Even if 'bossy' could be banned, there are far better ways to boost girls' self-esteem | Hadley Freeman

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and Beyoncé want to ban the word 'bossy' as disparaging to women. It's a good start, but there's so much more to be done. Here are my top tipsThat growing numbers of girls suffer from issues of self-esteem during adolescence – ones that can be carried over into adulthood – is not up for debate. What is debatable is what should be done about this. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of the bestselling feminist-ish book Lean In, has come up with her own typically high-powered and certainly well-intentioned solution: to ban the word "bossy". "When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a 'leader'. Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded 'bossy'," she writes.It will come as a massive surprise to no one to learn that I was called bossy quite a lot as a kid, and still am (although I wouldn't have to be bossy if people would just bloody well do as I say). Yet it's never bothered me, mainly because I grew up idolising Miss Piggy and Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts, and never saw bossiness as anything other than a wholly commendable quality. But for those unacquainted with the mighty pig, Sandberg has made a video featuring herself, Condoleezza Rice, Beyoncé and others, arguing that the word "bossy" should be "banned" (in the self-censoring sense, one suspects, as opposed to the, you know, legal one) because it's a way of telling confident girls to shut up.Insults are often gendered – in adulthood at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #curtis sittenfeld #elizabeth gilbert

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Even if 'bossy' could be banned, there are far better ways to boost girls' self-esteem | Hadley Freeman'


Quercus wins three-way auction for Icelandic crime

Quercus’ upmarket imprint riverrun has acquired a true crime book about “bizarre Icelandic disappearances” by a BBC producer following a three-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bbc producer


Still No Opinion, but Judge's Order Bans Distribution of 'Infringing' KinderGuides

A federal judge has signed off on a permanent injunction immediately barring Moppet Books from distributing in the U.S. any versions of its KinderGuides series held to be infringing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #federal judge


News magazines enjoy circulation boost while celebrity titles suffer

Private Eye, the Economist and others increase readership as Marie Claire, Heat and Grazia experience lossesWomen’s weekly and celebrity-focused magazines suffered a difficult first half of the year with sharp declines in sales, according to the latest industry figures.Titles including Heat,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #private eye #marie claire #june compared


Northern Fiction Alliance members' sales boosted

Members of the Northern Fiction Alliance have said they have seen boosts in book and rights sales from being part of the coalition. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rights sales


Print and audio book sales boost S&S revenue

Sales at Simon & Schuster grew 10% in the second quarter of 2017, hitting $206 million (£158m). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Bloomsbury wins five-way auction for 'powerful elegy'

Bloomsbury has acquired a “devastating and emotionally incisive” novel and one other book by David Chariandy in a “heated” five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #heated five-


CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Writing Her First Novel and Being Banned by Trump

Perhaps it was because today is the last hurrah before A-listers head off to the beach and the mountains to escape summer's dog days. Whatever the reason, Michael's was jumping today. I was joined by CNN's Alisyn Camerota, whose new book Amanda Wakes Up was released July 25. I read it in three... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dog days


Bookstores and libraries are the most popular ways to get books

Nearly 400,000 New Zealanders did not read a book in 2016, according to a Book Council survey. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Monthly E-Ranking: TV boost for The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale has leapfrogged Paula Hawkins’ Into the Water to claim the Monthly E-Book Ranking top spot for June. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #monthly e-ranking #tv boost


Curtis Brown leads the way in dealmaking as new lists thrive

The UK’s biggest literary agency, Curtis Brown, tops our rights league table for the first half of 2017, doubling the reported deals of the next biggest firm. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #curtis brown


Girls Trip and Monica Owusu-Breen

On this episode of Represent, Aisha Harris talks to showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen about her new show Midnight, Texas, a supernatural drama based on the book series by True Blood author Charlaine Harris. But first, Brittany Luse of Gimlet’s The Nod joins the show to discuss the unapologetically... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #girls trip #book series


After 37 Years of Adweek’s Hot List, We’re Changing Up the Way We Honor Publishers

In the 37 years since Adweek first honored standout magazines in its annual Hot List, the publishing industry has undergone a massive transformation (to put it mildly), which we've been helping our readers navigate in our pages and online. As such, we felt that the Hot List itself was due for a... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hot list #publishing industry


UK’s visa ban raises spectre of apartheid | Letters

Author Beverley Naidoo condemns the UK’s decision to deny an Iranian artist a visa to attend the Edinburgh festivalThe UK government’s denial of a visa to Ehsan Abdollahi (Iranian artist barred from Edinburgh festival after ‘Kafkaesque’ visa refusal, 21 July) suggests a game of snakes without... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie children #personal interest


Amazon boosts kids' reading app with Signature Stories

Reading app Amazon Rapids has extended its offering with Signature Stories, a feature which introduces stories from its TV shows. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading app #tv shows


Portobello wins nine-way auction for bias book

Portobello Books has acquired The End of Bias, a "ground-breaking" book by American journalist Jessica Nordell following a "heated" nine-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #portobello books


Bodley Head wins fungi title after eight-way auction

The Bodley Head has won an eight-publisher auction to publish Entangled Life, a "literary and scientific journey" into the world of fungi.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eight-publisher auction #bodley head


Linguistic myth-buster scooped by W&N in six-way auction

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired Don't Believe a Word, a new book by linguist David Shariatmadari investigating "the science of language", after a six-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #weidenfeld nicolson


Will Writing That E-Book Really Boost Your Business?

Self-published authors share what they wish they’d known from the beginning. If you haven’t written a book yet, you probably know someone who has—particularly if you’re an entrepreneur. A recent industry report found ISBN registrations for self-published titles have grown more than 375% since... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2017-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published titles #ebook market


Slow Food the Fast Way: PW Talks with ‘Impatient Foodie’ Author Elettra Weidemann

Food blogger Elettra Wiedemann discusses her new book, 'Impatient Foodie,' in which she aims to give home cooks shortcuts to the slow-food lifestyle. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Kiran Millwood Hargrave | girl power

Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s début novel A Girl of Ink & Stars was a massive success, winning the British Book Awards’ Children’s Book of the Year and a slew of other prizes too. But, as the 27-year-old tells Caroline Carpenter, she reckons her latest novel is even better... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ink stars