How women conquered the world of fiction

From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut novelists it would be championing this year: Megan Nolan, Pip Williams, Ailsa McFarlane, Jo Hamya and Vera Kurian.All five of them are women. But you could be forgiven for not noticing it, so commonplace are female-dominated lists in 2021. Over the past 12 months, almost all of the buzz in fiction has been around young women: Patricia Lockwood, Yaa Gyasi, Raven Leilani, Avni Doshi, Lauren Oyler. Ask a novelist of any gender who they are reading and they will almost certainly mention one of Rachel Cusk, Ottessa Moshfegh, Rachel Kushner, Gwendoline Riley, Monique Roffey or Maria Stepanova. Or they will be finding new resonances in Anita Brookner, Zora Neale Hurston, Natalia Ginzburg, Octavia Butler, Ivy Compton-Burnett. The energy, as anyone in the publishing world will tell you, is with women.It’s only relatively recently that fiction written by a woman about intimate subjects like sex has been classed as literary fictionClass is the dirty secret of publishing. Working-class male writers are now expected to answer for a past that isn’t oursMen think that to be allowed a place at the table, they need to have the right views and be these nice guysWhy wasn’t there uproar in the media... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
News tagged with: #avni doshi #lauren oyler #rachel cusk #ottessa moshfegh #rachel kushner #gwendoline riley #monique roffey #maria stepanova #octavia butler #dirty secret #publishing world #literary fiction #novelists

Other Publishing stories related to: 'How women conquered the world of fiction'

A digital renaissance for the science fiction short story

Sci-fi and fantasy fiction is entering a golden age of short fiction thanks to social media, crowdfunding and a loyal community of ardent fansA man wakes up from a car crash to find that he is an "electric ant": an android programmed to believe it is human. At home he uses micro-tools to open... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online magazines

Can Narcissus Bring Digital Self-Publishing to the Arab World?

The Italian ebook self-publishing platform Narcissus has launched in Arabic, but finds authors in the Arab world face a steep digital learning curve. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arab world

Yawn No More: Americans and the Market for Foreign Fiction

As proven by the conversations at BookExpo America, American publishers, editors and readers may finally be coming around to embracing more foreign literature. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookexpo america #american publishers

Asian Content for the World’s Children at AFCC 2014

The just-concluded Asian Festival Children’s Content (AFCC), which ran from May 30 to June 4 in Singapore, hosted around 100 speakers from 16 different countries. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Wallpaper lets your friends borrow ebooks from real-world shelves

As convenient as ebooks may be, lending them to friends is a headache; copyright woes notwithstanding, it's simply hard to show what you have on offer. Vodafone Romania just made things a bit easier, though. Its new Digital Library Wallpaper gives... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bit easier

Butcher's Skin Game takes top spot on Original Fiction chart

Just under 3m book sales registered through Nielsen BookScan for the week ending the 31st of May... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nielsen bookscan #week ending

McBride wins Bailey's Women's Prize

Irish author Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (Galley Beggar/Faber &... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Minecraft helps to build sales of kids' non-fiction in Q1

This year is set to be a strong one for children’s non-fiction, with retailers reporting... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Learn a Fictional Language from Game of Thrones

Living Language has partnered with HBO Global Licensing to offer a course in Dothraki, a language from George R.R. Martin's popular series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #popular series

BEA 2014: David Mitchell: Six Worlds, One New Novel

This coming August marks 10 years since David Mitchell’s groundbreaking novel, Cloud Atlas, was published to great acclaim. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david mitchell #cloud atlas #great acclaim

BEA 2014: Ruth Reichl: A Delicious Debut into Fiction

Ruth Reichl joins the wildly popular novelists Jodi Picoult and Kathy Reichs on a panel about bestsellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ruth reichl #kathy reichs

Hassan Blasim wins Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

Iraqi writer Hassan Blasim has won the 2014 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for his second... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

'Inspirational' women choose favourite books for Baileys

Nineteen "inspirational" women, including Caitlin Moran, Dawn O’Porter, Tanni... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Harman: UK can 'pay its way in the world' through literature

People who create content need to be protected, Harriet Harman told The Publishers Association... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #create content #publishers association

World Book Night Touts Increased Media Attention

World Book Night U.S., an ambitious nonprofit campaign to promote reading throughout the country, is reporting stronger-than-ever media attention for its just-finished April 2014 push. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #promote reading #media attention

English PEN and Foyles partner on World Bookshelf

English PEN in partnership with Foyles has launched a new website which celebrates contemporary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english pen

The Aging World

In a recent Simpsons episode, a Japanese tourist moves in with Comic Book Guy, infuriating her father, who exclaims: “Daughter, you are coming back to Japan; there are 87 old people who need you to take care of them!” Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coming back