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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Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Warner Bros. have acquired the film rights to the epic fantasy novel “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” by Marlon James. The first novel of the Dark Star trilogy, “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” is based on African mythology. Set in a world of competing kingdoms and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Writing North, the literature development agency for the North of England, has released its list of ‘12 new books by northern writers you must read in 2019’, part of the Read Regional campaign that it began in 2008. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Festival directors, journalists, authors, broadcasters, editors, publishers, booksellers, illustrators, translators, educators, and literary agents are among the big cohort of judges for the 2019 'Nibbies.' The post British Book Awards: More Than 65 Judges for 2019 appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Female writers and first-time authors dominate the longlist for the 2019 Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize, worth £30,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alexander McCall Smith reflects on 20 years of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and his latest genre shift, to ‘Scandi blanc’. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Wednesday, Amélie Wen Zhao, author of the upcoming YA fantasy novel Blood Heir, announced that she asked her publisher, Delacorte Press, “not to publish [the book] at this time.” Blood Heir was born from a Twitter pitching event for marginalized creators, and it secured Zhao both an agent... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“My name doesn’t matter,” proclaims the narrator of Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s debut novel, “We Cast a Shadow.” “All you need to know is that I’m a phantom, a figment ….” The first words of Ruffin’s book seem to be a tribute to the opening of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” which begins, “I am in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From the old-money mansions of Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco to greasy-spoon diners in Burbank to landmark sites all over Black Dahlia-era Hollywood, Los Angeles and its lore play a starring role in TNT’s gripping period drama, “I Am the Night.” Inspired by the true-crime memoir “One Day She'll Darken:... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Black & White Publishing will publish The Secret Life of Tartan: How a Cloth Shaped a Nation this autumn, by fashion designer Victoria ‘Vixy’ Rae. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the seventh annual iteration of the convention, fans paid homage to favorites from Sailor Moon to 'Coming to America'’s Prince Akeem. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2019-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith has reported a “strong trading performance” for Christmas trading, with total sales up 6%. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group has bought the UK rights to Slay by US debut author Brittney Morris, who was inspired to write after watching the Marvel blockbuster "Black Panther". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Eccles Centre at the British Library is joining forces with Hay Festival on the Centre's £20,000 Writer’s Award, which will become the Eccles Centre and Hay Festival Writer’s Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bluemoose Books has revealed it will only publish female writers in 2020, with co-owner Kevin Duffy lamenting how “women over a certain age are overlooked in the publishing world”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The London Library has launched the Emerging Writers Programme to support unpublished writers, with literary agency A M Heath one of the scheme's supporters. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A digital consultant has launched a crowdfunder to create London’s first black feminist bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new Authors Guild survey, larger than in the past and with input from other writing organizations, brings into question how authors are compensated and how the issue is assessed. The post New, Larger Authors Guild Survey: Falling Incomes for US Writers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Serpent’s Tail triumphed in a five-publisher auction, winning Columbia professor Saidiya Hartman’s "radical and lavish" history of young black women, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cornerstone has acquired a high-concept debut by Andrew Hunter Murray, a writer on BBC's "QI" and one of the team of writers at Private Eye, in a 24-hour pre-empt. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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