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 ]
What are some of the best short stories by female writers? Women have been making their mark on the short story form since the form became popular in the nineteenth century, and many notable female practitioners of the short story, such as Katherine Mansfield and Kate Chopin, were among the […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-03-23 15:00:17 UTC ]
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The voice of Ariel in Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ is bringing a memoir to Tyndale Momentum, the co-authors behind ‘The Come Back Effect’ sign with Baker once again, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
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The inventive and philosophical short stories of the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) take in a range of themes. Like many other authors, Borges had a set of preoccupations which he revisited time and again in his fiction, and a number of his stories are variations on the same […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-03-22 15:00:53 UTC ]
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Her essay collection was removed from contention in the category of best lesbian memoir after she went on Twitter to defend a forthcoming Sandra Newman novel from charges that it was transphobic. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-22 01:34:52 UTC ]
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It’s been ten years since the release of Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s bracingly honest memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as a young adult after her mother’s death with no experience or training—and to ccelebrate the anniversary, Strayed has released a cut scene from Wild, free to read... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
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In “The Emergency,” Thomas Fisher writes about his work at a Chicago hospital and the inequities of American health care. Continue reading at The New York Times
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Garrett Hongo tells a coming-of-age story wrapped in his love of writing and music, and recounts his lifelong quest for the perfect audio equipment. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-18 12:00:15 UTC ]
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Are you tired of getting your short stories rejected by literary magazines with weird names like Ploughshares, The Paris Review, and, lol, The New Yorker? Do you, a writer of a searing, minimalist narratives of longing and loss amid the ruins of late capitalism, need to eat? Sure you do! Well,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 16:16:55 UTC ]
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Sasha LaPointe escaped a difficult childhood on a reservation by diving into Seattle punk. Her memoir, "Red Paint," finds solace in her Native roots. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-17 13:00:46 UTC ]
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Why did Penguin decide to reissue a memoir and a novel by Harry Crews, a dead white Southern writer? His influence — and his truths — run deep. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
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Erika Krouse’s Tell Me Everything, about a landmark sexual assault lawsuit, is a remarkable story told by a thrillingly unreliable narrator. Continue reading at Slate
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Daniel Genis, author of the new memoir 'Sentence: Ten Years and a Thousand Books in Prison,' recommends 11 essential books about life behind bars. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
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Her memoir describes her long career in diplomacy and her unwitting entanglement in Donald Trump's schemes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-11 18:24:57 UTC ]
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Qian Julie Wang’s debut memoir Beautiful Country is a compelling and intimate portrait of an undocumented childhood. Much like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, we are carried into the heart and mind of a child: this time, a young, undocumented girl in... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In the memoir North to Paradise, Ousman Umar tells the story of his migration from rural Ghana to urban Europe, a five-year journey that took him across 11 countries. These years are so eventful and rife with suffering that just one could be a book unto itself: Ousman is exploited in Accra;... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-10 09:50:30 UTC ]
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T.E. Lawrence’s memoir of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire -- the basis for “Lawrence of Arabia” — offers a sweeping look at war and its consequences. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-09 13:00:57 UTC ]
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Since 2011, all my book editors have been white. Why wouldn’t I want another perspective on the characters I invent?Until a few years ago, only publishing industry insiders would have understood the role of the sensitivity reader. Then came American Dirt. The Jeanine Cummins novel sold to a US... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-03-08 09:00:06 UTC ]
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At the Chicago Review of Books, Meghan O’Rourke discusses The Invisible Kingdom, a mix of memoir and research that investigates chronic illness through multiple lenses. “My work as a poet helped shape this book,” she explains. “I didn’t want it to be merely a work of reportage; I wanted to... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-03-07 21:30:33 UTC ]
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Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom takes you inside the world of being chronically ill. Continue reading at Slate
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The novelist Kathryn Davis’s personal and time-shuffling new book, “Aurelia, Aurélia,” is about the death of her husband. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-02 10:00:08 UTC ]
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