British Council Literature Seminar

Having explored the topic of diversity in UK literature in the context of race and gender in 2017 and 2018, we are thrilled that Bernardine Evaristo – the renowned writer, academic and Man Booker Prize Winner 2019 – chaired the British Council Literature Seminar in 2023. You can now watch the seminar for yourself here.  Class and Contemporary UK Writing'The hierarchy of class is deeply embedded into the structures of British society and affects every aspect of our lives. Although the United Kingdom has become a more progressive and socially mobile society, it is nonetheless far from fulfilling an egalitarian dream. We are still a nation rife with inequality of lifestyle, education, opportunity and economic prosperity, especially as it pertains to and disadvantages the working classes. The literature industry has traditionally been a middle class occupation, a fact that extends from those who work in publishing houses, to the authors themselves. Historically excluded from working within publishing, working class people might encounter an array of obstacles to getting published. This will range from the self-belief and courage required to envision and pursue a career as a writer, to becoming a writer who has to negotiate a predominantly middle class literary culture where you might be seen as an outsider who doesn’t fit in because of your background, unless, of course, you change, even if it is only superficial code-switching, such as changing your accent and speech, social... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2023-03-16 10:55:14 UTC ]

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World Book Day: A Rights Roundup From Five Markets

Today's Rights Roundup, coinciding with World Book Day, includes titles from Germany, Finland, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The post World Book Day: A Rights Roundup From Five Markets appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-23 17:25:41 UTC ]
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Here’s the longlist for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Today, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, in collaboration with Bailey’s and Nat West, announced the longlist for its annual award, which recognizes and honors a female author of any nationality for the best novel written in English published in the United Kingdom in the previous year. The winner... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-10 20:25:29 UTC ]
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First and last and always

At the end of May last year, as bookshops looked to open and play catch-up after the first 12-week lockdown in the United Kingdom, I warned that the deluge of new, moved and recently published titles could have a deleterious impact on their chances of thriving over the summer as well as... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-05 19:44:14 UTC ]
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Evaristo to mentor emerging writers of colour in Sky Arts project

Bernardine Evaristo is collaborating with the Royal Society of Literature to create a mentoring award scheme for emerging authors of colour as part of a £300,000 Sky Arts project. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 18:33:57 UTC ]
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The Roar of the Wronged: Aravind Adiga’s White Tiger, by Yahia Lababidi

Culture A still image from the film White Tiger (Netflix, 2021). After watching White Tiger, a writer contemplates the film alongside revolution in Egypt, Black Lives Matter protests, the film Parasite, and literary “complicated works of... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-01-27 20:33:27 UTC ]
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The Costa Book Awards Program Announces Its 2020 Shortlists

Twenty writers from the United Kingdom and Ireland have been chosen from an initial pool of 708 Costa Book Award entries. The post The Costa Book Awards Program Announces Its 2020 Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-11-25 14:14:19 UTC ]
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Tory-shaming Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is launching a children’s book club.

As many on this side of the pond may not know, Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford is currently all that stands between the United Kingdom and compete moral ruination. In a year where a particularly grotesque grotesquerie of Brexiteer Tories consolidated power,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 19:04:34 UTC ]
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Evaristo to chair Women's Prize 2021 panel

Bernardine Evaristo will chair the judging panel for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-20 13:08:29 UTC ]
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Bernardine Evaristo to UK Publishing: Hire More Diverse People

At the Frankfurt Book Fair conference, writer Bernardine Evaristo delivered a forceful keynote on the systemic bias against people of color in the UK publishing industry The post Bernardine Evaristo to UK Publishing: Hire More Diverse People appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-14 18:02:09 UTC ]
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Transforming the digital offer for public libraries

As the national library of the United Kingdom, the British Library’s mission is to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone, for research, inspiration and enjoyment.  This means making our own buildings and online offers engaging for everyone, as well as working in partnership... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-24 13:05:14 UTC ]
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Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift has won the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

The Arthur C. Clarke Award, named in honor of the eponymous author, is the United Kingdom’s most prestigious prize for science fiction first published in the UK. The prize comes with an award plaque and a cash prize of £2020.00. Previous winners include Yoon Ha Lee, Ahmad Saadawi, and Anne... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-23 19:55:57 UTC ]
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Evaristo and Carty-Williams become first black authors to win top British Book awards

Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
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Evaristo, Maiklem and Anderson win Indie Book Awards 2020

This year's top summer reads according to indie booksellers have been revealed, with Bernardine Evaristo, Lara Maiklem, Sophie Anderson and Chris Haughton named as winners of the 2020 Indie Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-26 06:05:16 UTC ]
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'Change is not happening fast enough': UK publishers promise to tackle inequality

Responding to the newly formed Black Writers’ Guild, all five of the biggest publishers say they will make more room for black authors and staffThe “big five” UK publishing houses have separately acknowledged that “change is not happening fast enough” and that they must do a lot more to address... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-17 12:45:22 UTC ]
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How Evaristo and Eddo-Lodge made chart history

The charts success this week of Bernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge exposes 22 years of whiteness at the top of the charts Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-12 04:53:36 UTC ]
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Black British authors top UK book charts in wake of BLM protests

Bernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge take No 1 slots in wake of anti-racist demonstrations, as Waterstones staff ask chain to support causeBernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge have become the first black British women to top the UK’s fiction and nonfiction paperback charts, in a week where... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-10 13:46:40 UTC ]
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Evaristo, Criado Perez and Whitehead on Orwell Prize shortlists

Bernardine Evaristo, Caroline Criado Perez and Colson Whitehead are among the authors to make the Orwell Prize shortlists for its political writing and fiction awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-20 20:07:42 UTC ]
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Hay Festival Digital

Hay Festival Digital will feature performances, discussions, and interactive Q&As with over 100 of the world’s greatest writers and thinkers. It will stream online from 22 – 31 May 2020.The opening gala, produced by Hay Festivals in association with the British Council, and AHRC, celebrates... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-05-06 14:45:31 UTC ]
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Evaristo, Webb and Gaiman join BBC Arts Big Book Weekend

Bernardine Evaristo, Robert Webb and Neil Gaiman are among the line-up for the Big Book Weekend, a three-day virtual festival broadcast by BBC Arts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-25 10:45:46 UTC ]
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