Bernardine Evaristo: 'These are unprecedented times for black female writers'

The first black woman to win the Booker prize argues that a revolution is sweeping through British publishing. But can it lead to lasting change?Chidera Eggerue, AKA The Slumflower, is a social media star, south-east London homegirl and feminist. She first came to prominence in 2017 when she created the hashtag #SaggyBoobsMatter on Twitter in order to promote the body-positive message that women’s breasts and bodies are fine just as they are. It’s an important idea and antithetical to a beauty industry that berates us for our imperfections. A year later Eggerue published a self-help motivational book, What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough, which entered the Sunday Times bestseller list the week it was published in 2018, when she was 23. In her very pink, zanily illustrated book, Eggerue, a self-styled “guru, confidante and best friend” to her readers, offers advice on self-worth and self-acceptance. An earlier booklet called Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women, by Otegha Uwagba, became a bestseller in 2016, paving the way for Eggerue. This, in turn, was probably influenced by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2014 essay We Should All Be Feminists. These are unprecedented times for black female writers, in no small part due to the internet. It has reconfigured how we present ourselves to the world at large, as well as bringing previously marginalised social groups and writing to the fore in ways hitherto unimaginable. As a... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-10-19 07:00:24 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Bernardine Evaristo: 'These are unprecedented times for black female writers'"


Why It Matters That Amazon Shipped Margaret Atwood’s “The Testaments” a Week Early

Back in May, I signed an embargo agreement on behalf of my bookstore stating that I would “ensure that [The Testaments by Margaret Atwood] is stored in a monitored and locked, secured area and not placed on the selling floor prior to the on-sale date.” The idea behind such agreements is that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-09-06 11:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Michael Joseph to publish new non-fiction from Giovanna Fletcher

Michael Joseph will publish a new non-fiction book from Sunday Times bestseller Giovanna Fletcher.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-06 09:29:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hackers targeted Curtis Brown for months in bid to get hold of The Testaments manuscript

Margaret Atwood’s literary agent Karolina Sutton of Curtis Brown has revealed how the agency was besieged by a “carefully orchestrated” campaign by cyber criminals attempting to obtain The Testaments manuscript which “carried on daily for months”.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-06 04:22:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Problem(s) with Goodreads.

Earlier this week noted toaster-review site and server farm Amazon enraged booksellers across the country by breaking the sales embargo on Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments; yesterday, writing for Medium’s tech channel OneZero, Angela Lashbrook gave Amazon’s book club division, Goodreads, an... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-05 15:15:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon apologises for 'technical error' following early US release of The Testaments

Amazon has apologised for the “technical error” which saw Margaret Atwood’s highly anticipated The Testaments distributed to some pre-order customers almost a week ahead of the publication date, breaking a worldwide embargo. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-05 14:05:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Challenge of Margaret Atwood

With her new book—the much-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale—the Canadian author is leading a resistance. But it’s not the one you might think. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-09-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Testaments to be adapted for Hulu TV show as audiobook actors revealed

Margaret Atwood’s much-anticipated new novel The Testaments will be turned into a TV show by Hulu and MGM, it has been revealed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-04 06:45:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Indie Booksellers Incensed as Amazon Breaks 'Testaments' Embargo

A highly anticipated new book. A broken embargo. A cluster of angry booksellers. Penguin Random House has reacted to the fact that Amazon seems to have shipped copies of Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments' in spite of the fact that it's on-sale-date is nearly a week away. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Booker Prize shortlist revealed

The Booker Prize shortlist has been revealed with Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie in the running for the £50,000 prize.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-03 10:45:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


2019 Booker Shortlist Includes Atwood, Rushdie

Two former winners, Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie, both made the cut—a week before Atwood's book, 'The Testaments,' has even been published. Lucy Ellmann, Bernardine Evaristo, Chigozie Obioma, and Elif Shafak are also still in the race. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tales of The Handmaid’s Tale

How The Handmaid’s Tale keeps going, with Margaret Atwood, Ann Dowd, and novelists Louise Erdrich and Megan Hunter. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-08-29 21:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019 BookFest Gala: Atwood, Follett, Lunde, Shafak, Whitehead

Capping this year's BookFest events at Frankfurt will be an evening with Margaret Atwood, Maja Lunde, Elif Shafak, Colson Whitehead, and Ken Follett. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019 BookFest Gala: Atwood, Follett, Lunde, Shafak, Whitehead appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-26 08:30:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Booker Prize longlist includes Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Valeria Luiselli

The Booker Prize Foundation revealed the longlist for its literary award Tuesday, with Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Valeria Luiselli and Jeanette Winterson among the nominees. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-24 19:43:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Embargoed Atwood Novel Makes Booker Longlist

Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments' is among 13 titles longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, despite being embargoed until September 10. It may even make the shortlist, announced on September 3, before it is even published. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie nominated for 2019 Booker Prize

Margaret Atwood is longlisted for this year's £50,000 Booker Prize for her "terrifying and exhilarating" sequel The Testaments (Chatto & Windus) alongside fellow former winner Salman Rushdie, in the first year the prize has been sponsored by charitable foundation Crankstart.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-23 23:49:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2019 Book Preview

More than 100 books. New novels from Margaret Atwood, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Colson Whitehead. Zadie Smith short stories. What more could you want? (Except to have them all RIGHT NOW.) The post Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2019 Book Preview appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-07-15 10:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Atwood, Haig and Kay join National Theatre's celebration of authors

Margaret Atwood, Matt Haig and Adam Kay will all take part in the National Theatre's upcoming Authors of Stage series celebrating authors across the world.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-02 09:38:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Elisabeth Moss to narrate The Handmaid's Tale audiobook

The audio edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale will be narrated by Elisabeth Moss, who starred as Offred in the television series, it has been announced. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Blink signs Big Issue's 'Letter to My Younger Self' collection

Bonnier imprint Blink will publish a collection of pieces from the Big Issue’s ‘Letter to My Younger Self’ feature in October, featuring the likes of Margaret Atwood and Arianna Huffington, with all royalties going towards the magazine’s charitable work. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Vintage rallies indie bookshops for Atwood's The Testaments

Vintage and Index on Censorship are calling on independent bookshops to coordinate creative publication events for Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale in September, with a chance to win £750 to fund the best ideas. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this