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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Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
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Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race wins landmark ranking in the wake of worldwide Black Lives Matter protestsReni Eddo-Lodge has become the first black British author to take the overall No 1 spot in the UK’s official book charts.Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-16 14:00:03 UTC ]
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Publishers have responded to the Black Writers’ Guild’s open letter, welcoming their suggestions and agreeing they have work to do Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 13:02:41 UTC ]
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More than 100 authors join new body calling for the industry to address deep-seated inequalities in output and personnelMore than 100 writers including Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah and Malorie Blackman have called on all major publishing houses in the UK to introduce... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-15 17:08:57 UTC ]
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The protest movement sweeping the world since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has forced an international soul searching to understand the pervasive racial inequalities that haunt most sectors of our society. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 17:05:27 UTC ]
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The Black Writers' Guild has issued an open letter, signed by writers including Dorothy Koomson, Malorie Blackman, Candice Carty-Williams, David Olusoga and Bernardine Evaristo, telling British publishers it is "deeply concerned" they are "raising awareness of racial inequality without... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-14 19:50:25 UTC ]
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A collection of six essays written during lockdown by Zadie Smith, titled Intimations, will be published by Hamish Hamilton this summer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 18:45:56 UTC ]
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Bernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge take No 1 slots in wake of anti-racist demonstrations, as Waterstones staff ask chain to support causeBernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge have become the first black British women to top the UK’s fiction and nonfiction paperback charts, in a week where... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-10 13:46:40 UTC ]
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Using terms such as BAME and PoC makes it harder to call out the lack of support and erasure of Black British voices (often working class and male) from festivals, prizes, agencies and organisations set up by non-Black PoC in the name of ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 05:56:06 UTC ]
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The Desmond Elliott Prize is awarded annually to a writer whose first novel is written in English and published in the UK. Since 2007, it has supported and heralded new writers; the honor comes with a £10,000 prize. It’s heartening to see, especially right now, that this year the Desmond Elliott... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-02 17:58:53 UTC ]
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JK Rowling, Zadie Smith and Jamie Oliver have made the shortlist for the British Book Awards "30 from 30" trophy that will crown one book the “best” of the past three decades. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 13:31:41 UTC ]
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Puffin has snapped up Zadie Smith and Nick Laird's "endearing" debut picture book, Weirdo, featuring a judo suit-wearing guinea pig. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 07:57:19 UTC ]
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Booker-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo has marked International Women’s Day by curating a top 20 list of recently published Black British writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-08 03:11:09 UTC ]
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Zadie Smith and Ben Lerner are among the eight authors shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 23:52:49 UTC ]
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Novelists rub shoulders with presidents, chefs, comedians and thriller megastars on longlist to define the title with the biggest impact on the book worldIt could be almost the setup for a joke, but a former president, a Booker winner and an erotic fiction superstar have walked on to the British... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-14 06:01:23 UTC ]
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Clifford Thompson explores the dissonance surrounding race — and his own worldview. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-19 21:49:25 UTC ]
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London’s newly opened first co-working space for writers, Clean Prose, will host an edible book launch for author Irenosen Okojie on Thursday. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-03 07:14:44 UTC ]
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The “White Teeth” author is witty and eviscerating in stories sprinkled with current events. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-28 16:43:26 UTC ]
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Tom Penn, publishing director at Penguin Press, has acquired Rebel Citizen: A History of Black Women Living, Loving and Resisting by feminist historian Jade Bentil. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-20 15:48:26 UTC ]
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The first black woman to win the Booker prize argues that a revolution is sweeping through British publishing. But can it lead to lasting change?Chidera Eggerue, AKA The Slumflower, is a social media star, south-east London homegirl and feminist. She first came to prominence in 2017 when she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-19 07:00:24 UTC ]
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