‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up

In this post-Fleabag world, publishing has become obsessed with the inner turmoils of messy millennials – but isn’t it time they pulled themselves together? Meet the novelists subverting the clichesYou’ve probably come across this woman: she is unfulfilled in her career, has been abandoned by at least one man, she is aimless and lamenting the obstacles in her life (of which, in reality, there don’t appear to be many). She is not just miserable, she’s a mess; self-absorbed and full of self-loathing.If you’ve read a book by a woman, about a woman, that has been published in the last five years, then it’s overwhelmingly likely that this woman was the protagonist. The narrative likely circled around this character’s sadness, her passive struggle to overcome it, and little else. Typically, such stories have notes of darkness but will rarely deliver the actual thing. Usually the main character (like the author) will be middle-class, if not incredibly wealthy. Almost always she will be white. The book’s cover will probably feature a devastated-looking woman with her hair covering her face or her head cradled in her hands. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 15:19:43 UTC ]
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Other Publishing stories related to: '‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up'


NEA Awards $1.4 Million in Lit Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts plans to award $1.42 million to 56 U.S. literature nonprofits. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Hits Back at Google Ruling

Late Friday afternoon, the Authors Guild filed its appeal in its copyright infringement lawsuit against Google. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air April 11, 2014: Robert Dawson

Robert Dawson, author of "The Public Library: A Photographic Essay" (Princeton Architectural Press, 9781616892173), will appear on "Weekend Edition Saturday" on Saturday, April 12. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air April 10, 2014: Martin Goldsmith

Martin Goldsmith, author of "Alex’s Wake: A Voyage of Betrayal and a Journey of Remembrance"(Da Capo, 9780306823220) will appear on MSNBC TV's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on Thursday, April 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air April 8, 2014: Barbara Ehrenreich and Martin Goldsmith

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of "Living with a Wild God: A Nonbeliever’s Search for the Truth About Everything" (Twelve, 9781455501762) will appear on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" and NPR’s "Fresh Air" on Tuesday, April 8. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Smorgasbord: Links of Note, Apr. 7, 2014

This week, we’re reading about the cookbooks of Laurie Colwin and Paula Wolfert, the life of a restaurant sous chef, the current state of craft brewing, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air April 4, 2014: Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis, author of "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt" (Norton, 9780393244663) will appear on C-SPAN2's "BookTV" on Saturday, April 5. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2014: Helping Publishers to Sell Direct: The Qbend Story

Powering more than 50 e-bookstores for publishers specializing in such subjects as fiction, academic, professional and romance has given Qbend COO Kaushik Sampath many unique insights on e-retailing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild's Constantine Testifies

In testimony delivered before a House subcommittee, AG counsel Jan Constantine recapped the AG’s long running copyright dispute with Google and offered one possible solution—a collective licensing agreement for digital presentation rights to out-of-print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Prejudice' claim from Scottish authors

London publishers are turning down work they consider “too Scottish”, the chair of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air March 31, 2014: Jennifer Buhl and Max Brooks

Jennifer Buhl, author of "Shooting Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood’s Most Famous" (Sourcebooks, 9781402297007), will appear on "Entertainment Tonight" on Monday, March 31. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LinkedIn Launches Insights Tool to Help Brands Become Better Publishers

For going on a year, LinkedIn has been repositioning its ad business around content marketing. Now it's launching new tools to let advertisers see how they're faring as publishers within its walls.LinkedIn will now start assigning brands content-marketing scores to gauge the effectiveness of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With 'Orphan Train,' Author Finds Bestsellerdom Fifth Time Around

Sixty thousand is the number of copies Christina Baker Kline thought her newest book, "Orphan Train," might sell in her "wildest dreams." For a midlist author on her fifth novel, it was a lofty number. It turns out, it was also way too low. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Vatican Diaries' author John Thavis looks at the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis

John Thavis released The Vatican Diaries' in 2013 and added a section about Pope Francis for the paperback edition. 'It has struck me how the level of enthusiasm around the world for this new Pope is definitely a notch or two above that inside the Vatican,' the author said. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rush Limbaugh: rightwing talkshow host to bestselling children's author

He's no friend of those on the political left, but he knows how to woo kids. He's been named as one of four finalists for book of the year at the Children's and Teen Choice Book AwardsName: Rush Limbaugh.Age: 63.Appearance: Angry face drawn on a pink dish.Occupation: Radio talkshow host,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium's new iPhone app helps you read (but not write) long articles

We can't say we know all that many people who routinely digest articles posted through Medium's social publishing platform. However, the readership is bound to go up now that the service has released an iPhone app. The mobile client is more of a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why LGBT Is One of the Fastest Growing Niches In Media

As print advertising revenue erodes for the consumer magazine industry as a whole, there are titles finding success catering to pockets of readers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaign to stamp out 'books for boys,' 'books for girls' gains traction

A campaign titled Let Books Be Books has received the support of authors, a newspaper, and bookseller Waterstones, and the related petition has garnered more than 4,000 signatures. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Author and Editor Donald Michael Kraig, 63

Kraig is perhaps best known as the author of "Modern Magick," published in 1988. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NCAC, ACLU Join Fray in So. Carolina Lit Controversy

The National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Civil Liberties Union have joined together to urge the South Carolina state senate's finance committee to retain state funding of two university reading programs under fire for assigning controversial books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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