For decades, I sat in meetings with all-white teams. The industry needs an independent body to advise on equalityI’m a literary agent and at the height of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests I was sent a list, with accompanying photographs, of the top editors working across the major publishing houses in the UK. When I read it I burst into tears. It showed a sea of almost totally white faces, some of whom had been approaching retirement when I started out as an editorial assistant 20 years earlier. The stagnation in the industry was stark and filled me with despair.Analysis of the industry since then, partly led by pressure from BLM and an open letter from the Black Writers Guild, has only further highlighted this imbalance. Two of the biggest global publishers, Penguin Random House and Hachette, revealed that just 2.7% of their staff – in both cases – are black; and the Guardian reported that you are eight times more likely to see an animal as lead character in a children’s book than a person of colour.Natalie Jerome is a literary agent, deputy chair of Literature Wales, and a former publisher Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-01 10:00:46 UTC ]
Penguin Random House is hoping to alleviate a significant source of stress for independent booksellers by launching its annual 2-Day Transit Program on July 1, two months ahead of schedule. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Being a book publisher comes with a set of tough moral responsibilities. You provide livelihoods for authors and booksellers, your hiring decisions can greatly influence how UK culture is shaped, and you’re also a company with a duty of care towards your staff. Sometimes these duties come into... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 03:23:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In 2012, the literary critic Suzi Feay lamented the lack of new lesbian voices in UK publishing. Describing what she saw as “a shortage of lesbian writers in Britain today”, she wondered who would follow in the footsteps of established authors like Ali Smith, Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 12:20:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Literary agent Felicity Bryan has died, aged 74. She died on Sunday (June 21st) at her home in Kidlington "as she had wished", according to a statement from her family. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 06:13:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Felicity Bryan, founder of Felicity Bryan Associates and one of Britain’s most respected literary agents, died June 21 of cancer. She was 74. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Multi-award winning author and illustrator Kadir Nelson's art featured on The New Yorker and Rolling Stone Magazine. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-18 14:37:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Responding to the newly formed Black Writers’ Guild, all five of the biggest publishers say they will make more room for black authors and staffThe “big five” UK publishing houses have separately acknowledged that “change is not happening fast enough” and that they must do a lot more to address... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-17 12:45:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House plans to reopen its Colchester distribution centre next week after the facility was closed late last month for a systems upgrade. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 18:41:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishers have responded to the Black Writers’ Guild’s open letter, welcoming their suggestions and agreeing they have work to do Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 13:02:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
More than 100 authors join new body calling for the industry to address deep-seated inequalities in output and personnelMore than 100 writers including Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah and Malorie Blackman have called on all major publishing houses in the UK to introduce... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-15 17:08:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The protest movement sweeping the world since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has forced an international soul searching to understand the pervasive racial inequalities that haunt most sectors of our society. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 17:05:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The staff and board of the Poetry Foundation said in an open letter that they are committed to "ongoing action in response to the call to dismantle white supremacy." The pledge came after an open letter highly critical of the Foundation's past treatment of marginalized was released and led to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Black Writers' Guild has issued an open letter, signed by writers including Dorothy Koomson, Malorie Blackman, Candice Carty-Williams, David Olusoga and Bernardine Evaristo, telling British publishers it is "deeply concerned" they are "raising awareness of racial inequality without... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-14 19:50:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The children’s book characters have become embroiled in a dispute about the redevelopment of a beloved Finnish landmark. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-12 12:30:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It was Sunday 22nd March when I emailed Carrie, my literary agent, telling her I’d had an idea in the bath and although it felt far-fetched, I wanted to explore it and could she please call me on Monday for a quick chat. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-12 11:19:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As Black Lives Matter protests take place across the world, the publishing world is rushing to support those ‘ignored by the mainstream’. Who is the mainstream, then?The publishing industry is stilted and archaic. I worked in it for seven years, and left due to reasons I can’t legally talk... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 09:44:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I have to start by admitting that when I began writing this letter last week, I was boiling mad and ready to take everyone on. Now, in its tenth or twentieth draft (I don’t know which) I’m still boiling mad, but most of your gaslighting social media posts that sent me over the edge have gone, so... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 12:34:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Author Dorothy Koomson has written an open letter to the publishing industry, in which she describes it as a “hostile environment for Black authors”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 06:37:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Zondervan takes a gift book on ‘How Far You Have Come,’ literary agent Blythe Daniel gets her own book deal, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House Audio is bringing together wellbeing experts, including fitness author Chloe Madeley and performance coach Sara Milne Rowe, in a new audio anthology, The Here and Now. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 10:56:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this