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 ]
Amanda Ridout, former managing director of Head of Zeus and a prominent figure in the U.K. publishing world, has launched a new publishing house, Boldwood Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Book Critics Circle announced the finalists for its annual literary awards on Tuesday, with Zadie Smith, Rachel Kushner, Robert Christgau and the late Denis Johnson among the nominees. Los Angeles author Kushner's "The Mars Room" and Johnson's "The Largesse of the Sea Maiden" both... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bluemoose Books has revealed it will only publish female writers in 2020, with co-owner Kevin Duffy lamenting how “women over a certain age are overlooked in the publishing world”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW takes a look back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world in 2018, and what they portend for 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gwendoline Riley has scooped the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for Fiction 2017 for her fifth novel First Love (Granta). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV coverage of literary fiction has dwindled, but Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers are exceptions. “Who would have guessed that a 700-page novel would be on national TV?” one publishing executive said. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The chatshow host’s new novel centres on Irish lives dominated by shame and repression. Yet, after ‘decades of darkness’, the country’s legalisation of abortion and gay marriage have made him hopefulGraham Norton’s second novel, A Keeper, had not gone to press before this interview, so his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachel Cusk has been shortlisted for the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize for the third time in four years while Olivia Laing and Man Booker-shortlisted poet Robin Robertson have also been nominated. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Benedicte Page reflects on the current status of literary fiction and the role of independent publishers in the book industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ottessa Moshfegh’s ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ debuts on our hardcover fiction list. Plus Asheville resident Robert Beatty receives a warm hometown welcome for his latest historical middle grade fantasy, ‘Willa of the Wood,’ and Naomi Novik weaves a new tale with ‘Spinning Silver.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Super Thursday will fall on 4th October this year, The Bookseller can reveal, when a whopping 544 new hardbacks will be hitting shelves—40 more than on last year’s equivalent day—all vying for a slice of the lucrative Christmas book market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hi, all! Carolyn Kellogg, books editor here, back from a trip to Helsinki, Stockholm and Paris with the not-at-all groundbreaking news that these are delightful cities. Yes, I shopped at Paris’ Shakespeare and Company, but not enough — when decided I needed to return for more books, I couldn’t... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: the thriller from Bill Clinton and James Patterson, plus new books from Lauren Groff, Rachel Cusk, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker talks to The Bookseller about moving into the publishing world with her own imprint on behalf of Hogarth. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: new books from Michael Ondaatje, Zora Neale Hurston, and Rachel Kushner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Finland by way of Kosovo, as well as the UK, Israel, Nigeria, Sweden, Spain, and the United States, the writers of our roundup are producing thrillers, literary fiction, memoir, children's historically reflective work and, of course, children's stories. The post Bologna Rights Roundup: Nine... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With biography, autobiography, children's literature, new Nordic noir, literary fiction, and a mystery that rides with the Tour de France, we look at several interesting sales stories and rights action the authors of which include a Syrian concert pianist. The post Rights Roundup: Eight Titles... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Topped by Margaret Atwood, the UK’s Top 10 bestselling authors of literary fiction last year features only one male writer, Haruki MurakamiFlying in the face of Norman Mailer’s infamous comment that “a good novelist can do without everything but the remnant of his balls”, Haruki Murakami was the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Jilly Cooper has said that literary fiction should not receive state support, arguing instead that the money would be better spent on the declining newspaper industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I’m not surprised sales of literary fiction are in decline – too many authors fail to engage their readers with any sort of story• Tim Lott is an author and journalistFollowing the announcement from Arts Council England that sales of literary fiction are plummeting, it is suggested that arts... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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