When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the mistaken impression that there is something new about women's writing from the Gulf. But women on the peninsula have been composing sophisticated literature for centuries. Al-Khansa (575-645 AD), who was born and died on the Arabian Peninsula, is said to have been told by an admiring male writer that she was “the greatest poet among those with breasts.” Al-Khansa is said to have replied, archly: “I am the greatest poet among those with testicles, too.” Her work can be read, in vibrant translation, in James Montgomery’s Loss Sings.Prominent poet-filmmaker Nujoom Ghanem, in a 2016 interview that focused on her literary ancestors, had a similar barb: “The majority of poets in our world are male, but quantity does not make quality.” Yet among the younger generation of writers, women often dominate. In Yemen, the UAE, Kuwait, and elsewhere, emerging women writers have been flooding into writing workshops and literary seminars. Each Gulf country could have its own list of 10 women writers. Here are just a few to seek out:Raja Alem (Saudi) – Alem was the first woman to co-win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), for her classic Mecca novel The Doves’ Necklace (translated by Adam... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]
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The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the NYTimes, Felicia R. Lee asks if the 'new wave of African writers' with an international appeal are drawing attention away from African-American voices. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It may surprise many Americans, but German authors are paid to read in bookstores, have access to numerous fellowships and discounted health insurance. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The German ebook self-publishing market is exploding and here are 6 reasons why smart English-speaking writers should take advantage of the opportunity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain's Pentian crowdfunding platform for books offers a new business model: paying 50% of profits from book sales to backers of the book and 40% to the author. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last April, writer, designer, and literary agent Dede Cummings had a dream that convinced her that she needed to do something to improve the environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More people are buying more books than ever, and more people are making a living by writing them. Why do millionaire authors want to destroy the one company that's made this all possible?As an author of ten novels legacy-published, self-published, and Amazon-published I'm bewildered by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish author Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (Galley Beggar/Faber &... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joanne Harris says the book industry is sexist. Why else are there categories for 'women writers' and no equivalents for writers who happen to be men?This is the year of reading women, people, remember? We're all reading female writers and helping address the literary gender imbalance which is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nineteen "inspirational" women, including Caitlin Moran, Dawn O’Porter, Tanni... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They are railing against the South Carolina politicians who want to strip funding from schools teaching LGBTQ materials in the classroom. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leading Syrian writers and artists will tour Britain in June to launch Syria Speaks, an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and comedian David Baddiel has written his first children’s novel. The Parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People keep asking me about Al Gore. I wrote a book, Windfall, about who will profit from climate change. On book tour and in advance of the latest bleak report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, I've been traveling around the country talking about our warmer future. I can't... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut novelists Eimear McBride, Audrey Magee and Hannah Kent join Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Donna... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Our publishing industry seems to champion just one or two black and Asian authors at a time. Lack of diversity is a real problemMonths back I was trudging through the streets of Dalston when I spotted a copy of Simi Bedford's Yoruba Girl Dancing in a charity shop window. It evoked the same... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Lownie, recently short-listed for The Bookseller UK literary agent of the year, explains how the agency goes about selling its authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Georgina Henry's kind but firm encouragement to go below the line on my pieces has transformed my life as well as my idealsFor a wide-eyed, wannabe writer, being cast into the Cif lions' den induced fear and pride in equal measure. The chance to contribute to such a paradigm-shifting project was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigners are planning to picket the re-opening of the Women's Library tonight (12th March... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Eleanor Catton and her editor Max Porter's alliance shows how much more than wielding a blade goes into this relationshipHenry James called editing "the butchers' trade". But he also said, "I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort," so you can see how the old anglophile... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#step back