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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Once dependent on Facebook, the publisher is broadening the ways it distributes its news and makes money. The post BuzzFeed News’ Ben Smith: ‘Every company needs diverse business models’ appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little Tiger imprint Stripes Publishing has bought an LGBTQ+ YA thriller by debut author Darren Charlton. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has bought a "wickedly funny" middle-grade debut, about a girl who finds a packet of surprising seeds, by copywriter and journalist Nicola Skinner. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We spoke to Melissa Cummings-Quarry, co-founder of the Black Girls Book Club, about the club's plans for the future and thoughts on diversity in the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Danez Smith has been announced as the winner of the Forward poetry prize for best collection, with awards also going to Phoebe Power and Liz Berry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eye Books imprint Lightning Books has acquired The Beat of the Pendulum by New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Patti Smith is speaking from a pasture in Brittany, France, she explains by way of apology at the beginning of a recent phone conversation. The musician, poet, memoirist and activist is about an hour out from showtime there, a period that she uses to ground herself before taking the stage. Given... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women within the Christian writing and publishing community are coming forward with allegations and complaints of sexual misconduct. These accusations follow the #MeToo movement as well as the more recent #ChurchToo movement, in which several church leaders’ sexual indiscretions surfaced. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Academic Simon Smith is the winner of this year’s Shakespeare’s Globe Book Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six writers will contest the shortlist for the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2018, the British Academy's £25,000 international prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trapeze commissioning editor Emma Smith is joining Ebury Press as editorial director, covering maternity leave for Sara Cywinski. She takes up her new role in October, reporting to deputy publisher Andrew Goodfellow. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones has authored a "radically new story of British Art" for Laurence King Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has bought world all language rights for The Joyful Home Cook by Rosie Birkett, described as "an inspirational, practical and modern approach to cooking at home, with a strict eye on reducing waste". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nature writer Nicola Davies has been appointed BookTrust’s new writer-in-residence. Davies, who takes over the role from Nadia Shireen, will use her six-month residency to encourage children to explore the natural world around them. “I’m very happy to have been chosen to be a Writer in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith has said it expects it’s annual results to be "in line with expectations" when they are released in October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Tejan Karefa-Smart asked his uncle, James Baldwin, “When are you going to write a book about me?” he may not have expected his Uncle Jimmy to follow through so quickly. Baldwin’s only children’s book, Little Man, Little Man, which was published in 1976, chronicles a day in the life of three... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2018-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Black light (or ultraviolet-reactive) printing, while not new, is usually done on inkjet printers with its application often limited to posters or high-end brochures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Craig Brown, who wrote a biography of HRH Princess Margaret, and short story writer Eley Williams are the winners of this year’s James Tait Black Prizes, awarded by the University of Edinburgh. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Calder, who published works by Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, Eugène Ionesco and Marguerite Duras, among others. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2018-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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