Is English literature since 1918 really such a man’s world?

A new book celebrating the best writing of the past century follows a well-worn script when it comes to equalityI’ve been dipping in and out of DJ Taylor’s fat new book, The Prose Factory, a pleasingly gossipy history of literary life in England since 1918, and so far as it goes, it’s very enjoyable: the bits about money certainly put the writers-must-be-paid-to-appear-at-festivals debate in some perspective. But still, I have to ask: where are all the women?Taylor gives Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch quite a lot of attention. Also, for reasons that are perhaps less clear, AS Byatt, Margaret Drabble and Brigid Brophy. Edith Sitwell, Penelope Fitzgerald and Lorna Sage are treated sympathetically, and merit several paragraphs, as do a few others. But it’s the omissions that strike you, the many excellent and important female writers who are referred to only in passing, or not at all. Doris Lessing is mentioned just four times, and Muriel Spark and Angela Carter only twice; ditto Elizabeth Taylor. Among those left out entirely are: Sybille Bedford, Anita Brookner, Barbara Comyns, Olivia Manning, Antonia White and – this last truly amazes me – Stevie Smith. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #doris lessing #muriel spark #angela carter

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Is English literature since 1918 really such a man’s world?'

US poet Louise Glück wins Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to American poet Louise Glück for her “unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-08 10:25:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Louise Glück Wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 was awarded to the American poet Louise Glück "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal." This story is developing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel prize

It’s been a bittersweet week for surf literature.

The last few days have brought two major pieces of surf literature news: one welcome, the other dispiriting. The first is that Barbarian Days—New Yorker staff writer and journalist William Finnegan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning surf memoir and one of the greatest books ever written about the greatest... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-07 14:11:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary hub #memoir

Loud Black Girls panel to feature at first Streatham Literature Festival

The inaugural Streatham Arts Festival is to be headlined by a panel event, featuring contributors to 2020 anthology Slay in Your Lane Presents: Loud Black Girls in conversation with Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-06 17:13:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #anthology

Reading Rumaan Alam's Apocalypse Novel At The End Of The World

In "Leave the World Behind," a family on vacation tries to ignore the catastrophe unfolding outside their cozy retreat. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2020-10-06 16:35:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Why is The Known World So Good?

Edward P. Jones’s The Known World occupies a somewhat odd space in the literary canon: it is highly decorated, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and it was even a bestseller, but 17 years after its publication, it feels curiously underread. I acknowledge, of course, that all notions of “underread,” like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-05 08:49:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary canon #pulitzer prize

CUP enters Latham's World of Bob Dylan

Cambridge University Press has scored a “unique and fresh” collection of new writing on Bob Dylan, to coincide with the star's 80th birthday in May 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-29 19:51:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bob dylan #80th birthday #cambridge university press

Seven Dials seals deal with 'UK's fittest man'

Seven Dials has acquired Start Where Others Stop by Zack George, dubbed "the UK’s fittest man". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-29 00:34:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

World Book Day plans outreach with book club and library collaboration

A new monthly book club and greater outreach to public and school libraries are among the World Book Day plans for 2021, the charity’s c.e.o. has revealed at this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 19:52:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school libraries #bookseller children #bookseller #world book #libraries #book club #book day

Join Us for a Live Update on Translation From the Arab World

Presented by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, a publisher and a translator weigh in with practical insights and observations. The post Join Us for a Live Update on Translation From the Arab World appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-25 19:02:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arab world #practical insights #zayed book

The greatest job in the literary world is accepting applications again.

Are you happy in your current book world job? Do you arise each morning with a sense of purpose? Does social isolation, political turmoil, and inclement fall weather agree with you? Can you turn up to work barefoot and go snorkeling on your lunch break? If you answered “no” to any of the above... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-24 16:47:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greatest job #accepting applications #social isolation #political turmoil #lunch break #book world #literary world

Deborah Tannen’s ‘Finding My Father’ pays tribute to a man whose many jobs became his life story

With so many contemporary memoirs devoted to the sins of the author’s mother, a focus on a loving dad seems a welcome change. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-23 05:01:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pays tribute #life story

‘Welcome to the New World,’ by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan: An Excerpt

A new graphic novel expands on the Pulitzer-winning series about the challenges a family of Syrian refugees faced in America. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-09-21 14:13:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graphic novel

Man in the Maze: A Conversation with Robert Silverberg

THE LONG AND VARIED career of science fiction author Robert Silverberg can almost be viewed as a microcosm of the genre’s development over the past seven decades. Starting out in the world of fandom, Silverberg edited a popular zine in the early 1950s, then turned to professional writing during... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-09-18 15:00:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #varied career #early 1950s #science fiction

Walker Books secures world rights to DiCamillo and Blackall's first collaboration

Candlewick Press, a US imprint of the Walker Book Group, has acquired global rights to The Beatryce Prophecy, the first collaboration from author Kate DiCamillo and illustrator Sophie Blackall. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-18 00:15:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #candlewick press #world rights

L.A.'s poet laureate isn't mincing words: 'The world's on fire. We're just trying to survive.'

L.A. poet laureate Robin Coste Lewis joins the L.A. Times Book Club Sept. 24 for Black Poets in a Time of Unrest, an evening of discussion and poetry performances. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-09-17 20:34:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black poets #times book

Here’s the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature.

In more literary news, the National Book Foundation has just announced the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature. The longlist includes ten novels originally published in eight different languages: Arabic, German, Spanish, Persian, Tamil, Korean, Japanese, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-16 19:15:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #translated literature #literary news #national book foundation #national book award

The 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature longlist includes many newcomers.

‘Tis the season for book awards! Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The National Book Awards, created in 1950, is the most prestigious literary prize in the United States, rewarding quality and cogent... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-16 14:15:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book awards #rewarding quality #cogent writing #publishers submitted #literary prize #national book foundation #national book award