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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When We Was Fierce by eE Charlton-Trujillo uses invented street dialect slammed by one reviewer as ‘rife with insult and lack of awareness’The publication of young adult novel When We Was Fierce has been postponed by its author and publisher following harsh criticism of the “deeply offensive”... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two titles published by Faber, one by James Shapiro and the other by Benjamin Markovits, have won the £10,000 James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson is launching Hometown Tales, a series of short books which will publish authors from underrepresented regions across the UK to bring new voices to a national audience. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agency Speaking Volumes has secured an international grant to showcase British black, Asian and minority ethnic writers to European audiences. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helen Gradwell lay dead on her floor for four months â with a book deal sitting unopened on her doorstep. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twenty years after the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 2017 show promises ‘a journey to the heart’ of JK Rowling’s storiesIdeally positioned in King’s Cross, just a stone’s throw from the mythical beginning of the journey to Hogwarts on Platform 9 3/4, the British... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book is to open next year at the British Library. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2016 British Book Design and Production Awards finalists have been revealed, with publisher Penguin leading the nominations with six titles on the shortlist, followed closely by Pan Macmillan (five), with strong showings from The Folio Society (four titles), Frances Lincoln and Little Tiger... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joanna Cannon and The Writers’ Workshop are to finance an unpublished author to attend the Festival of Writing 2016, an annual writing conference for unpublished writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild and PEN America have condemned the actions of the Turkish government after the detaining of 61 journalists and the shuttering of 131 media organizations—including 29 publishing houses—in the wake of the attempted coup on July 15. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere Fiction has acquired two psychological thrillers from debut author Laura Marshall in a six-figure pre-empt. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steve Smith, the former president and c.e.o. of John Wiley, has died at the age of 61. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Smith, the former president and CEO of John Wiley and Sons, died on July 10 following a long illness. He was 61. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House UK has launched a nationwide campaign to find, mentor and publish new writers from communities under-represented on the UK’s bookshelves. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coleman, a professor of theology and African-American studies, sheds light on what it’s like to suffer from mental illness when she was taught to believe faith is supposed to fix everything in her new book ‘Bipolar Faith.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daniel Silva's 'The Black Widow,' the sixteenth book in his Gabriel Allon series of thrillers, took the top spot on the iBooks bestseller list for the week ended July 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith Travel will now pass on tax savings to non-EU bound customers shopping in its airport branches. The "new approach" follows an investigation that revealed it had been pocketing millions of VAT paid on duty free purchases. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With analysis of a "slow erosion" of sales and much more, Nielsen's Romance Book Summit is a mix of research analysis and thematic exploration at the Romance Writers of America's gathering. The post For the Love of Industry Data: Nielsen’s Co-Location With Romance Writers of America appeared... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN American Center has announced the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, the newest addition to its lineup of literary awards. Winning stories will be collected and published in an annual anthology by Catapult. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK writer Russell Jones has been shortlisted for the $50,000 (£37,990) Half the World Global Literati Award for his unpublished YA novel The Talkers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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