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 emotion that stumbling into an old school friend might – part nostalgia and part wonder at the old magic. I found myself inside the store reaching for it, just as I had done years ago as a teenager. The book is a hilarious, touching read about a Nigerian girl sent to boarding school in England. Back then, it resonated with me deeply. I too had been a young Nigerian girl sent to England at the age of eight to attend boarding school in Norfolk. Its recounting of otherness in an unfamiliar land made me laugh and recall my own experiences. There was something about that dancing silhouette on the cover that seemed hopeful, unburdened somehow, and, though I'd been enamoured of the talents of Roald Dahl and Harper Lee, it was refreshing to see an author who looked like me.As I left the shop, it made me wonder: whatever happened to Simi Bedford? I know she wrote another novel, Not With Silver, but whatever happened not just to her, but to the career trajectories of other black and Asian female British authors?I admire the tenacity of writers such as Andrea Levy, who deserved to garner more attention earlier in their careers. Andrea eventually went on to have great success, but there was little... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#eclectic range
#poetry collections
Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus has won the Best of the Best James Tait Black Prize,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#angela carter
Restaurant chain Pizza Hut is partnering with W H Smith and marketing communications agency... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book club
The Cairo leg of the Edinburgh World Writers Conference has been cancelled due to the violent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
HarperCollins has signed a world English language six-book deal with thriller writer Wilbur Smith... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Ten young writers have been shortlisted for the Guardian Hot Key Books Young Writers Prize, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Publishers have joined retailers for the first time in offering customers up to 50% off books as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#offering customers
W H Smith looks set to expand into Russia after hiring property consultant Knight Frank to hunt... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Bonnier children's publisher Hot Key Books has become the latest publisher to join the boom... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#latest publisher
Perhaps the muse only came to you at the same time those first few gray hairs popped up on your head. But when you pick up the odd book review or magazine, you are disturbed by the cult of youth.You’re a writer of a certain age. Perhaps you started a family when you were younger, and now your... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#short story
The shortlist for the 2012 Educational Writers’ Award has been announced today (19th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#award shortlist
#walker strong
#educational writers
Newspapers have appealed to consumers to boycott Amazon this Christmas following its statements... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#boycott amazon
Can fraudulent writers, aka Johah Lehrer, ever be forgiven? Or should they simply be cast into permanent exile from the literary world? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#literary world
A group of writers are quids in following an experiment to sell a bundle of DRM-free ebooks. Sales of The Humble Bundle, which included works from authors Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman and the much-loved xkcd comic strip, have been anything but humble, with over 84,000 bundles sold, earning the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#included works
#neil gaiman
#bought separately
#lauren beukes
#zoo city
One of the writers behind disaster-prone Spider-Man Broadway musical, Glen Berger, will reveal all in a "fly-on-the-wall" book. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Hilary Mantel has been named the winner of the 2012 Man Booker Price for her novel, Bring Up The Bodies, making her the first British author to win the prestigious award twice. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hilary mantel
#british author
#prestigious award
Hearst Magazines has appointed Amanda Turnbull as group publishing director of Esquire and Harper's Bazaar, replacing Tess Macleod Smith who left last year to join Net-a-Porter. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2012-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hearst magazines
Syrian writer Samar Yazbek, author of A Woman in the Crossfire (Haus Publishing), has been chosen... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Analysts have predicted profits at W H Smith will top the £100m mark when the high street... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#high street
Art publisher Phaidon has been acquired from Richard Schlagman by the family of private equity... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#private equity
Pulitzer Prize-winner Junot Diaz, reporter David Finkel, and writer Dinaw Mengestu were honored by the MacArthur Foundation, each receiving a $500,000 grant. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#junot diaz