Battling bias on the shop floor: how bookstores can support diversity

A bookseller explains how Kamila Shamsie’s call for gender equality in the industry, and the fiery debate it provoked, could lead to greater diversity all aroundKamila Shamsie calling for a year of publishing only women has certainly unleashed a storm. Some disagree that gender bias exists, while others would rather celebrate the commercial success of some female authors. A couple of publishers have even taken Shamsie at her word.Most people agree that this is a complex issue, with so many levels during the publishing process at which bias can be perpetuated that it is impossible to pinpoint why and how many female writers struggle for recognition against their male counterparts. But one vitally important aspect of this debate seems to have been overlooked: books, once published, must be sold, and while many transactions are conducted online, many others continue to occur in old-fashioned brick-and-mortar shops. Customers don’t just buy what they’ve read about, they come in to browse, to find out what’s available, or to see what their local booksellers have enjoyed. Related: Kamila Shamsie: let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation Related: No men allowed: publisher accepts novelist's 'year of women' challenge Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #commercial success #female authors #male counterparts #conducted online #customers don #ve read #local booksellers

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Battling bias on the shop floor: how bookstores can support diversity'


Kobo Rebuffs Apple, Will Build HTML5 Bookstore

The ebook seller released an app meeting Apple's new policies but also announced plans to build an HTML5 e-reading app that will work in the iOS browser that it'll control itself, with no requirement that it follow Apple's rules. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon drops price of ad-supported Kindle

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:32 Amazon.com has dropped the price of its advertising-heavy Amazon 3G Kindle to $139 (£86.91). Telecoms company AT&T is sponsoring the Kindle with Special Offers, which will include campaigns for customers and sponsored... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AUDIO: The 'worrying' battle for books

Arts editor Will Gompertz's second report into the impact of technology on the publishing industry Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Healthy Planet opens Books For Free shops

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 27/06/2011 - 08:34 A green charity offering books for free aims to open an outlet in every town in the UK, and has called on publishers to donate titles. The Booksellers Association has come out in support of the programme run by Healthy Planet,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hard line on legal aid for library battles

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 27/05/2011 - 12:34 Campaigners seeking legal aid to pursue judicial review claims against local library closures are being asked for "community contributions" of over 50% of costs by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). Isle of Wight... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Support for National Libraries Day

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 15:50 An annual National Libraries Day looks set to become a reality after widespread support for the scheme at an early planning meeting held this morning (26th May). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to open new service centre for Kindle support

Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 14:24 Amazon is to open a new customer service centre in Edinburgh this August, with one of its roles to handle technical support for the Kindle. The move will create more than 900 permanent and temporary jobs over the next five years. The centre will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors readied to support strong Independent Booksellers Week

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 08:45 Edmund de Waal, Maggie O’Farrell and Tony Parsons are among the authors lined up to take part in Independent Booksellers Week. The week of events, in association with the Booksellers Association, will take place between... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstores and Bloggers

Bloggers bring an energy about books and authors that's unfettered by the day-to-day concerns of running a bookstore. Even the names—Devourer of Books, Bookalicious, the Book Lady—imply a voracious appetite for books. For an employee discount and an opportunity to interview authors who come to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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High street bookshops need greater support - Streeter

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:56 The economics for booksellers "simply don't work" as they struggle with high costs and low margins, the president of the Booksellers Association has claimed. Jane Streeter was delivering the introduction at the BA Conference at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers battle for Townshend and Walliams books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 08:30 The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and "Little Britain" star David Walliams are the latest figures to have memoirs put in front of publishers, as the trade shows no sign of losing its appetite for celebrity autobiographies. Ed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Support your library, CWA tells authors

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:13 The Crime Writers Association (CWA) is asking each of its members to do at least three events a year for their local library as part of a campaign to support the public library service in the face of widespread cutbacks. "We... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers losing the battle against Angry Birds

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 15:36 Publishers need to diversify and compete head-on with other media in order to deflect the 'one-screen' effect of tablet devices, a panel discussion at the World e-Reading Congress declared. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Drama Book Shop—Award Winner

And the winner of this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre is... the Drama Book Shop, an independent New York City bookstore dating to 1917, 30 years older than the Tony Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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France faces battle over ebook pricing law

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Thu, 05/05/2011 - 09:14 France is bracing for battle with the European Commission with its government on the verge of adopting a bill allowing publishers to fix prices for all ebooks sold in France. The bill, which was approved unanimously by an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc. Veteran John Squires Lands at Digital Bookstore [MediaMemo]

Longtime Time Inc. executive John Squires, last seen running the magazine industry's version of Hulu, has a new gig: He's at Akademos, a Connecticut-based company that runs digital bookstores for small and mid-sized colleges. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LBF: More support needed for children's poetry

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 15:36 Publishers called for more retail and library support for children's poetry as Chris Holifield, director of the Poetry Book Society, warned that children's poetry "faced extinction" during a seminar about children's poetry... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eason launches "diverse" marketing campaign

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 15:56 Eason has today (11th April) launched a new marketing campaign to emphasise the diversity of the customers it caters for. The Irish bookselling chain's new strapline is "Whatever you're into, get into Eason", and will start... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Finding love in bookstores: an eyewitness account.

Several years ago, when I was not a bookstore employee but merely a regular customer, I wrote up BookCourt, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, for the Village Voice's Best of New York. My entry posited, though I had no evidence to support it, that single people claimed the bookstore was good... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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