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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British spies are authorized to spy on British citizens’ Internet communications transiting through servers outside the U.K., a civil rights group has discovered.Privacy International uncovered the information as part of a lawsuit it filed against the U.K. government over its alleged involvement... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The German ebook self-publishing market is exploding and here are 6 reasons why smart English-speaking writers should take advantage of the opportunity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain's Pentian crowdfunding platform for books offers a new business model: paying 50% of profits from book sales to backers of the book and 40% to the author. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last April, writer, designer, and literary agent Dede Cummings had a dream that convinced her that she needed to do something to improve the environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More people are buying more books than ever, and more people are making a living by writing them. Why do millionaire authors want to destroy the one company that's made this all possible?As an author of ten novels legacy-published, self-published, and Amazon-published I'm bewildered by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thanks to the parents of Farran Smith Nehme, she became a fan of old movies during her childhood in the 1970s when the family would watch them together on the then burgeoning cable TV stations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, authors of "Cowgirl Creamery Cooks" (Chronicle Books, 9781452111636) will appear on NPR’s "Morning Edition" on Friday, May 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith has defended its customer service record after being voted the worst retailer in the UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former tennis player Jimmy Connors, publicists Karen Geary and Rebecca Mundy, and retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They are railing against the South Carolina politicians who want to strip funding from schools teaching LGBTQ materials in the classroom. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leading Syrian writers and artists will tour Britain in June to launch Syria Speaks, an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and comedian David Baddiel has written his first children’s novel. The Parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Beckham, Andy Murray and Ronnie O’Sullivan are among the sports stars competing for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith will be the official bookseller at the 25th Guildford Book Festival. The retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus CEO and cofounder Mark Smith will be leaving the company, but aiding in the transition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Smith, chief executive of Quercus, is to leave the publisher following its sale to Hodder... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Lownie, recently short-listed for The Bookseller UK literary agent of the year, explains how the agency goes about selling its authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin – Madison found that of the new children's books they received at their center, less than 3 percent focused on black people and even fewer were by black authors (about 2 percent, according to the CCBC.) Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a comics marketplace crowded with works by The Big Two, is there room for another superhero universe, let alone another superhero publisher? Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson thinks so. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Georgina Henry's kind but firm encouragement to go below the line on my pieces has transformed my life as well as my idealsFor a wide-eyed, wannabe writer, being cast into the Cif lions' den induced fear and pride in equal measure. The chance to contribute to such a paradigm-shifting project was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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