Can a White Author Write Black Characters?

When a man routinely hailed as one of America’s “greatest living writers” publishes a new novel, one hardly expects it to draw reviews posing questions along the lines of “Can he do it? Can he actually pull it off?” Because when you’re Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winner, the act of writing a decent novel ought to be taken as something of a given. But Chabon’s newest book, Telegraph Avenue, out last week, is set against the backdrop of race, and its author undertakes the task of inhabiting and giving life to characters whose skin color is different from his own. The book is a sprawling narrative about the intertwined lives of Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe, two proprietors, one black and one white, and a used vinyl store trying to survive on the shifting, gentrifying frontier between hippie-dippy Berkeley and its neighbor, the historically black enclave of Oakland. Or, as Chabon neatly puts it, “the ragged fault line where the urban plates of Berkeley and Oakland subducted.” Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Can a White Author Write Black Characters?'


Lee Child On Why He Signed with Authors United

The reason the author of the Jack Reacher novels weighs in on Amazon-Hachette dispute has nothing to do with the "protection money" that Amazon is demanding from publishers. Child signed with thriller writer Douglas Preston's Authors United, a group of writers who want to take authors out of... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors united #lee child #amazon-hachette dispute


Authors on the Air September 26, 2014: Paul M. Barrett

Paul M. Barrett, author of 'Law of the Jungle: The $19 Billion Legal Battle Over Oil in the Rain Forest and the Lawyer Who'd Stop at Nothing to Win' (Crown, 9780770436346), will appear on NPR’s 'On the Media' on Saturday, September 27. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Little, Brown to Release Authorized Nick Drake Book

'Remembered For A While' will go on sale December 9, timed with the fortieth anniversary of Drake's death. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors United’s Next Move: DOJ

With the Amazon-Hachette dispute cutting Hachette authors sales by at least 50 percent, a group of concerned authors is turning to the government for help. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors united


Authors United 'asking DoJ for antitrust inquiry'

Authors United is to call on the US Department of Justice to launch an antitrust inquiry into... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors united


Authors on the Air September 23, 2014: Charles M. Blow

Charles M. Blow, author of 'Fire Shut Up In My Bones' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 9780544228047) will appear on 'The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell' on Tuesday, September 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fire shut


Specsavers teams with PRH for online crime writing

Penguin Random House’s crime community Dead Good Books and Specsavers have teamed up for #... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors on the Air September 19, 2014: Annabelle Gurwitch

Annabelle Gurwitch, author of 'I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50' (Blue Rider, 9780399166181), will appear on the 'Queen Latifah Show' on Friday, September 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annabelle gurwitch #survival stories #blue rider


Palimpsest turns publisher with collections of Scottish writing

Scottish book production company Palimpsest is to become a publisher in its own right, with new... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #scottish writing


Roddy Doyle writing novel for adults with poor literacy

Booker winner to pen Dead Man Talking for the Quick Reads initiative, which offers books by mainstream authors that are the same in every respect but simply shorter and easierThe Man Booker prize-winning novelist Roddy Doyles new novel will be written for the one-in-six adults in the UK who... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booker winner #reading skills


UK Authors United speak out

European and US governments should act to protect “the literary marketplace from domination... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors on the Air September 18, 2014: Judy Bachrach

Judy Bachrach, author of 'Glimpsing Heaven: The Stories and Science of Life After Death' (National Geographic Books, 9781426213700), will appear on the 'Dr. Oz Show' on CBS on Thursday, September 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oz show


Amazon Gives KU Authors $2.7M Bonus

Kindle Direct Publishing "All-Stars," which includes the top 100 authors and top 100 books, will split a multi-million dollar incentive. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Oscar Pistorius: Will he write a memoir?

Pistorius's manager and agent Peet van Zyl says his client will write a book, but the law may not let him. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors on the Air September 17, 2014: Ali Larter

Ali Larter, author of 'Kitchen Revelry' (St. Martin’s Press, 9781250036353) will appear on 'The Chew' on Wednesday, September 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


An Author’s Best Friends: Booksellers and Librarians

Booksellers and librarians are among your best resources as an author. They are at the front-line of presenting your book to the public. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


For Winning Indie, Drinks on Black Balloon

Publisher Black Balloon is offering $250 to the indie bookstore with the most creative display of its new anthology 'Come Here Often? 53 Writers Raise a Glass to Their Favorite Bar.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie bookstore


Fat Fox acquires debut picture book author Tan

Independent publisher Fat Fox Books has acquired the debut picture book from Wen Dee Tan, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors on the Air September 16, 2014: Dawn Wells

Dawn Wells, author of 'What Would Mary Ann Do?: A Guide to Life' (Taylor Trade Publishing, 9781630760281), will appear on NBC's 'Today' on Wednesday, September 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


France Festival Highlight Québécois, Indian Authors

For lovers of literature, Paris is the place to be for the next two weeks, as Festival America and Festival des Ecrivains du Monde highlight Francophone writers from Quebec and Indian authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |