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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Thomas Mullen has been playing with genres for a long time. He has mixed historical fiction with magical realism, played with the spy novel, and is now mixing a police procedural with a fact-based piece of historical fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The striking similarities between Pulitzer Prize–winner Robert Olen Butler and the narrator in his latest novel, "Perfume River," leads readers to wonder if the book is in some way autobiographical. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the popularity of bestselling Italian author Elena Ferrante, who was recently named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, the flow of translations between the U.S. and Italy continues to be one-sided. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer Jeremy Lewis on the life of Peter Janson-Smith, a notable literary agent "of the old school". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld and W H Smith Travel have been crowned as two of the biggest winners at The British Book Industry Awards 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winner of the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award, a £10,000 prize for an unpublished writer, is Sharlene Wen-Ning Teo for Ponti, a work of fiction about "a misfit adolescent girl growing up in sultry, sweaty Singapore". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex T Smith's bestselling Claude books are to be adapted into an animated series for Disney Junior EMEA. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bernie Corbett, general secretary of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, has stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the trade union. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran African American pop culture writer David Walker discusses writing for two popular black comic book superheroes: DC's half-man/half-machine, Cyborg, and Marvel's Luke Cage, aka Power Man. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vodafone and the British Library have partnered to make some of the earliest and rarest editions of Shakespeare’s plays available to download from specially-designed wallpaper featuring virtual library bookshelves. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published writers have voiced disgruntlement about a perceived sidelining of the Author HQ area at London Book Fair, calling it a “step backwards” for the independent author movement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'We are a little isolationist,' Ivars Ījabs says to fellow from the Baltics in a session of constructive candor on 'the paradox of the open culture' at London Book Fair. The post Baltic Crossroads at London Book Fair: Writers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith saw a rise in both sales and profits in the first half of 2016, with sales of adult activity books such as colouring books in the run-up to Christmas boosting its books business, the company reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year's AWP, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from March 31–April 2, was a vibrant mélange of multicultural voices. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I Interviewed Miles about his role heading up York Literature Festival and how he sees the festival expanding. He also has some great advice for those looking for a job in books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers David Mitchell, Ali Smith, Cathy Cassidy, Nick Hornby and David Nicholls are among the top names who have signed an open letter supporting the occupiers of Carnegie Library and condemning the proposed changes to the Lambeth library service. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is it satire? Reverse psychology? Who knows? Aly’s allies rally round The Project co-host on Twitter, but News Corp’s list isn’t worth their hashtagged outrageNews Corp appears to have failed to convince Australians why Waleed Aly – The Project host, first-time Gold Logie nominee, long-time... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith is fitting 100 of its UK branches with digital display screens in a bid to modernise its shop fronts. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Photos from the book fair and panels at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference, held this year at the L.A. Convention center in downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers tend to be solitary creatures, and yet more than 12,000 will congregate in Los Angeles this week. The occasion is the annual conference of the Assn. of Writers and Writing Programs, or AWP, which also draws other literary kin, the teachers, editors, publishers, critics and booksellers who... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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