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 ]
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Hannah Chukwu, assistant editor at PRH imprint Hamish Hamilton, has won the Arts & Media Rising Star award at this year's Black British Business Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-07 21:27:46 UTC ]
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The actor told GQ: “I’m not saying we shouldn’t defund the police. I’m saying, just don’t say that, because then people who would help you won’t.” Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2021-09-27 18:04:34 UTC ]
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The author of The Fortune Men will now compete with five other novelists from South Africa, Sri Lanka and the US for the 2021 awardAlex Clark explores how the Booker shortlist tunes in to the worries of our ageJust one British author has made the shortlist for this year’s Booker prize: Nadifa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-14 15:25:06 UTC ]
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Every primary school in England is to receive a free copy of Happy Here (Knights Of), a new anthology by 20 Black British writers and illustrators, as part of an initiative to improve teaching practices and improve representation in children's literature and publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-08 17:52:35 UTC ]
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Faber is to publish Black British Lives Matter, a collection of essays commissioned by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-03 12:11:51 UTC ]
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Ali Smith has won the inaugural Pleasure of Reading Prize, in recognition of her body of work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-01 20:56:05 UTC ]
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Ali Smith and Joshua Yaffa have won this year's £3,000 Orwell Prizes for Political Fiction and Political Writing respectively. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-25 03:14:57 UTC ]
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One of the things that Black people know to be true is that when we lift up our voices to celebrate our joy, share our pain, or warn of the injustices levelled against our communities, we are often silenced—either by being denied the necessary platforms to elevate our voices, or by wilful... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 17:56:08 UTC ]
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Children's book blogger Fabia Turner has launched a competition for Black children's book writers, to be sponsored by inclusive indie publisher Knights Of. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-04 23:23:40 UTC ]
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The Booker-winning novelist is relaunching a series of neglected novels by black British writers. She explains why they deserve a new readership In today’s culture, it’s as though black British literary history began relatively recently, and new books are published without reference to or... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-30 11:00:07 UTC ]
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Knights Of has partnered with children’s reading charity BookTrust and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) to publish Happy Here, an anthology for middle grade readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-27 21:20:25 UTC ]
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Quercus is launching a one-month internship programme in collaboration with the MA Black British Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, co-founded by Professor Joan Anim-Addo and Dr Deirdre Osborne. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-10 05:30:33 UTC ]
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On Late Night with Seth Meyers this week, Slave Play and Daddy playwright Jeremy O. Harris announced he is donating a collection of 15 plays by Black playwrights to 53 libraries and community centers across the United States—and is donating one such collection to Northwestern University in Seth... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-09 17:29:54 UTC ]
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Black History Matters: The Story of Black History, From African Kingdoms to Black Lives Matter by historian Robin Walker has been crowned the winner of the 2020 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-09 12:12:03 UTC ]
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Guardian Weekend magazine and gal-dem are launching a memoir writing competition for UK-resident black women and black non-binary people aged 16-21 on the theme of ‘conversations’Calling all young black women and black non-binary writers aged 16-21. The Guardian is once again collaborating on a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-22 11:23:42 UTC ]
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Macmillan Children's Books is releasing two new editions of Black and British, the book by historian and broadcaster Professor David Olusoga which was originally published by Macmillan’s adult publishing arm in 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-14 06:58:49 UTC ]
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The novel is the bravura performance of a writer, poised at the edge of the day’s vast darkness, gathering all the warmth and light she can muster. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-14 15:51:08 UTC ]
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The author discusses her quartet of novels, written fast on the heels of Brexit, Trump and the ensuing horrors and concluding with "Summer." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-08-12 14:00:44 UTC ]
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The author’s latest collection shows how few novelists seem to genuinely love human beings the way she does. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-07-21 19:06:23 UTC ]
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Limited promotion and marketing budgets reinforce false ideas about how well diverse books and writers will sell. This leads to a negative cycle for black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-07-15 09:57:53 UTC ]
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