Are millennials really driving ‘cancel culture’ - or is it their overcautious critics?

Older generations argue that young people’s insistence on equality in all things – including books – threatens to stifle free speech. But is that always true?I wouldn’t normally air my dirty literary linen in public, but here goes. When I finished writing my novel Putney, about a 13-year-old girl who has a “love affair” in the 1970s with an older man and realises decades later that it was actually abuse, my previous editor at Jonathan Cape chose not to publish it. The reasons emerged this year when he was interviewed in the Spectator. “If Lolita was offered to me today,” Dan Franklin said, “I’d never be able to get it past the acquisition team – a committee of 30-year-olds, who’d say: ‘If you publish this book we will all resign.’” He pointed to #MeToo and social media as fundamental factors: “You can organise outrage at the drop of a hat.”Fortunately, Bloomsbury’s acquisition team – overwhelmingly female and mixed aged – were brave enough to take on Putney, which was described in the Observer as “a Lolita for the era of #MeToo”. Whether there was any truth in his words or not, Franklin’s position reveals how much fear now exists in publishing. Related: Putney by Sofka Zinovieff review – a Lolita for the age of #MeToo ‘It’s only about not being an arsehole,’ my daughter said. ‘That’s not so difficult’ Related: Nabokov's Lolita: the latest thing millennials have apparently ruined Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-10 10:03:01 UTC ]
News tagged with: #including books #finished writing #love affair #older man ##metoo #jonathan cape

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Here’s the shortlist for the 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding.

Today, the British Academy announced the shortlist for the 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding, an international book prize, now in its 11th year, that “celebrates ground-breaking research-based works of non-fiction that have made an outstanding contribution to the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-12 00:00:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #11th year #outstanding contribution #public understanding #world cultures #book prize


The Gutenberg Parenthesis by Jeff Jarvis review – why print culture is key to the future

From the Gutenberg press to the word processor, a detailed trawl through the history of print offers lessons for the digital ageThe Gutenberg Parenthesis is a term coined by Danish scholar Lars Ole Sauerberg, who proposed that the history of literary culture as we had hitherto known it – the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-02 11:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital technology #intellectual property #oral tradition #important role #printing press


I Can’t Offer Up My Culture for Consumption

As I prepare for the paperback launch of my debut novel The Girls in Queens, I share with a group of writers and artists that I’m putting together a Book Club Kit. This has become a fairly common digital offering; a colorful PDF of brief insights from the author, a recipe or two related to... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-07-25 11:12:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paperback launch #electric literature #book club #debut novel


Streaming services are removing original TV and films. What this means for your favourite show – and our cultural heritage

As part of recent challenges, multiple services have removed TV and film from their libraries – in many cases, meaning they are gone forever, inaccessible to any fan. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-07-10 20:08:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #streaming services #cultural heritage #multiple services #libraries


Library Event Cancelations, Changes, and Support for Pride Month 2023

A look at the destruction of Pride displays, cancelation of Drag storytimes, and other June LGBTQ+ events in U.S. libraries in 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-07-10 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pride displays #libraries


Authors of ‘And Tango Makes Three’ Sue Over Florida Law Driving Book Bans

The authors of a picture book about a penguin family with two fathers sued the state and a school district that removed the book from libraries. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-06-20 14:25:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school district #picture book


Black creators drive higher media value for marketers, study finds

A new report from Group Black and Nielsen reveals Black creators have larger and more engaged followings than their non-Black peers. Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2023-06-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Escape from Dude Culture: PW Talks with Mattie Lubchansky 

Cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky talks about their debut graphic novel 'Boys Weekend' (Pantheon) which translates their trans-femme experience into a biting lampoon of tech culture and a humorous recap of the relentless disrespect trans folk face every day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Kraft increases investment in its digital media mix with a focus on nostalgia and millennial parents

In addition to preparing television and sponsored ads, Kraft has also taken an interest in digital OOH and social media displays to account for how consumer shopping habits have changed. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-05-22 04:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #millennial parents #digital media


Naomi Klein investigates ‘conspiracy theory culture’ that has shaken her life

Doppelganger, due out this autumn, examines ‘the wildness of right now’, including personal issues arising from being confused with Naomi Wolf Award-winning author and Guardian columnist Naomi Klein is to publish a book about conspiracy theories, which she has described as a departure and “more... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-17 13:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #conspiracy theories #previous books #award-winning author


Sheikh Zayed Book Award Names Omar Khairat Its Cultural Personality

Admired for his internationalist compositions that use both Western and Oriental instrumentation and melody, Egypt's Omar Khairat is honored by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award Names Omar Khairat Its Cultural Personality appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-05-15 13:27:42 UTC ]
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How a Riverside bookstore, a cultural oasis, got a new lease — drag readings and all

Not long after its drag queen story hours attracted protests, Riverside's Cellar Door Bookstore got evicted. But at this oasis of inclusion, the show will go on Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-04 13:00:17 UTC ]
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Workers at B&N Flagship Store in NYC Launch Union Drive

Workers at the Barnes & Noble flagship store in New York City's Union Square filed on Friday for a union election with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It is the second union drive started by B&N workers in the past month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #union election #past month


Marrying the craft of culture, marketing and technology serves as a true north for progress for brand execs attending Possible

The newly launched Possible conference held in Miami Beach this week focused on the importance of culture in the digital media and marketing ecosystem. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-04-20 04:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marketing ecosystem #newly launched #miami beach #digital media


Charkin: ‘The Culture of Bloomsbury and Industry Progress’

The 'Miss Pergamon' contest, Bloomsbury, and 'the prominent roles taken by women' in publishing are on Richard Charkin's mind, in this exclusive pre-publication excerpt from his forthcoming memoir. The post Charkin: ‘The Culture of Bloomsbury and Industry Progress’ appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-10 05:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #richard charkin #post charkin #prominent roles #forthcoming memoir #bloomsbury


Millennial Black Church Leaders to Get Elders' Blessing

An event by the AND Campaign will feature authors, pastors, millennials, and elders who are working to bridge the conservative-progressive divide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Drive now caps the number of files you can create

You might not want to use Google Drive for large system backups or other many-file transfers. Ars Technica has learned Google quietly instituted a user "creation limit" of 5 million files sometime in February. As Reddit user ra13 discovered, personal (Google One) and business (Google Workspace)... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-04-03 19:12:30 UTC ]
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The National Book Critics Circle Awards Return to Manhattan

This year's National Book Critics Circle Awards, honoring books published in 2022, returned to its in-person format for the first time since 2019 to present awards to Joy Harjo, Hua Hsu, Ling Ma, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ukrainian Author Andrey Kurkov Among National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

A collection of fantastical short stories and a book of poems about escaping capitalist society were also among the 2022 winners. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-03-24 00:51:07 UTC ]
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Eric Brown, science fiction author and Guardian critic, dies aged 62

Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #west yorkshire #award-winning author #science fiction