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 ]
Top-visibility Authors Guild members join with Amazon Publishing and Penguin Random House in a suit alleging KISS is pirating a wide range of books. The post Grisham, Child, Amazon, PRH Headline Lawsuit of KISS Library for Piracy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-08 14:52:12 UTC ]
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Today, Penguin Random House announced the launch of a new imprint, Tiny Reparations Books, founded by New York Times bestselling author, comedian, actress, and producer Phoebe Robinson. Robinson will be partnering with Plume (a division of Dutton, which is itself an imprint of PRH) and its... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-08 14:20:42 UTC ]
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James Corden to produce film and TV series based on Australia’s Real Pigeons children’s booksThe humble pigeon may be an unlikely breed of star but an author-illustrator duo from Melbourne have been turning the birds into a crime-fighting troupe of superheroes – and they’re about to take flight... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-07 21:55:36 UTC ]
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Mo Willems, Kyo Maclear, and other children’s book authors on what Arnold Lobel’s series means to them. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-07-03 14:30:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller would like to capture the trade’s thoughts on social media and, in particular, "cancel culture" and its impacts on UK publishing, bookselling and writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 19:32:20 UTC ]
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In response to the discussions around the #PublishingPaidMe and #BookJobTransparency hashtags, and the open letter from the Black Writers’ Guild, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Book Branch recognises that these problems are not new and will not be fixed without ambitious, far-reaching... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-25 09:04:37 UTC ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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