I write ‘women’s commercial fiction’ –why is my work still seen as inferior to men’s? | Emma Hughes

A recent roundup of the ‘best books of 2021’ had every possible genre of novel – with the unsurprising exception of romanceIn the four months since my first novel came out, I’ve had the same conversation probably a dozen times.“What’s it about?” a well-meaning stranger will ask. “Well,” I’ll reply, “it’s the story of a woman choosing between two very different men – as well as technology, divorce and the precariousness of renting in …” “Oh!” they’ll interject. “You mean one of those books with high heels on the cover? That must have been fun to write.”Emma Hughes’s latest book No Such Thing As Perfect is published by Century Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-05 15:25:24 UTC ]
News tagged with: #commercial fiction #dozen times #high heels #first novel

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Where are fiction’s real working-class heroes? | Letter

Working-class lives are unlikely to be properly represented in fiction if the publishing industry is run by middle-class graduates, says Nick MossKeiran Goddard is right to say that too many novels that claim to portray working-class life just give us “recent arts graduate feels emotionally,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-30 16:40:05 UTC ]
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Three debut novels compete among Women’s prize for fiction shortlist

First-time novelists are joined by two former winners on the diverse list, as the six ‘ambitious and hard-hitting’ contenders are revealed• ‘We were blown away’: how we chose the Women’s prize shortlistThree debut novels will compete against books by two former winners for this year’s Women’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-26 06:30:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction shortlist #first-time novelists #diverse list #jacqueline crooks #louise kennedy #novelists


Never too late: over-50s urged to write fiction with prize for debut novel

Award launched at London book fair aims to help older authors take the plunge and submit a first workLondon book fair, which concluded earlier this month, always brings with it a flurry of headlines about debut authors signing six-figure publishing deals. Most of these have at least one thing in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-23 09:00:35 UTC ]
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Women Now Publishing More Books Than Men — And It’s Helping Sales

According to data, women are now publishing more books than men are, and it's affecting the publishing world in a big way. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-07 17:36:00 UTC ]
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10 Science Fiction Books by Black Women Writers

This past summer, an auntie of mine dusted off an old cardboard box of books from a cluttered storage unit, and handed me a slim blue and gold paperback with soft, slightly frayed corners and a creased spine by Octavia E. Butler. I had never read science fiction that featured a Black girl being... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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How Women Writers Speculated Fictional Futures Free From Patriarchal Control

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are as many definitions of “feminism” and “science fiction” as there are people who identify as feminists and science fiction enthusiasts—in fact, that is part of what makes both of these communities attractive to many people. However, by 1981,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-11 08:53:20 UTC ]
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In ‘The Godmother,’ mafia women are just as fearsome as the men

Barbie Latza Nadeau's book spotlights Assunta “Pupetta” Maresca, who was 18 and pregnant when she shot and killed the man who had ordered her husband’s murder. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Essential Works of Fabulist Fiction

Kathryn Harlan, author of the new story collection 'Fruiting Bodies,' picks 10 books that represent fabulism at its best. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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6 works of historical fiction highlight resilience amid war

New and upcoming books by Rhys Bowen, Kate Forsyth and others imagine the heroic efforts of everyday people during World War II Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-20 14:33:02 UTC ]
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Ruth Ozeki Wins U.K. Women's Prize for Fiction

Ruth Ozeki has won the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel 'The Book of Form and Emptiness' (Penguin), which comes with a £30,000 ($36,500) cash award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Unseen works by ‘queen of gothic fiction’ Shirley Jackson published

Two previously unseen short stories by Jackson, rated by Stephen King as one of the great horror fiction writers, are to appear in US magazine the StrandTwo previously unpublished short stories by Shirley Jackson, the queen of gothic fiction, have been released.Charlie Roberts and Only Stand and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 14:05:30 UTC ]
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Imagining More: Women Writing Worlds in Crisis

I wrote the bulk of my debut novel between 2016 and 2020, years of intense political tension and heightened concern for our planet and the people we love. My debut novel, Walk the Vanished Earth, is a speculative exploration of what it means to be both a parent and a child at the mercy of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-01 08:51:21 UTC ]
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How Tolkien and Lord of the Rings inspired the commercial and artistic success of the fantasy fiction genre

The Lord of the Rings paperback edition could be said to have sparked the commercial fantasy genre as we know it. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-04-18 19:57:13 UTC ]
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Is Adaptation a Feminine Act? On the Women Writers Who Worked on Alfred Hitchcock Presents

As women writers adapted to a changing post-WWII job market, so too did they adapt in their work, translating their skills into writing suspense for television and turning short stories into screenplays. In her essay on adaptation and “gendered discourses,” Shelley Cobb writes that “feminist... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:50:01 UTC ]
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Megan Walsh on Yan Lianke and Fiction Writing in China

This is Underreported with Nicholas Lemann, from the publishing imprint Columbia Global Reports. We don’t just publish books; we use books to start conversations about topics that weren’t getting the attention they deserved. At least, until we took them on. This podcast is your audio connection... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-11 09:55:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publish books #important topics #megan walsh #yan lianke #fiction writing #nicholas lemann #start conversations #audio connection #publishing imprint


Sites of Radical Possibility: The Best of 1970s and 80s Women-Authored Science Fiction and Fantasy

A late baby-boomer, I spent my tweens and adolescence in the 1970s under the Tolkien-woven spell of heroic fantasy, immersed in the imagined worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea trilogy (1968-72), Patricia A. McKillip’s Riddlemaster trilogy (1976-79), and Evangeline Walton’s Welsh-myth-remix... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-26 09:55:39 UTC ]
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A first edition of Harry Potter is now the most expensive modern work of fiction ever sold.

Apparently, J.K. Rowling’s bruised reputation has not lowered the value of her books. Yesterday, a rare first edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold at auction for $471,000, which Heritage Auctions says is “the highest price ever paid for the boy wizard’s debut... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-10 18:27:50 UTC ]
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MacLehose Press signs contemporary fiction anthology by Afghan women

Quercus imprint MacLehose Press has acquired My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women, an anthology of contemporary women's short stories with an introduction by BBC chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-19 02:58:08 UTC ]
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A woman won a million-euro writing prize . . . then turned out to be three men.

This week, the winner of the Planeta Prize, a Spanish 1-million-euro literary award, was announced: Carmen Mola, a famously private crime thriller writer. All that was known about Mola, often referred to as Spain’s “Elena Ferrante,” is that she was a university professor in her mid-40s living in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-18 18:30:34 UTC ]
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10 years of the Stella: how Australia’s women’s writing prize changed a nation’s literature

Publishers speak of the profound effect the prize has had on Australia’s book industry in the decade since its establishmentOn International Women’s Day in 2011, a group of Australian women writers and editors appeared at a literary salon and spoke about their frustration at the male-dominated... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-07 01:56:57 UTC ]
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