The Booker-winning novelist is relaunching a series of neglected novels by black British writers. She explains why they deserve a new readership In today’s culture, it’s as though black British literary history began relatively recently, and new books are published without reference to or knowledge of what has gone before. This is not the case with white writers. Publishers, critics and readers will often understand where books sit within their literary contexts and cultural ecosystem. We can trace the literary lineage of Douglas Stuart’s Booker-winning Shuggie Bain back to the works of James Kelman and Irvine Welsh. Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is in conversation with Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones series and all the novels that were published in its wake, just as Ali Smith’s postmodern novels are descendants of Virginia Woolf’s modernist oeuvre. And we know that today’s historical novels have antecedents in their earlier counterparts.Our appreciation of literature is deepened when we understand the foundations from which each new generation creates literature anew, but because so much of the body of black British literature hasn’t been taught in schools or universities, or immortalised on television and film, or even been widely or seriously reviewed in the media and academia, it’s as if each new book is published out of a void. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-30 11:00:07 UTC ]
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Steve Jobs was wrong. People love to read on the iPad. Lets hope newspaper publishers dont ruin it for everyone. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 10/08/2011 - 08:43 Polygon has bought a novel by the Private Eye writer and cartoonist Barry Fantoni. Publishing director Neville Moir bought UK & Commonwealth rights to Harry Lipkin through David Riding of MBA Literary Agents. The book,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 03/08/2011 - 11:36 Orion has bought world rights to an Andy McNab novel tying into the forthcoming Battlefield 3 videogame. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 03/08/2011 - 09:10 Sceptre has acquired the latest novel by Cold Mountain author Charles Frazier, to be published on 27th September 2011. Publishing director Carolyn Mays bought British Commonwealth, excluding Canada, rights in the title,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 03/08/2011 - 14:05 The British Library has launched an iPad app allowing subscribers to browse 45,000 books from its 19th century historical collection. Subscription costs £1.99 per month and users can explore books from the likes of classic... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 21:09 Lee Child has been awarded the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for his Jack Reacher thriller 61 Hours (Transworld), beating authors including Mark Billingham who has won the prize twice before. It is the first time Child has won the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 08:34 Random House c.e.o. Dame Gail Rebuck has urged retailers to devote shelf space to the Galaxy Quick Reads promotion, as its 2012 line-up of authors is revealed. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 12:40 Angry Robot is to publish a debut novel by Canadian writer Madeline Ashby. vN is set in a near-future where robots and humans live side by side, and follows Amy, who has grown up with a cybernetic mother and human father. Alone... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 13:00 British Science Fiction award-winner Alastair Reynolds is the latest author to try his hand writing a Doctor Who novel, after signing a deal with BBC Books. Editorial director Albert DePetrillo bought world rights from Robert... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 15:00 The Reading Agency director Miranda McKearney has called for the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which launches its 2011 run today (18th July), to be on every head teacher's school improvement plan. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:35 The Reading Agency has warned library service cutbacks could challenge its Summer Reading Campaign, as it revealed 97% of library authorities will participate in this year's scheme. It will be launched on Monday at the House... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sometimes keeping up with the Internet can seem like an endless assignment. The tweets and Facebook posts scroll infinitely, the email piles up, and news sites and blogs publish around the clock. That's why Summify seems so different. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the latest controversy broke in a string of revelations concerning phone hacking conducted by editorial staff, British newspaper News of the World is folding. News Internationals chairman deputy COO of News Corp. James Murdoch says that Sunday will be the last edition of the newspaper. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former newspaper baron, serving out a sentence for fraud and obstruction, will publish "A Matter of Principle" in the fall. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 28/06/2011 - 15:11 Dawn Frenchs A Tiny Bit Marvellous (Penguin), the bestselling hardback début novel of 2010, was the bestselling book in the UK last week, while Lynda La Plante, writing since 1983, scores her first ever Bookseller number one.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 24/06/2011 - 11:46 Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has demonstrated an affinity with political outsiders, fantasy worlds and religious prophets as he revealed his choice of favourite books for a new magazine. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 20/06/2011 - 09:43 The British Library has signed a deal with Google, which will see one of the largest collections of books and pamphlets in the world made available and searchable online for the first time. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:49 Weidenfeld & Nicolson has triumphed in an auction for the second novel by American author Maria Semple, staking a six-figure sum for the title. Editorial director Arzu Tahsin bought UK and Commonwealth rights to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Future plc, the U.K.-based enthusiast publisher with a U.S operation in San Francisco, released half-year results for its fiscal 2011 and digital has become the star performer. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:24 Random House imprint Yellow Jersey Press has scored a hat trick of wins at the British Sports Book Awards, with W H Smith also taking home the best sports book retailer prize. Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey won best biography, while Promised Lane by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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