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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W H Smith is celebrating its 225th anniversary year with a classic ‘yellowback’ book collection similar to the ones sold in the mid-1800s by the retailer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Working with UNESCO's European Capital of Culture program for Denmark this autumn, Hay Festival plans a new children's literature festival for October. The post At London Book Fair: Hay Festival Names ‘Århus 39’ Writers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House and Hachette have both earned more than 20 shortlistings in The Bookseller's new-look 2017 British Book Awards, while Pan Macmillan has notched a company-record 13 nominations across trade and book categories. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette and Penguin Random House have earned 11 shortlistings each in the British Book Awards’ Books of the Year awards, with Pan Macmillan garnering three nods and Faber and HarperCollins both winning two nominations. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With 23 categories, the newly re-introduced British Book Awards are an uber suite of combined honors, known to some as the Nibbies. The post Long on Shortlists at London Book Fair: The Expanded British Book Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bond, former executive editor at Vertigo, will oversee the new creator-owned comics and graphic novel imprint at IDW Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTube gaming star Ali-A’s first book will be published by Puffin and Random House Children’s Books US. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virago deputy publisher Sarah Savitt and The Pool c.e.o. Sam Baker have launched a competition to find a new female crime writer for Virago. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Smith & Sons Group has done a new deal with York St John University for its Aspire Bursary Management scheme. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A record breaking number of submissions has led to the highest ever number of regional shortlisted bookshops at the British Book Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year category, sponsored by Gardners Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and PW reviews director Louisa Ermelino selects nine essential books by Arab authors, including "Confessions" by Rabee Jaber, "Lovers of Algeria" by Anouar Benmalek, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Little, Brown chief executive Ursula Mackenzie, Front Row’s Samira Ahmed, television presenter June Sarpong and past Publishers Association c.e.o. Simon Juden are among the judges for the British Book Awards 2017. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The coauthors of 'Black Comix,' a pioneering 2010 African-American comics compilation, have tapped Kickstarter to fund an expanded version of the book, and teamed with Magnetic Press to release it to the trade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sara Baume’s second novel is a powerful meditation on art, loneliness and finding one’s place in the world. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown Book Group has made two "key" promotions within its editorial team: Clare Smith has been promoted to fiction publisher at Little, Brown/Abacus, while Lucy Malagoni has been promoted to publishing director for Sphere Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elena Varvello - an Italian author who Elena Ferrante's publisher is predicting big things for in the UK - is publishing her first English novel with Two Roads. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah McIntyre has been unveiled as the new online Writer-Illustrator in Residence for reading charity BookTrust. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Association of Writers & Writing Programs, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, kicked off its annual conference on Thursday with politics on people's minds, as exhibitors, panelists and attendees expressed their opposition to the Trump presidency. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AWP 2017's keynote speaker, Azar Nafisi, the author of 'Reading Lolita in Tehran,' blasted President Trump in a fiery presentation and urged writers to use their imaginations to resist the tyranny of the Trump administration. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant (Unbound), and Am I Normal Yet? (Usborne) author Holly Bourne have been unveiled as judges of the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2017. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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