsbury buys rights to Véhicule's Chef

Véhicule is pleased to announce that Bloomsbury has acquired world English language rights (excluding Canada and India) to Jaspreet Singh's novel, Chef. The deal was arranged by Natasha Daneman and Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Indian rights to Chef have been sold to Penguin, World Spanish rights to Paramo Ediciones, World French rights to Buchet-Chastel, and Italian rights to Piemme.

This has been a banner year for Jaspreet Singh. Chef won the 2009 Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Prize for Best Book (Canada and Caribbean region), the CAA Literary Award for Fiction, and the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize. Chef is published in Véhicule's fiction series--Esplanade Books--edited by Andrew Steinmetz.

Chef is a compelling look at the India-Pakistan conflict from atop Siachen Glacier, the coldest and highest battlefield in the world.

Jaspreet Singh won critial acclaim for Seventeen Tomatoes (Véhicule Press) which was awarded the 2004 McAuslan First Book Prize and has been translated into Spanish and Punjabi.

Commonwealth Prize

Good news. Jaspreet Singh's novel Chef has been shortlisted in the Best Book category for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Caribbean and Canada region.)

Jaspreet Singh’s stories have appeared in Walrus, Maisonneuve, Zoetrope, and on CBC Radio. Seventeen Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir won the Quebec Writers’ Federation 2004 McAuslan First Book Prize and has been translated into Spanish and Punjabi. He is currently writer-in-residence at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

P.K. Page says that "Chef is an intricate, subtle and beautiful book and it introduces a new note into Canadian literature.”

The regional winners will be announced March 11 in Kingston, Jamaica.

More info here.

Photo of the day

April 26, 2008. Photographer John W. Macdonald says: "Jaspreet Singh stands just outside the Manx Pub on Elgin Street in Ottawa just prior to his reading [from his QWF shortlisted novel, Chef]. He was later introduced to the pub crowd by Esplanade Books editor, Andrew Steinmetz." See more photos from the insanely talented JWM here.