As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing's lack of diversity | Natalie Jerome

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing's lack of diversity | Natalie Jerome"


Dohle: PRH ‘well on its way’ to reducing carbon emissions 20% by 2025

Markus Dohle, Penguin Random House c.e.o., has said Penguin Random House is "well on its way" to reducing its carbon emissions by 20% by 2025, after parent company Bertelsmann declared its goal to be "climate neutral" by 2030. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-18 12:34:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


PRH Makes Progress in Green Initiatives

Following the February 17 announcement by Penguin Random House parent company Bertelsmann that the conglomerate will be carbon neutral by 2030, PRH global CEO Markus Dohle sent a letter to employees outlining the publisher’s role in helping Bertelsmann achieve that target. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Judy Blume to Headline BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast

ReedPop announced the author lineup for BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, which will be held on Friday, May 29, at the Javits Center in New York City, and hosted and moderated by renowned children's author Judy Blume. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


SHARJAH FOCUS: London Book Fair events

 Tuesday 10 March Omar Ghobash in Conversation with Philippe Sands11.45-12.15, English PEN Literary Salon (3E90), OlympiaOmar Ghobash is a former diplomat and the author of Letters to a Young Muslim (Picador 2018), an exploration of the complexities of life as a modern Muslim, written as a... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-02-17 10:55:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Long Live the Bestseller Kings

Scholastic and Penguin Random House retained their #1 spots in our rankings of children’s frontlist fiction and picture book bestsellers by corporation, respectively, though each company’s share of positions on its list diminished slightly from 2018. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When Your Agent Isn’t a Good Fit

Two authors share the literary agent advice they discovered when they figured out their agents weren't their perfect match and how to break peacefully. The post When Your Agent Isn’t a Good Fit by Jera Brown appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-14 11:45:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Election Year Children’s Book Bonanza

November may seem far away, but political titles for young readers are already hitting shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Booksellers! Apply for an International Bookselling Fellowship

Bookselling Without Borders is a global partnership of independent publishers that supports travel to international book fairs and residencies for booksellers. It is currently accepting applications for 2020 fellowships. BWB connects booksellers to the international book community through... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-12 09:46:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


What if the main character of your favorite classic book were black? A publisher makes it so

Penguin Random House teams with TBWA and Barnes & Noble to launch #DiversityEditions for Black History Month. During the Pequod‘s last voyage in Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is 58 years old. Physically, he has a prosthetic leg made of whale bone, and a pale white mark or... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-02-05 09:00:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The publishing industry is probably even less diverse than you thought.

Children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books, a minority-owned company that focuses on multicultural literature, recently released the results of a survey geared towards finding out one thing: What do the numbers say about the widely perceived lack of diversity in the publishing world? The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 21:40:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Paulo Coelho deletes draft of children’s book he was working on with Kobe Bryant.

This is a sad and simple human gesture in the face of death. Within hours of learning Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash, novelist Paulo Coelho—most famous in the US for his 1988 novel The Alchemist—deleted the draft of a children’s book he had been working on with Bryant. As Coelho to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-28 16:12:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Graphic novel New Kid wins prestigious Newbery Medal

Jerry Craft’s story exploring ‘friendship, race, class and bullying in a fresh manner’ is the first graphic novel to win the long-running American children’s awardFor the first time, a graphic novel has won the Newbery Medal, the oldest and most prestigious children’s book award in the US. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-28 16:03:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Paulo Coelho deletes draft of children's book collaboration with Kobe Bryant

Alchemist author says basketball player’s death in helicopter crash means book has ‘lost its reason’Author Paulo Coelho has deleted the draft of a children’s book he was working on with Kobe Bryant, saying that without the basketball player’s contribution, “this book has lost its reason”.The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-28 10:57:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Compassionate Children’s Book From the NPR Host Scott Simon

In “Sunnyside Plaza,” Simon’s funny, observant protagonist solves a mystery. She also has developmental disabilities. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-01-21 14:45:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Laura Linney narrates audiobook of My Name is Lucy Barton

Penguin Random House Audio will publish an audiobook edition of the stage production of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel My Name is Lucy Barton (Viking) by the show’s star, Hollywood actress Laura Linney. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-10 15:27:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Savvides leaves PFD to join 42

Literary agent Marilia Savvides has left PFD to join management and production firm 42. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 18:38:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New Agent Alert: Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary

Literary agent alerts (this one is with Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. The post New Agent Alert: Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-01-01 10:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sonny Mehta dies aged 77

Penguin Random House has confirmed the death of Sonny Mehta, editor in chief of Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Mehta died yesterday (30th December) in Manhattan at the age of 77, from complications from pneumonia.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-30 16:18:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Scholastic's operating income rises 7% in 2020 second quarter

The Scholastic Corporation has revealed a 7% rise in operating income in the second quarter of the fiscal year, as c.e.o. Richard Robinson said the firm "continued to stand out as the world’s leading children’s book publisher and distributor". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-23 08:45:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this