Francophone African books are still very often published by French imprints, which can make them hard to get at home. But there is a growing push for changeWhen Cameroonian author Daniel Alain Nsegbe first saw his debut novel for sale in his home city of Douala, the price was so high “you would have to ask someone to stop eating for two days in order to buy the book”. It was around 16,000 CFA francs (£20); the average monthly salary in Douala is £150. The book, Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit (Those Who Go Out at Night) was published by Grasset, a French imprint.This is not uncommon: Francophone African authors, whether classic or contemporary, are often published by French, not African presses. This arrangement began in colonial times, but continues because of a number of factors that are particular to France. Publishers frequently push for world rights for all books written in French. Many African writers operate without agents, who would usually divide up rights territories on their behalf. Agents are still a new feature on the African literary landscape, meaning that many classics, such as 1953’s L’enfant noir (The African Child) by Guinean author Camara Laye, and Algerian writer Kateb Yacine’s 1956 novel Nedjma, are owned by publishers in France (Plon and Éditions du Seuil respectively). As French publishers continue to control distribution and pricing, classic authors go missing from bookshelves while contemporary authors struggle to get their books in the hands of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-14 09:59:14 UTC ]
Independent press And Other Stories has acquired My Father’s Diet, the "sharp-fanged" debut novel from US author and translator Adrian Nathan West. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-14 21:32:44 UTC ]
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Allison & Busby has acquired the "rich and haunting" debut novel The Porcelain Doll by Kristen Loesch. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-11 11:30:12 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has signed In a New York Minute from podcaster, comedian and debut novelist Kate Spencer in a two-book deal Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-11 02:47:56 UTC ]
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Virginia Feito’s debut novel features a woman persuaded that her husband, a celebrated writer, has skewered her in his latest book. Is she right? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-08-10 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Interviews Emilio Fraia’s Sevastopol, out this summer from New Directions, is the sort of book that beguiles and dazzles in equal measure. Consisting of three disparate stories—of a mountain climber attempting to scale Mt. Everest, a mysterious loner... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-09 20:31:30 UTC ]
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Ash Davidson’s debut novel delves into the complex relationship among people who love the trees that are also their livelihood. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-02 16:47:33 UTC ]
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Poet Oli Hazzard on writing his debut novel Lorem Ipsum, which is made up of one single 50,000-word sentence. The post Notes on Craft appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2021-07-22 08:54:09 UTC ]
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Back in April, A24 and Rhombus Media optioned the rights to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer, Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning debut novel about a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who serves as a communist double agent after the fall of Saigon. The novel is being adapted into a limited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-16 15:33:34 UTC ]
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The illustrated debut novel 'Orphans of the Tide' wins the 2021 Branford Boase Award, which honors both authors and their editors. The post Struan Murray, Ben Horslen Win the UK’s Branford Boase Award appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-15 20:44:40 UTC ]
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Carolyn Ferrell’s beautifully hair-raising debut novel takes readers into a house of horrors where some survivors have a better chance than others. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-07-07 09:00:03 UTC ]
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The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
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St. Martin’s buys a debut novel by a Bloomsbury UK assistant editor, a pair of podcasters sells a book on race to Park Row, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing a debut novel is never easy. 100,000 long-form works of English-language fiction are published every year and even in normal circumstances it’s a struggle to for a first-time novelist to stand out from the pack. But the last 15 or so months have been particularly trying. Full lockdown... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-12 22:02:54 UTC ]
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The author of a debut novel about diversity in the workplace on how black people act around white people, embracing her hair, and what’s changed a year after George Floyd’s murderZakiya Dalila Harris was born and raised in Connecticut and is currently based in Brooklyn. Now a full-time writer,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-06-05 17:00:15 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Ireland has pre-empted a debut novel by award-winning actor and playwright Emmet Kirwan, to be published in 2023. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 22:53:36 UTC ]
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Lisa Taddeo, whose book "Three Women" broke the mold of immersive journalism, talks about her first novel, "Animal," and the struggle to write and live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 13:00:06 UTC ]
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Zakiya Dalila Harris, a former editorial assistant, is making a splash with “The Other Black Girl,” her debut novel about an African-American woman navigating a nearly all-white workplace. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-05-23 20:21:45 UTC ]
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Transworld has snapped up world rights for "RuPaul's Drag Race" winner Lawrence Chaney’s memoir, which will "delight and inspire readers." Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-20 10:23:40 UTC ]
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Shola von Reinhold wins the award for small publishing houses with their novel LOTE, but financial reward split among 10 publishersThe Scottish author Shola von Reinhold has won the Republic of Consciousness prize for small presses for their “dazzling” queer debut novel LOTE. But the £20,000... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-05-19 12:17:35 UTC ]
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In Christine Smallwood’s debut novel The Life of the Mind, protagonist Dorothy escapes the stifled environment of an academic conference for one she finds even more depressing: the slot machines. There, she runs into her former dissertation advisor, Judith, a woman who caused her significant... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-06 11:00:00 UTC ]
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