Book briefs: Next Marlon James book will be an 'African 'Game of Thrones''

Welcome to your weekly roundup of book news and literary highlights from The Thread.

This week, Russian officials are getting a special holiday tome from the Kremlin, and much-loved authors are winding up for their next books.

Marlon James' next novel will be "an African 'Game of Thrones'"

After winning the Man Booker Prize for "A Brief History of Seven Killings," James has his sights set on the fantasy aisle.

His next book will be called "Black Leopard, Red Wolf," and he plans for it to be the first in a series. In an interview with Man of the World Magazine, James described it as "an African 'Game of Thrones.'"

"I realized how sick and tired I was of arguing about whether there should be a black hobbit in 'Lord of the Rings,' the Macalester professor added, according to Vulture.

"African folklore is just as rich, and just as perverse as that s---. We have witches, we have demons, we have goblins, and mad kings. We have stories of royal succession that would put 'Wolf Hall' to shame. We beat the Tudors two times over."

Happy New Year! You're getting a book of Putin quotes

A group of Russian officials is getting a holiday gift from the Kremlin this year: a 400-page book of President Vladimir Putin quotes.

According to The New York Times, it's full of "snappy, Twitter-length quotes drawn from the past 12 years of Mr. Putin's most important speeches and interviews."

The Kremlin did not commission the book, but when Putin's deputy chief of staff saw a copy, he decided it would make the perfect holiday gift. The government purchased the first 1,500 copies to give away. (This practice isn't confined to Putin. In 2011, the State Department spent more than $70,000 on copies of President Obama's memoirs, using them as holiday gifts.)

For those eager to get their hands on the quotable Putin, The New York Times reports that an English translation is in the works.

More coming from "The Martian" author Andy Weir

Weir had the biggest book success story in recent years when his originally self-published book, "The Martian," landed on bestseller lists and was adapted into a Matt Damon movie.

Weir published the book online in 2011, but Random House later scooped up the rights and re-released it last year to an enthusiastic audience. Readers devoured the story of astronaut Mark Watney, marooned on Mars.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Weir said his next book is already in the works. It will feature a city on the moon and a female lead.

"I'm a little nervous about that because I've never written a female character, and I hope it comes off as believable," Weir told the Huffington Post.

Jonathan Safran Foer to publish first novel since 2005

Foer, who burst on to the literary scene with "Everything Is Illuminated" in 2002, and followed it up with "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" in 2005, is returning to a bookstore near you.

The New York Times reports that his third novel, "Here I Am," will be published in September 2016. The story follows a family in Washington, D.C., as the parent's marriage crumbles. From The New York Times:

"While the family implodes, relatives from Israel are visiting for the bar mitzvah of one of the sons.

The drama unfolds as a larger catastrophe engulfs the Middle East, when a massive earthquake devastates the region and Israel is invaded."

"Here I Am" is part of a three-book deal with publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux, which includes another novel and a book of nonfiction. Foer's previous nonfiction title, "Eating Animals," released in 2009, examined the environmental impact and cultural importance of food.

Foer, who was just 25 when his first novel was published, has seen both of his previous novels adapted into films. The New York Times hints that this next novel could be more autobiographical than the rest, citing Foer's own recent split from novelist Nicole Krauss.