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 ]
Bookshop gets into used books, guessing the 2024 NBA Long List for Fiction, and a couple of real bummer stories in today's book news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-28 21:45:13 UTC ]
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From fairy porn to romantasy via the Omegaverse, publishing is sexier than ever. The reason? A big shift in gen Z and millennial attitudes to respectability and shame ...I spent a fortnight reading nothing but smut and I don’t need to give you a reason. But since there is one, here it is:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-08-06 04:00:33 UTC ]
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Founded in 2013, Letters Bookshop in Durham, N.C., is transforming from a privately owned business to a community-supported cooperative, selling shares for $116, in an aim to sustain the store in amid a challenging retail environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Among the books hitting shelves next week are a picture book about finding joy in difficult places, a middle grade fantasy set at a beloved library, a YA mystery following a family reuniting, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The silver screen will turn a different color next month when 'Harold and the Purple Crayon,' based on the classic picture book by Crockett Johnson, makes its theatrical debut on August 2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Motorola is still trying to reclaim the glory of its original Razr phone with its latest foldables. The new Razr and Razr+ are more stylish than the previous models, and at $700 and $1,000 respectively, they're surprisingly affordable for devices with massive folding OLED screens. In other news,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-28 11:30:27 UTC ]
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I love it when a text centers the dynamics of conversation. In my own life, talking to others gets me out of my head, and introduces me to possibilities I would never have dreamed of alone. I think of a quote by the activist Valerie Kaur, which my local bookshop has printed on some of […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-06-12 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Fashions in architecture are, more or less, generational. So, the reappraisal of brutalism – a once-reviled style of architecture – is now virtually complete Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-06-03 15:33:22 UTC ]
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Picture book writers whose works look different from one another because they’re illustrated by different artists are less apt to be on your radar. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-31 09:04:00 UTC ]
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Florence Minor, best known for numerous picture book collaborations with her husband, illustrator Wendell Minor, died on May 21 after a battle with ovarian cancer; she was 74. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Beaming Books takes Laura Alary's picture book tale of a Christmas that almost wasn't, Behrman House signs Howard Blas's guidebook for families and clergy planning b'nai mitzvah celebrations for children with disabilities, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop and arts centre run by Salmon Poetry is saved from closure after raising more than €60,000 from 700 individualsA bookshop and arts centre run by a prominent Irish poetry publisher has been saved from closure after a GoFundMe campaign raised more than €60,000 – enough to buy new premises... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-13 15:18:10 UTC ]
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5 Questions for Ethel Rohan, by Michelle Johnson Interviews [email protected] Tue, 04/16/2024 - 08:28 Ethel Rohan’s second novel, Sing, I, was published by TriQuarterly Books on April 15. The novel’s heroine, Ester Prynn, works in a convenience... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-04-16 13:28:17 UTC ]
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In a Bologna Book Fair session called "Dead Bunnies and Naked Bottoms: Meeting the Challenges of Children's Publishing Across Cultures," moderator Maria Russo led a discussion on international picture book successes, obstacles, and taboos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Easter titles, including three P.J. Funnybunny books by Marilyn Sadler, dominate this week’s children’s picture book list. Plus cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib returns with ‘There’s Always This Year,’ and a pair of books caution parents against screentime. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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During the summer of 1896, a poster of a redheaded woman riding a bicycle appeared in bookshop windows and newsstands in cities across the United States. Sporting a fashionable outfit, the cyclist gazes blankly beyond the viewer, seeming to exert little effort. Though her body occupies most of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-03 08:55:47 UTC ]
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Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father's popular picture book series about an elephant king, has died. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2024-03-23 20:35:30 UTC ]
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Picture book author-illustrator Lynne Barasch, who created lively biographies as well as stories inspired by her family life, died on March 7. She was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything”... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
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Who among us hasn’t wished that they could get paid to just sit and read for a little while? No strings, no work-related tasks involved—just good old fashioned American currency in exchange for reading a book of your choosing, for pleasure. Well, fellow dreamers, I have good news! Perelandra... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-06 17:56:29 UTC ]
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