‘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 ]
News tagged with: #ve read #main character #rarely deliver #novelists

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up'


500+ Authors Sign Letter Supporting HarperCollins Union’s Strike

More than 500 authors have signed a letter standing with the HarperCollins union as they reach of month of being on strike. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-12-12 18:27:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins union #harpercollins


Struggling authors know writing is a rich person’s hobby | Letters

Stephen Carver, Guinevere Glasfurd, Brian Needham and Jo McMillan respond to Joanne Harris’s article about horribly low pay in the publishing worldRegarding Joanne Harris’s article (Horribly low pay is pushing out my fellow authors – and yes, that really does matter, 7 December), I guess I’m a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-11 17:07:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joanne harris #fellow authors #ve published #mainstream publishers #day job #academic publishing #anthology


Register Today for AAPI Communities in Conversation #12 with Elizabeth Miki Brina, Author of 'Speak, Okinawa'

Brina will appear in conversation with Elizabeth Joseph of New Rochelle Public Library. The live stream is set for Tuesday, December 6th at 1 p.m. ET. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #register today #aapi communities #live stream


Inaugural Russell Freedman Award Honors Late Author's Impact

The winners of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' inaugural Russell Freedman Award for Nonfiction for a Better World were announced on November 29. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book writers #children's book


Lit Hub Daily: November 29, 2022

Nick Fuller Googins makes the case for selling Simon & Schuster to… the employees of Simon & Schuster. | Lit Hub The 23 best old books we read (or reread) in 2022. | Lit Hub Reading Lists Read a new translation of “The Caucasus” by Ukrainian poet-hero Taras Shevchenko: “The bones / Of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-29 11:30:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #simon schuster #lit hub


I’m a HarperCollins author. Here’s why (and how) I won’t cross the virtual picket line.

In days of yore—that is, my childhood in the paper-mill town of Mexico, Maine—a labor strike looked like an ugly affair. Picketing men in steel-toed boots screamed themselves hoarse at every shift change, their righteous anger rising into a sky thick with the sulfurous clouds of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-23 16:38:06 UTC ]
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Children’s authors of colour published in UK rose to 11.7% of market in 2021

BookTrust research shows, however, that the overall picture ‘remains far from representative’ with some writers and illustrators reporting tokenismNew research has found that 11.7% of children’s book creators published in the UK in 2021 were people of colour, up from 5.6% in 2017.Despite the big... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-23 06:01:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk rose #diana gerald #children’s book


Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: ‘If you don’t have sex and romance, you feel like you haven’t achieved’

The writer and illustrator on turning her ‘weird hobby’ into a bestselling YA series and Netflix hit, the importance of asexual representation and lessons from her fans on love bitesAt 28, the author and illustrator Alice Oseman recently achieved what so many of her peers cannot: she bought a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-19 09:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adults alike #huge increase #book sales #recently won #bag readers #choice award #graphic novel #comic book


Female Authors are Speaking Up, Strengthening Spirits

Female authors reveal honest stories of trauma, the challenges of motherhood, sexual dysfunction, and other rarely-talked about topics in new religion and spirituality books for women. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s Author Marcus Sedgwick Dies

Celebrated children's author Marcus Sedgwick, who was nominated for more than 30 awards, has passed away unexpectedly. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-11-17 17:42:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #celebrated children #children's author


Marcus Sedgwick, celebrated children’s author, dies aged 54

Tributes have flooded in for the much-loved writer, who wrote more than 40 books for children and adults including the recent Be the Change handbooksAuthor Marcus Sedgwick, who wrote more than 40 books for children and adults, has died aged 54. His literary agency RCW has confirmed his death,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-17 13:02:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #celebrated children #guardian children #much-loved writer #carnegie medal #fiction prize #literary agency


Authors Guild Applauds Arrest, Indictment of Major E-Book Pirates

Two Russian nationals are now facing criminal charges in the U.S. for their role in running Z-Library, one of the world's most notorious e-book pirate sites before its domains were seized by U.S. officials earlier this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Picture Book Biographies of Authors to Show Kids How to Use Their Words

These picture book biographies of authors, including John Ronald's Dragons: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien, show children how they can use their words to describe their inner and outer worlds. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-11-15 11:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #outer worlds #picture book


The Intimate Influences Behind New Queer Lit Magazine, ‘BitterSweet Review’

The new literary magazine is distributed in Europe via Antenne Books in print and online. Founding editor Benoît Loiseau shares how independent literature forms forge new inroads into publishing for minority authors and readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #intimate influences #bittersweet review #antenne books #minority authors #literary magazine


Sheikh Zayed Award Names Longlists: Literature, Children’s Literature, Young Authors

The first three categories' longlists have been released in the 17th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, based in Abu Dhabi. The post Sheikh Zayed Award Names Longlists: Literature, Children’s Literature, Young Authors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-11-10 20:55:04 UTC ]
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These famous authors are expressing solidarity with the striking HarperCollins workers.

As you may have seen on Book Twitter today, the unionized workers of HarperCollins are striking to secure a fair contract, livable wages, and a more equitable publishing industry. Some 250 employees—across the editorial, publicity, sales, marketing, legal and design departments—agreed to go on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-10 19:23:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #famous authors #unionized workers #indefinite strike #harpercollins


Lit Hub Daily: November 10, 2022

“Our teeth tell stories about us, about the way that we have lived, about where we come from, about our habits, our health, and status.” Angelique Stevens muses on dentistry, poverty, and inequality. | Lit Hub Memoir In this week’s Life Advice for Book Lovers, Dorothea recommends books for... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-10 11:30:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #life advice #book lovers #memoir


The Intimate Influences Behind New Queer Lit Magazine, ‘BitterSweet Review’

The new literary magazine is distributed in Europe via Antenne Books in print and online. Founding editor Benoît Loiseau shares how independent literature forms forge new inroads into publishing for minority authors and readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #intimate influences #bittersweet review #antenne books #minority authors #literary magazine


Lit Hub Daily: November 9, 2022

Kris Jansma on working the polls and having long (bipartisan) conversations about literature with his fellow Election Inspectors. | Lit Hub Politics Read rapid-fire interviews with the National Book Award finalists. | Lit Hub “Now we have conversations where we can’t remember what’s in the book... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-09 11:30:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lit hub #book award


Lit Hub Weekly: October 31-November 4, 2022

Emily Temple rounds up the 60 greatest academic satires, campus novels, and boarding school bildungsromans of the last 100 years. | Lit Hub Reading Lists Lynn Caponera considers the wild and wonderful legacy of Maurice Sendak’s creations (and his rigorous work routine). | Lit Hub Art &... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-05 10:30:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #campus novels #maurice sendak #short stories