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 ]
My novel The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is a story of how a young woman’s unexplained suicide shapes and transforms the lives of those she left behind. It’s a literary mystery with elements of magical realism set in Japan, not unlike my debut novel Rainbirds. Because of these, I am often... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-03-09 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Harvill Secker has "swiftly pre-empted" debut novel Highway Blue from Ailsa McFarlane, a 23-year-old writer who had never shown her work before sending it to agents. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-08 18:43:41 UTC ]
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Film rights to Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club (Viking), have been snapped up by Amblin Partners in a 14-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 16:08:49 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has won Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl, a satirical debut novel about race and authenticity in the workplace, for a six-figure deal following a nine-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-01 20:26:38 UTC ]
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This week's book events are fully locavore: Lynell George's essays on the city's rich cultural tapestry; Erin Khar's memoir of teen addiction in the mid-1980s; Thomas Pynchon's Cali counterculture noir; a debut novel from Los Angeles Review of Books founder Tom Lutz; and a visit from Pod Save... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-28 19:52:47 UTC ]
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As the public conversations around mental health continue to grow, these new books about living with mental illness offer more insight. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-28 11:41:26 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney’s takeover of the world continues apace today with the announcement that the Irish literary phenom’s debut novel Conversations With Friends will be adapted into a twelve-part series for the BBC. Like the upcoming BBC/Hulu adaptation of Rooney’s 2019 juggernaut Normal People, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 18:39:10 UTC ]
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If you haven’t had a chance yet to read Kiley Reid’s smash-hit debut novel SUCH A FUN AGE, now is ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-25 18:15:40 UTC ]
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Hilary Leichter’s brisk, wildly imaginative book tracks a young woman’s experiences in 23 jobs, including one on a pirate ship. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-25 17:40:43 UTC ]
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Conversations with Friends will follow Rooney’s Normal People that will air in April The BBC has commissioned a 12-part series based on Sally Rooney’s hit debut novel Conversations with Friends in the hope that fans of the young Irish author will bring in younger audiences.The BBC is to show its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-25 10:19:05 UTC ]
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Among this week’s notable deals is the seven-figure sale of a debut novel titled The Other Black Girl. The send-up of the publishing industry, by a former Knopf assistant editor, was pitched as Get Out meets Younger. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Over seven years ago, two books written by retired lieutenant-colonel Douglas Bland offered some sobering warnings about the future of the Crown-Indigenous relationship — warnings that seem eerily prescient after the events of the past two... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2020-02-20 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate is publishing an "astonishing" debut novel of “extraordinary suspense” from award-winning writer and US Marine Corps veteran Phil Klay. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-19 20:45:41 UTC ]
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In the debut novel “Real Life,” a biochemistry Ph.D. candidate confronts the harder lessons of how to be a gay black man in a white world. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-18 10:00:07 UTC ]
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In the debut novel “Real Life,” a biochemistry Ph.D. candidate confronts the harder lessons of how to be a gay black man in a white world. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-18 10:00:07 UTC ]
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The New York Public Library is marking its 125th birthday this year—in part with this list of their favorite books written for adults from the past 125 years, which they hope will “inspire a lifelong love of reading.” The list is full of classics, of course, but it’s also got a few refreshing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-14 14:59:09 UTC ]
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The debut novel follows a child detective bent on tracking down a missing classmate. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-06 17:56:05 UTC ]
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Emily Nemens' debut novel about a fictional baseball team takes on the social swirl of spring training. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-02 15:00:12 UTC ]
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Shannon Pufahl’s remarkable debut novel “On Swift Horses” tells a searing story about a forgotten side of 1950s America. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-01-28 20:36:21 UTC ]
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The debut novel examines the lives of people who are more interested in how they appear online than who they are in real life. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-21 17:44:04 UTC ]
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