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 ]
Nancy Johnson’s debut novel “The Kindest Lie” is a well-crafted exploration of class, race, and culture; of motherhood; and of family ties. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-17 13:46:20 UTC ]
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Nancy Johnson’s debut novel “The Kindest Lie” is a well-crafted exploration of class, race, and culture; of motherhood; and of family ties. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-17 13:46:20 UTC ]
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Picador has netted New Animal, a “sharp and witty” debut novel by poet and sculptor Ella Baxter. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-14 20:43:00 UTC ]
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Wildfire has pre-empted former Home Secretary and memoirist Alan Johnson’s debut novel, The Late Train to Gipsy Hill. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-10 23:51:47 UTC ]
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Firefly Press has acquired world rights in Major and Mynah, a junior detective story featuring a hard of hearing protagonist, by children’s author Karen Owen. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-09 14:40:11 UTC ]
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DURING ONE KEY MOMENT, E. Lily Yu’s disquieting debut novel On Fragile Waves offers a kind of authorial self-critique regarding the representation of diasporic migrants. A character Yu calls “the writer” has traveled to Australia to interview asylum seekers in the Afghan migrant community there... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-02-06 16:00:46 UTC ]
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Today, as we have done in years past, LARB honors Black History Month by highlighting a series of reviews, essays, interviews, and exchanges of letters we published in January. Below you will find a poignant essay on the Compton Christmas Parade; a penetrating interview with Kiley Reid, author... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-02-01 13:30:13 UTC ]
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“Fake Accounts,” Lauren Oyler’s debut novel, considers how social media has reconfigured our behavior, relationships and how we think of ourselves. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-01 10:00:02 UTC ]
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The best-selling author just found out that her debut novel is soon to be on the first lady’s bedside table. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-28 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Culture A still image from the film White Tiger (Netflix, 2021). After watching White Tiger, a writer contemplates the film alongside revolution in Egypt, Black Lives Matter protests, the film Parasite, and literary “complicated works of... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-01-27 20:33:27 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson is publishing the debut novel of comedian, actress and writer Isy Suttie, Jane is Trying, in July. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-27 11:15:14 UTC ]
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Oyler’s debut novel is about a smart, irascible narrator who is steeped in the concerns and tone of social media. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-26 21:16:27 UTC ]
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White Rabbit publisher Lee Brackstone has acquired world rights to two new books by Dylan Jones, through Jonny Geller at the Curtis Brown Group. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-25 10:46:54 UTC ]
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Has this Google lawyer written the book of the year? The part-time author talks about the inspiration for her thriller about siblings who flee abusive parents and their ‘house of horror’Abigail Dean was about to turn 30 when she suddenly realised that her job as a lawyer was using up all the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 06:00:07 UTC ]
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An excerpt from a debut novel Booklist calls "sharp and haunting." The post ‘The Divines’: Featured Fiction from Ellie Eaton appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2021-01-19 17:00:59 UTC ]
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Fairlight Books has acquired world rights to Lynda Clark’s debut short story collection Dreaming in Quantum and Other Stories. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-19 04:48:26 UTC ]
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For me, reading Torrey Peters’ debut novel Detransition, Baby is akin to listening to your favorite hometown band headlining their first stadium concert. You end up marveling over how experiences you thought you knew well are rendered in utterly unexpected ways, and realize how patterns from... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Less than a month on from the movie poster controversy (Cherrk!) that rocked the internet to its very core, the first trailer for Cherry—the Tom Holland-starring film adaptation of Nico Walker’s 2018 semi-autobiographical debut novel about an Iraq War veteran turned drug addict turned bank... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-14 19:34:29 UTC ]
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Fourth Estate has picked up Hourglass, the “exquisite” debut novel from Keiran Goddard. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 22:27:32 UTC ]
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Holliday Grainger has been confirmed as the narrator of Girl A (HarperCollins), the hotly tipped debut novel by Abigail Dean. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 06:22:44 UTC ]
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