‘Do black people read?’ What my years in publishing have taught me about diversity in books | Natalie Jerome

Malorie Blackman laments the lack of BAME children’s characters. I know – it’s a real battle to get writers of colour publishedMy daughter, like me, is of mixed heritage. She has wildly curly hair, as have I. When she was born four years ago I was given five copies of the same kids’ picture book by well-meaning friends and relatives. It was called Guess How Much I Love You. This book, whose lead characters are rabbits, was a bestseller in the 1990s. Back then it flew off the shelves. What I did not expect when I was pregnant with my daughter was that it would be far easier to find her a rabbit picture book than one featuring a child like her with brown skin and curls.This week Malorie Blackman, author of Noughts and Crosses, told Channel 4 News that of the many books she read as a child “not one of them featured a black child like me”, adding that “it made me feel invisible in the world of literature”. And when, in her mid-20s, she noticed in a children’s bookshop that little had changed, “that’s when I decided that I wanted to write for children ... for the child in me, really, for all the books I wish I could have read as a child”.If we feel disconnected from each other, perhaps it starts in this skewed, unrepresentative vision of the world that begins in our books when we are at knee height Related: Whatever happened to author Dorothy West? Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-17 07:00:41 UTC ]
News tagged with: #black child #bame children #lead characters #bookshop #picture book

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘Do black people read?’ What my years in publishing have taught me about diversity in books | Natalie Jerome'


‘Do black people read?’ What my years in publishing have taught me about diversity in books | Natalie Jerome

Malorie Blackman laments the lack of BAME children’s characters. I know – it’s a real battle to get writers of colour publishedMy daughter, like me, is of mixed heritage. She has wildly curly hair, as have I. When she was born four years ago I was given five copies of the same kids’ picture book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-17 07:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black child #bame children #lead characters #bookshop #picture book


As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing's lack of diversity | Natalie Jerome

For decades, I sat in meetings with all-white teams. The industry needs an independent body to advise on equalityI’m a literary agent and at the height of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests I was sent a list, with accompanying photographs, of the top editors working across the major... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-01 10:00:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk publishing #open letter #guardian reported #lead character #natalie jerome #literature wales #children’s book #penguin random house #major publishing #literary agent


Publishing On and Off the Page: A Reading List of Books About Book People

Readers love to read about book people almost as much as writers love to write about them (I love to do both). My latest novel, On Fire Island, follows uber-talented young book editor, Julia Gold and literary wunderkind, Benjamin Morse, through their journeys on and off the page. Threaded in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-26 08:52:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #readers love #writers love #book people


These are the books all the rich people will be reading in the metaverse this year.

Did you know that J.P. Morgan releases a summer reading list every year? (I didn’t, and I’m the person who does these.) Last week, the bank (??) announced its 23rd annual (??) summer reading list, which “invit[es] readers worldwide to explore the adventures, discoveries and new ideas that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-02 14:46:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rich people


The 20 reads book people actually want this year

Check out our 2020 holiday book gift guide for the best non-fiction and fiction picks for literary enthusiasts on your list. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-10-30 15:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book people


The Book People and Save the Children to publish 7-year-old Tom Burlison

Tom Burlison from Epsom, who is seven years old, has won this year’s Bedtime Story Competition, ran by Save the Children and The Book People. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-28 01:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book people


Read Harder: An Own Voices YA Book With a Black Main Character That Isn’t About Black Pain

We've got books for the Read Harder task asking you to read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn't about Black pain. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-07 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read harder #ya book


Best books of 2017: indie publishers on their favourite books of the year

India’s answer to Lear, a teen tale set amid the London riots and the first great book on grime. Experts pick 2017’s smartest, oddest and most overlooked readsCo-director, Tramp Press Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #favourite books #indie publishers #great book


Books: Favorite reads of the year from our Critics at Large and more book news

Greetings and salutations! I’m Carolyn Kellogg, Books editor of the L.A. Times with this week’s books newsletter. CRITICS PICKS This week the entire Sunday Calendar section is taken up with critics picks for the year in film, television, theater, music, art — and books. Seven of our Critics at... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books editor #books newsletter #favorite reads #book news #carolyn kellogg


The Book People publishes schoolgirl's book

Schoolgirl Isabel Harris has had her book published after winning The Book People’s inaugural Bedtime Story Competition. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book published #book people


Haymarket Books, Kaepernick Publishing to Co-Publish Anthology Defending Black Studies

In response to educational bans, Haymarket Books and Kaepernick Publishing are collaborating on a compilation of essays by African American scholars and other Black intellectuals writing in defense of African American/Black Studies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #haymarket books #kaepernick publishing #anthology


If your New Year’s resolution is to read more books this year, this is why you shouldn’t | Max Liu

From ‘all the books I read this month’ pictures on Instagram to Goodreads targets, we are forgetting to read for pleasureHow long will it take you to read this article? It would almost certainly take me longer. On average, adults read about 240 words a minute, but I always exceed those pesky... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-31 09:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #infinite jest #hardback


Read Harder: Read A Horror Book Published By An Indie Press

You will scare yourself silly with these chilling horror books published by an indie press. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-10 11:33:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read harder #indie press #book published


Strong year for Children's publishing as W H Smith unveils Books of the Year

W H Smith has unveiled its Books of the Year, with the retailer recognising two children's books for the first time.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-13 15:22:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #strong year #w h smith #children's publishing


7 Books By Black Authors That Might Not Be On Your Reading List, But Should Be

“I Don’t Want To Die Poor” author Michael Arceneaux discusses his upcoming book and his fight for representation. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2024-03-04 10:45:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black authors #upcoming book


12 Brilliant Short Stories by Black Writers to Read Year-Round

From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black writers #guiding principle #electric literature #short stories


5 New Books to Read for Black History Month

These books by Black authors include moving explorations of the past, bold visions of the future, and sage advice for the present. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Five years and 2m copies later, self-published author lands UK book deal

Norfolk-based crime writer JM Dalgliesh topped the Amazon and Kindle bestsellers before being signed by a traditional publisher In 2018, JM Dalgliesh was a stay-at-home father when he sent his first crime novel to six literary agents, only to receive polite rejection letters – or no response at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-17 09:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #2m copies #literary agents #traditional publisher #kindle #uk book #self-published author


Read these great books published by Lit Hub staff members in 2023.

As you probably know, Literary Hub is produced by a small staff; most of us are writers, and/or moonlight as editors on other projects. This year, four of our number—that would be 36% percent of full time Literary Hub staffers, not too shabby—published books, which is certainly worthy of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-11 17:52:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary hub #small staff


A Book Club Took 28 Years to Read ‘Finnegans Wake.’ Now, It’s Starting Over.

The group in California started on the notoriously challenging novel by James Joyce in 1995. In October, it reached the end. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-07 10:40:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james joyce #book club