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 ]
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Will Dutch library ban on 'Black Pete' books spell end for 'racist' festive tradition?

The portrayal of Santa’s Moor servant ‘Zwarte Piet’ is widely seen as offensive. Protesters applaud the decision to remove the character from children’s books Public libraries across the Netherlands are removing from the shelves children’s books depicting a black-faced Zwarte Piet, a side-kick... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-15 10:10:52 UTC ]
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Considering Malcolm X and the Perfect Black Man

Michael P. Jeffries reviews Les Payne and Tamara Payne’s book, “The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X,” in this week’s issue. In 1992, Michael Eric Dyson wrote for the Book Review about a select group of books that examine Malcolm X’s life. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-11-13 10:00:01 UTC ]
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Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell and more: A veteran journalist tries to give female stars their due

In “Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls,” Lisa Robinson offers a behind-the-scenes look at the women of rock and pop. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-12 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Cockleberry Bay author Nicola May moves to traditional publishing with Hodder

Bestselling self-published author Nicola May has signed with Hodder & Stoughton to publish a new character-driven series, based around a fictitious street market in Cornwall. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-12 13:40:29 UTC ]
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Alison Rich Takes Reins on PRH's Author Brand Development

Alison Rich has been named to the newly created role of senior v-p of author development at Penguin Random House, and is charged with growing authors' platforms in ways that may be tangential to the business of marketing their books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Adichie named Women's Prize 'Winner of Winners'

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been crowned the Women’s Prize for Fiction ‘Winner of Winners’ for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun (HarperCollins). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-11 09:24:21 UTC ]
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A Monumental and Rapturous New Anthology of Black American Poetry

“African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song,” edited by Kevin Young, contains an overwhelming amount of variety and history. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-11-10 20:51:39 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Asks: 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers

The Lit Hub Author Questionnaire is a monthly interview featuring seven questions for five authors with new books. This month we talk to: * Danielle Evans (The Office of Historical Corrections)  Éireann Lorsung (The Century) Christa Parravani (Loved and Wanted: A Memoir of Choice, Children, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 09:48:28 UTC ]
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Personalized Postcards from Your Favorite Authors

Help support a nonprofit literary magazine and you might win a handwritten letter for yourself or a loved one. The post Personalized Postcards from Your Favorite Authors appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2020-11-09 21:30:54 UTC ]
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Bryan Washington Is Writing for Himself

Much of the change that needs to occur in American publishing needs to happen on the masthead front. The whole thing needs an overhaul, but I’m thinking about lasting, substantial, generational change. The post Bryan Washington Is Writing for Himself appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2020-11-06 11:00:40 UTC ]
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Susie Yang’s ‘White Ivy’ is an entertaining character study of a social climber with a secret

Yang’s debut novel owes a debt to Edith Wharton’s “The House of Mirth,” though Ivy Lin is no Lily Bart. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-05 16:42:29 UTC ]
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Bourne unites authors in bookshop support campaign

Author Holly Bourne has launched a campaign to support bookshops during lockdown, involving more than 300 writers so far.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-05 06:38:02 UTC ]
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PRH announces WriteNow cohort of unpublished authors

Penguin Random House UK has revealed the 14 unpublished and underrepresented writers invited to join this year’s WriteNow editorial programme. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-04 23:15:02 UTC ]
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L J Ross launches Read, Write, Walk North East

Author L J Ross is to launch an arts initiative, offering community grants, promoting literacy and encouraging tourism in The North East.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-04 19:31:39 UTC ]
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Gallic acquires two from French author Muriel Barbery

Gallic Books has acquired A Single Rose plus a gift book by Muriel Barbery, author of the The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Gallic, 2009). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-04 08:21:12 UTC ]
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Virago acquires 'history of women’s words'

Virago has acquired a "personal" and "campaigning" exploration of the language we have had for women’s bodies and experiences over the centuries, by Oxford academic Dr Jenni Nuttall. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-03 21:05:42 UTC ]
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Review: You won't find a romance darker than Susie Yang's 'White Ivy'

Yan's debut novel overturns the tropes of the romance novel in this story about an immigrant's doomed pursuit of marriage and the American dream. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-02 15:00:30 UTC ]
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Easing the Path for Black Book Designers

Dominique Jones has long been the only Black designer on her team. Enter Black Book Designers, which Jones founded this summer as a way to reach other designers in publishing who shared her isolation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lessons from Black publishing pioneers must catalyse lasting change in the trade

In the midst of Black History Month, the legacy of a number of Black publishers are remembered—and those they paved the way for call for further progress. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-30 00:33:57 UTC ]
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Trade in transition waits on White House

At the end of a tumultuous year for the American book trade, with shake-ups at a number of big houses and organisations, comes a pivotal race to the White House. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-29 19:53:36 UTC ]
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