I believed readers only wanted trauma stories from writers of colour. Then I became an author | Zoya Patel

For so long, it seemed that readers were only interested in the experiences of people like me if we were traumatised, not triumphant – and I internalised this as an indisputable factGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI can’t pinpoint exactly when I started imagining myself in the stories I read but I know it was at a young age. Some of the first books I really connected with were Sweet Valley Twins, a US series about blond, blue-eyed twin sisters who lived a very middle-class white life I could barely picture. I knew on some level that I wouldn’t exist in their community, where there was no suggestion of cultural diversity. But I wanted to, so in my daydreams about the twins and their world I added an Indian girl to their friendship group.Even as a child I knew that the onus was on me to stretch my imagination to include myself; it was not on the writers to incorporate diversity in their stories in the first place.Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morningZoya Patel’s novel Once a Stranger is published by Hachette Australia ($32.99) Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-18 19:00:19 UTC ]
News tagged with: #weekend culture #young age #cultural diversity #pop culture #hachette

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I believed readers only wanted trauma stories from writers of colour. Then I became an author | Zoya Patel

For so long, it seemed that readers were only interested in the experiences of people like me if we were traumatised, not triumphant – and I internalised this as an indisputable factGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI can’t pinpoint exactly when I started imagining myself in the stories... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-18 19:00:19 UTC ]
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Authors of colour made up 19.6% of YA writers in 2019

Authors of colour made up 19.6% of Young Adult writers published in 2019, a huge leap on previous years, according to new research. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 14:25:59 UTC ]
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Amazon's new imprints give opportunities to debut authors, short story writers

Amazon's Little A imprint will release novels, memoirs, and story collections, while Day One will focus on short stories and new writers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Reader's Digest' Wants Your Life Story in 150 Words or Less

Oh boy, do I have a contest for you long-winded Facebookers and personal bloggers. It's called, "Your Life: The Reader's Digest Version." The venerable magazine is willing to shell out $25,000 if you can keep The Story of You to a crisp and compelling 150 words (words, not characters—this isn't... Continue reading at AdWeek

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‘The crime writer crime writers read’: Garry Disher, author of 60 books and finding fame in his 70s

The Australian author is ‘incredibly influential’, but has had to survive decades of ‘cultural cringe’ and genre snobbery to make finally ‘a decent sort of living’Before parched and dusty towns across Australia became full of fictional sinister people; before the explosion of outback noir and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-05 23:00:18 UTC ]
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More than 'story, bonking, story': why you've never heard of Australia's best-selling authors

In pushing the romance genre aside, Australia’s publishing industry sent its most successful writers to pursue their careers abroadNalini Singh is trying to convince me to read a love story starring bears. The tiny author is tucked up under a huge scarf in a cafe on a freezing August day in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-17 22:00:54 UTC ]
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'The Border' author Don Winslow wants to debate Trump about the wall, and Stephen King wants to pay for it

Thriller author Don Winslow wants to debate Donald Trump about the president's proposed border wall, and Stephen King is willing to pay $10,000 to make it happen. Winslow, whose new novel, "The Border," is slated for release by Harper Collins imprint William Morrow next week, challenged Trump to... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Believer Wants Las Vegas To Believe... in Literature

Sin City built a playoffs-worthy NHL franchise in a year. Can it also build a literary oasis in the middle of the Mojave? If the Believer Festival is any indication, that answer is yes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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12 Brilliant Short Stories by Black Writers to Read Year-Round

From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Erica Berry on the Polyamorous Intimacy of Reader, Author, and Audiobook Narrator

I always imagined, that, given the choice, I would read my own audiobook. I had heard memoirs often sounded best in the author’s throat—something about the familiar tang of the hardship unspooled. But had I written a memoir? A bookseller acquaintance asked me that a year before the publication... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-22 09:54:39 UTC ]
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A.S. Byatt, British writer and author of Booker Prize-winning 'Possession,' dies at 87

British author A.S. Byatt, who was known for award-winning works including 'Possession' and 'The Children's Book,' has died. She was 87. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-17 17:18:21 UTC ]
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Black Romance Authors and Editors Share Their Passion for Love Stories

Amid ongoing challenges, Black authors and editors are creating the love stories they want to read. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Pratchett power: from lost stories to new adaptations, how the late Discworld author lives on

It’s 40 years since The Colour of Magic hit the shelves. As newly unearthed short stories are published, fans and friends celebrate the late author’s enduring legacy“Of all the dead authors in the world, Terry Pratchett is the most alive,” said John Lloyd at the author’s memorial in 2015. This... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-10-07 10:00:09 UTC ]
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Bestselling author Naomi Wood wins 2023 BBC national short story award

The UEA creative writing lecturer won for Comorbidities, which judging chair Reeta Chakrabarti called a ‘sparkling gem’ that tackles serious issues with a ‘light and wry touch’• Read the story belowNaomi Wood has won the 2023 BBC national short story award for Comorbidities, a story about a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-26 19:00:36 UTC ]
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Leading Christian Authors Look to Little Readers

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Uplifting Writers and Readers: ACFW 2023 In Photos

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Is Jamel Brinkley the best short-story writer of his generation?

The short stories in Jamel Brinkley's second collection, 'Witness,' don't just reveal stories of violence, gentrification and racism — they put you inside them. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-01 13:00:50 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Code Red’ and ‘Calling the Moon: 16 Period Stories From BIPOC Authors’

Decades after “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” an anthology and a novel let readers see periods through the eyes of diverse protagonists. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-06-02 09:00:39 UTC ]
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Tiffany Hammond Believes Stories Are the Best Teachers

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[ The New York Times | 2023-05-25 09:00:12 UTC ]
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Why authors might want to pay to go on a podcast.

Gone are the days when you could write a book a chapter at a time and hook people in a slow, serial burn. Now, if the internet is to believed, one must amass 100,000 followers on social media before they can even be considered for a book deal (every writer ever: why would anyone follow […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-10 17:36:58 UTC ]
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