Today in History (August 28)

1844 The Oblong Box by Edgar Allan Poe published

It is about a sea voyage and a mysterious box.

2014 Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood is published

Atwood describes the pieces in the collection as "tales" rather than short stories, as they draw from the mythical and fantastical aspects associated with fables and fairy tales, rather than from conventional literary realism.

2014 How to Be Both by Ali Smith is published

The story is told from two perspectives: those of George, a pedantic 16-year-old girl living in contemporary Cambridge, and Francesco del Cossa, an Italian renaissance artist responsible for painting a series of frescoes in the 'Hall of the Months' at the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, Italy.

• 2014 Man Booker Prize (shortlisted)
• 2014 Goldsmiths Prize (won)
• 2014 Costa Book Awards (won)
• 2015 Folio Prize shortlisted
• 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (won)

2014 Standing Heavy by Armand Patrick Gbaka-Brédé is published

The novel follows a series of undocumented Ivorian immigrants in Paris who find work as security guards. Their constant observations provides a cutting commentary on colonial legacies, Western capitalism and Franco-African history.

• Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023