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 ]
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Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an update to their coronavirus masking guidance. Fully vaccinated people can now go maskless outdoors, apart from in crowds, and even people who aren’t fully vaccinated can exercise maskless outdoors alone or with their household.... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-04-28 12:29:35 UTC ]
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Blake Bailey’s precipitous fall is proof that publishers can no longer ignore their authors’ behavior. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp says seven-figure book deal will go ahead, after open letter from employees accuses publisher of being ‘on the wrong side of justice’Simon & Schuster has said it will not pull out of a seven-figure book deal with Mike Pence after some of its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-21 12:05:44 UTC ]
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The New Yorker writer’s new book remind us of how much we’ve forgotten or neglected because of our widespread cultural amnesia. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-21 05:24:46 UTC ]
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Many of the biggest hits on such streaming services as Netflix and Disney+ have been adapted from comics and graphic novels. Publishers have learned to scramble to be sure the books these shows are based on are available when demand spikes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Culture Street mural for Grenfell Tower, with poem by Ben Okri, North Kensington, London, image courtesy of IranWire and #PaintTheChange. London-based writer Malu Halasa canvasses the Middle Eastern and North African culture scene in London,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-04-19 19:22:28 UTC ]
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The Zayed Award honors finalists in ‘he Development of Nations' and criticism from Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Tunisia. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award Shortlists: ‘Development of Nations’ and Criticism appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-19 04:47:40 UTC ]
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Orion Fiction has acquired the "wickedly funny" debut, First Time for Everything, from London Writers Award Winner Henry Fry, in a three-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-13 22:56:24 UTC ]
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The Irish Cultural Centre in London is launching a series of literary interviews, Northern Irish Voices, this weekend which will form part of its spring 2021 cultural programme. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 11:48:14 UTC ]
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The Bologna International Children's Book Fair announces a digital-only edition for 2021, cancelling its physical fair over the COVID-19 pandemic. The post Bologna Children’s Book Fair Cancels Its Physical 2021 Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-09 05:12:11 UTC ]
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From the ‘The Madman’s Library’ and ‘The Best of R.A. Lafferty’ to ‘Dog-Eared’ and ‘The Cookie Chronicles’ Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-07 13:00:00 UTC ]
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A scholar tries to make the case that we have evolved past the need for armed conflict. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-02 12:00:00 UTC ]
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He examined such topics as the cultural ferment of the 1960s, the artistic legacy of the Depression and the evolution of the American novel, offering a model of the ideal role of the critic in modern society. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-29 13:04:21 UTC ]
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The Italian Publishers Association is moving to make permanent some of the cooperative partnerships achieved during the pandemic. The post AIE Appeals for Ongoing Cultural Support in Italy’s Recovery Plan appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-26 17:17:31 UTC ]
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The Zayed Award honors 15th-anniversary finalists in 'Arab Culture in Other Languages,' 'Publishing and Technology' and Translation. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award Shortlists: ‘Arab Culture in Other Languages’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-22 01:31:14 UTC ]
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The latest in international book fairs, festivals, and trade shows, France's Salon du Livre Paris cnacels its 2021 iteration. The post France’s Publishers and Reed Announce Cancellation of Livre Paris 2021 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-18 18:39:13 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize winner John Archibald reexamines his father’s legacy in this fascinating blend of family memoir and moral reckoning. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Cultural competence requires us to look beyond Western norms and standards to think about what's missing and who is missing. Only then, writes Nicole A. Cooke, can we see the factors that contribute to and perpetuate the systemic racism and inequities that divide our society. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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I started querying agents for my memoir, Negative Space, in 2012, after two years of writing and revising. I got a few rounds of passes, including several friendly rejections in which agents said they just didn’t “know how to sell” my book. I heard this refrain enough times that I started... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-03-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish author Edna O’Brien is to be named Commander in the French “Ordre des Arts et Lettres” by the French minister of culture, in recognition of her body of work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-05 01:15:23 UTC ]
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