‘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'

Let’s call April mystery book month. Here’s what I’d read.

Two outstanding examples that daringly upend familiar conventions are Andre Bjerke’s “The Lake of the Dead" and Masahiro Imamura’s “Death Among the Undead." Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-06 13:00:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

London Book Fair Exhibitor Publishing Scotland: ‘Facilitating Rights Sales’

'Channels for voices in Scottish literature,' says Alan Bett, are enhanced by Publishing Scotland's international fellowship. The post London Book Fair Exhibitor Publishing Scotland: ‘Facilitating Rights Sales’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-05 00:50:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #scottish literature #publishing scotland #london book fair #book fair

Greta Thunberg to publish a ‘go-to source’ book on the climate crisis

The Climate Book will include contributions from scientist Katharine Hayhoe, economist Thomas Piketty and novelist Margaret AtwoodGreta Thunberg is releasing a new book this autumn, which aims to offer a “global overview of how the planet’s many crises connect”.“I have decided to use my platform... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-03-31 16:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greta thunberg #climate crisis #book based

10 books to add to your reading list in April

Bethanne Patrick's April picks include highly anticipated novels from Jennifer Egan, Emily St. John Mandel, Don Winslow and Douglas Stuart. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-31 13:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bethanne patrick #jennifer egan #emily st #john mandel #don winslow #douglas stuart

I like unusual books. Here’s what I’d read — if I had time.

If I could, I’d delve into undeservedly forgotten novels, works of intellectual history and biography -- and so much more Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-30 16:51:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Italian Publishers: Book Piracy Cost €771 Million in 2021

In 2021, a new report indicates, Italians carried out an average 322,000 acts of book piracy per day, a major challenge for publishing. The post Italian Publishers: Book Piracy Cost €771 Million in 2021 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-29 18:58:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #italian publishers #book piracy

London Book Fair: This Year, a Main Stage in Pillar Hall

Headliners Ben Okri and Louise Moore are to give keynote addresses on London Book Fair’s new Main Stage. The post London Book Fair: This Year, a Main Stage in Pillar Hall appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-28 12:47:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #main stage #louise moore

‘The Cartographers’ is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice

In Peng Shepherd's fantastical thriller, a cartographer realizes the true power of maps. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-24 13:36:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #brilliant books

Bologna 2022: Publisher of the Year Winners

The Bologna Children's Book Fair announced the winners of its 10th annual BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children's Publishers of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bologna children #bologna prize #children's book

IPA and Brazilian Publishers: SDG Book Club at Bologna

The Brazilian Publishers at Bologna will have an SDG Book Club Portuguese display, as the IPA wraps up these curations for kids. The post IPA and Brazilian Publishers: SDG Book Club at Bologna appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-17 16:46:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bologna appeared #post ipa #brazilian publishers #book club

Stephen King, Janelle Monáe and more: Let’s talk about speculative fiction to read this year

2022 is turning out to be a great year if you love science fiction, fantasy and horror books Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-15 11:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great year #stephen king #janelle mone #speculative fiction #horror books

Ukrainian children’s book to be published in UK as charity fundraiser

Author Larysa Denysenko wrote introduction to Maya and Her Friends while sheltering from missiles in Kyiv“As I write to you, rockets are flying outside my windows, and at a distance of 20km from my house, Russian aggressors are destroying the suburbs of Kyiv,” author Larysa Denysenko says in an... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-03-11 11:15:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bonnier #children’s book

20 Must-Read Genre-Bending Sci-Fi Books

From sci fi horror like Parasite by Mira Grant to science fantasy like Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, those genre-blending science fiction books have something for every reader. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-03-10 11:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction

WNDB Launches Virtual Community for Mid-Level Diverse Publishing Professionals

The We Need Diverse Books nonprofit organization advocating for more inclusion in the industry is launching a virtual community platform for mid-level diverse publishing professionals in an effort to improve retention rates. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Beto O’Rourke’s book on civil rights leader Lawrence Aaron Nixon will be published this August.

Last week, Beto O’Rourke easily won the Democratic primary for Texas governor—the same week Flatiron Books took the North American rights to O’Rourke’s nonfiction book We’ve Got To Try. We’ve Got To Try follows the life and work of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon, civil rights leader and son of an... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-09 18:16:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nonfiction book

Stop moaning about sensitivity readers – if there was diversity in publishing we wouldn’t need them | Juno Dawson

Since 2011, all my book editors have been white. Why wouldn’t I want another perspective on the characters I invent?Until a few years ago, only publishing industry insiders would have understood the role of the sensitivity reader. Then came American Dirt. The Jeanine Cummins novel sold to a US... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-03-08 09:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #juno dawson #american dirt #jeanine cummins #seven-figure advance #marginalised groups #publishing industry

10 books to add to your reading list in March

Bethanne Patrick's March picks include works by Bob Odenkirk and Elena Ferrante, as well as an Indigenous punk memoir and magical African allegories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-28 14:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bethanne patrick #bob odenkirk #elena ferrante #memoir

Elliot Page’s memoir, Pageboy, will be published next year.

Now here’s a celebrity memoir to get excited about. Elliot Page, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated star of Juno, Inception, and The Umbrella Academy, is currently working on his first memoir, which is due to be published by Flatiron in 2023. According to the publisher’s announcement, the memoir... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-18 17:08:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #celebrity memoir #elliot page #umbrella academy #memoir

Lagardère Publishing Has Record Year

Total revenue rose 9.4% at Hachette Book Group parent Lagardère Publishing in 2021, and profits jumped 42.7% over 2020. HBG sales rose 3.7%, excluding the impact of its Workman Publishing acquisition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lagardre publishing #record year #lagardère