Black authors don’t write only for white women | Dreda Say Mitchell

Yes, book publishers have a problem with writers of colour – it’s just not the one Man Booker prizewinner Marlon James describesThere are so few ethnic minority voices in publishing and the media that when one criticises another it has come to be regarded as a form of strike-breaking. Knowing the obstacles we face (some obvious, others less so), I’ve always been reluctant to cross swords with those facing similar dilemmas – particularly when they’re as brilliant as this year’s Booker prizewinner Marlon James. The Jamaican novelist appeared at a Guardian event and shared some of his thoughts about being a black author.His contention was that black writers are pressured into a style that the major publishers think appeals to white women in the suburbs because they’re the ones who read most novels. The trouble is, the evidence suggests that the truth is nearly the opposite. Related: Man Booker winner Marlon James: 'Writers of colour pander to the white woman' Related: Why Marlon James had to get out of Jamaica to win the Booker prize | André Wright Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #colour pander #book publishers #black author #major publishers #white women #evidence suggests #white woman #marlon james

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Black authors don’t write only for white women | Dreda Say Mitchell'


Keum Suk Gendry-Kim on the Symbolism of Trees and the Power of Black and White Illustration

Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (The Waiting) and Alexander Chee (How to Write An Autobiographical Novel) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a fall event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The driving force behind November’s conversation was Gendry-Kim’s second... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-13 09:49:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alexander chee #driving force #english-language release #graphic novel


I write ‘women’s commercial fiction’ –why is my work still seen as inferior to men’s? | Emma Hughes

A recent roundup of the ‘best books of 2021’ had every possible genre of novel – with the unsurprising exception of romanceIn the four months since my first novel came out, I’ve had the same conversation probably a dozen times.“What’s it about?” a well-meaning stranger will ask. “Well,” I’ll... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-05 15:25:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #commercial fiction #dozen times #high heels #first novel


Penguin Random House Authors and Creators Skew Heavily White

Penguin Random House’s first report auditing the diversity of its contributors found that the demographics of its authors, illustrators, translators, and other creators “do not reflect U.S. reader demographics when it comes to race and ethnicity.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #random house


Authors support Women's Prize Trust's T-shirt celebration of female icons

Authors including Elizabeth Day, June Sarpong and Dolly Alderton are among those supporting a new T-shirt initiative to spotlight iconic female writers, launched by the Women's Prize Trust. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-14 18:47:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prize trust #june sarpong #dolly alderton


10 years of the Stella: how Australia’s women’s writing prize changed a nation’s literature

Publishers speak of the profound effect the prize has had on Australia’s book industry in the decade since its establishmentOn International Women’s Day in 2011, a group of Australian women writers and editors appeared at a literary salon and spoke about their frustration at the male-dominated... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-07 01:56:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #australian literature #publishers speak #profound effect #literary salon #male authors #gender disparity #miles franklin #literary landscape #book industry


Chef and Cookbook Author Bryant Terry Looks to Preserve Black Food Stories

The chef and cookbook author is heading up a new imprint to give chefs of color a leg up in the historically insular publishing industry. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-04 18:09:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cookbook author #cookbook


Author of 'My Monticello' on Writing a Debut Book With Buzz

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, at 50, is not the average age of a debut author. But the public school teacher describes herself as a “literary debutante” with the October publication of “My Monticello.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-09-28 13:06:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut author #average age #debut book


Canada’s Kids Can Press Opens a ‘Black Write’ Incubator with Nelvana

The children's publisher Kids Can Press has partnered with Nelvana to develop content from Black writers, submissions opening now. The post Canada’s Kids Can Press Opens a ‘Black Write’ Incubator with Nelvana appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-16 14:11:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post canada #black writers #children's publisher


‘We Wrote in Symbols’ is a groundbreaking collection of Arab women writing about love and lust

Edited by Palestinian British writer Selma Dabbagh, this compilation brings together 101 works from more than 70 female writers. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-10 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Liane Moriarty writes women’s fiction. Have a problem with that? She doesn’t.

With her new book ‘Apples Never Fall’ and another TV adaptation with Nicole Kidman, Liane Moriarty doesn’t care how you categorize her books. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-10 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv adaptation #nicole kidman


White Rabbit scores 'stellar' collection on pioneering women in music

White Rabbit has acquired This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music, an essay collection edited by founding member of band Sonic Youth Kim Gordon, and former music journalist Sinéad Gleeson. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-26 12:37:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pioneering women #white rabbit


Pinter & Martin acquires birthing guide for Black women

Independent publisher Pinter & Martin has snapped up Kimberly Seals Allers' "positive, empowering" birthing guide for Black mothers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-24 08:31:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black women #independent publisher


Eloise Greenfield, author whose picture books uplifted Black children, dies at 92

Her dozens of works helped broaden children’s literature so that young African Americans could see themselves, their history and their hopes in the pages of their picture books. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-18 06:43:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eloise greenfield #picture books


Indie bookshop celebrating women's writing opens in Edinburgh

An independent bookshop spotlighting women’s writing is opening in Edinburgh today (6th August), inspired by a successful book club.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-06 19:47:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookshop


Bonnier Books UK buys Edinburgh indie Black & White Publishing

Bonnier Books UK has acquired independent Scottish publisher Black & White Publishing as part of its long-term strategy for growth.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-27 19:25:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long-term strategy #bonnier


Octavia Butler’s 1979 bio is an object lesson in writing author bios.

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Review of Books published a fairly wild essay by Miguel Esteban who, at the tender age of 14, commissioned a now-famous essay on race in science fiction from Octavia Butler. The whole piece is worth a read (the gall of teenage boys! the grace of Octavia!) but... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-26 13:40:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #octavia butler #object lesson #tender age #teenage boys #science fiction


'Three Women' author Lisa Taddeo's debut novel is fearless. So what is she afraid of?

Lisa Taddeo, whose book "Three Women" broke the mold of immersive journalism, talks about her first novel, "Animal," and the struggle to write and live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 13:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lisa taddeo #debut novel


Finding 'value in the valley': YA authors at a Festival panel on Black life and self-love

At a Times Book Festival panel on Black YA fiction, Dean Atta, Morgan Parker, Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi discussed stories of teens making it through. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-18 01:13:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ya authors #black life #dean atta #yusef salaam #times book


Dialogue snaps up Ofori's debut challenging 'monolithic narrative about Black women'

Dialogue Books has aquired A Word from the Margins: The Intersections of Race, Gender, Class and Ambition by Lennina Ofori.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-14 04:33:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black women


Lawrence Otis Graham, author who examined prejudice and privilege in Black America, dies at 59

An Ivy-educated lawyer, he wrote several books that made him one of the foremost commentators of the 1990s on race and class in the United States. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-02 10:58:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black america