Art Connects Us: Sarah Odedina

As a recipient of the Arts Connects Us Grant I travelled to Ghana and Sierra Leone to meet with writers and publishing professionals working in the field of books for young readers to foster creative and collaborative exchanges between those contacts and publishing professionals and readers in the UK. This blog post is by necessity a focus on very specific meetings and conversations and is only a fraction of the encounters and connections I made. I planned my visit to Ghana to coincide with the PaGya! Festival which is organised by Writers Project Ghana and the Goethe Institute. Over the course of three days writers and publishers gathered to talk about everything from poetry to narrative non-fiction, memoir to books for younger readers.  There was a packed programme from morning until night with simultaneous events happening making the festival a positive and vibrant event. Speakers came from all over the world and their backgrounds, interests and perspectives ensured a well rounded and broad look at the world of writing with roots in West Africa. Prior to the festival I had arranged several days of meetings with people involved in the world of children’s literature to talk about their work as writers and publishers and also to get to grips with the market in Ghana.  It soon became very clear that not only is there a thriving publishing scene in Ghana it is one that is self-sufficient both in terms of talent and audience.  I was told often that what readers in Ghana need... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-03-19 11:10:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Art Connects Us: Sarah Odedina"


Rethinking 'diversity' in publishing

Five years after a report into the trade that induced many measures to change the publishing industry, a new text will assess the current state of play. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Westchester Publishing Services Celebrates 50 Years

The leading provider of publishing services celebrates 50 years of delivering excellence to the publishing industry. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Picador lands new SF story collection from Chiang

Picador has landed a second book of short stories by acclaimed science fiction writer Ted Chiang, Exhalation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Q&A: Karen Bender on her short stories that confront hot-button issues

Some writers turn to fiction as a way to escape the nonstop onslaught of (mostly bad) news that Americans are subjected to constantly these days. Karen E. Bender, the novelist and short story writer, is not that kind of writer. Bender’s new short story collection, “The New Order,” takes on a host... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


INDONESIA FOCUS: Q+A Laksmi Pamuntjak

Indonesia is the country of focus at the London Book Fair this year and recently at Frankfurt - to what extent do you think Indonesian literature is finally having it's moment in the spotlight? I cannot say for certain what these one-off ‘spotlights’ on Indonesian literature would mean for... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-02-08 10:06:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Audible brings A.S. Byatt novels and stories to audio for first time

Audible is bringing the novels and short stories of A.S. Byatt to audio for the first time this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Myriad acquires Chiew's debut short story collection

Myriad has acquired world rights to Elaine Chiew's debut collection of short stories, The Heartsick Diaspora. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


International Prize for Arabic Fiction Shortlist Announcement

The shortlist for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced today at the El-Hakawati Palestinian National Theatre in East Jerusalem. The IPAF - often referred to as the ‘Arabic Booker’ - is an annual literary prize for prose fiction, which encourages the readership of... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-02-05 16:33:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams targets 7+ readers with new ‘daft story’

David Walliams’ next publication, a funny story entitled Fing, "dovetails seamlessly" with his short stories and middle-grade novels, according to his publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Trade gets behind new Female Leadership in Publishing newsletter

A new digital platform and newsletter called The FLIP (Female Leadership in Publishing), launched by three Transworld colleagues to showcase "brilliant, inspiring, courageous and creative" women who work in the publishing industry, has been "inundated" with support, collecting hundreds of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Comma scoops Constantine's fifth short story collection

Author of the Oscar-nominated film “45 Years” David Constantine has signed a deal for a collection of short stories, The Dressing-up Box, with Comma Press. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis

Each month in 2018, Future Tense Fiction—a series of short stories from Future Tense and ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination about how technology and science will change our lives—will publish a story on a theme. The theme for October–December 2018: Work. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2018-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Unit Sales Dropped 6.5% in Mid-December

The publishing industry does not look like it is headed for a big finish to 2018. In the week ended Dec. 15, 2018, unit sales of print books fell 6.5% compared to the similar week in 2017 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Morpurgo, James and Byatt join forces with London bookshops to raise money for homeless

Daunt Books, Waterstones and Foyles are raising money for The Passage, a charity that supports people who are homeless, by selling a book of short stories by AS Byatt, Lennie James and Michael Morpurgo. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Let's ensure inclusivity is the norm and not a trend,' Lovegrove urges

It is “absolutely the responsibility” of the publishing industry to inspire and empower the next generation, Dialogue Books publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove has said, while urging the trade to ensure inclusivity in the workplace is "the norm, and not just a trend". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Shortlist announced for FutureBook/Pigeonhole short story competition

Thirty-six short stories were submitted for the first ever FutureBook speculative fiction competition run with digital reading platform the Pigeonhole. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Books News: Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Finally Hits Shelves

The publishing industry might have to think back to Harry Potter’s heyday for a book that has garnered as much attention as the former first lady’s has. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2018-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Beatles biographer Philip Norman: 'Yoko was waiting for me – with two lawyers'

He has charmed Elton John, angered Paul McCartney – and horrified Yoko Ono. What will he uncover about the ‘murky’ death of Jimi Hendrix? The great rock writer reveals the pain – and pleasure – of chasing starsSlowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton is my eighth rock biography since Shout!... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Newly discovered stories of Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz to Saqi

Saqi Books is publishing a newly discovered collection of short stories by the late author Naguib Mahfouz, who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this