When Tejan Karefa-Smart asked his uncle, James Baldwin, “When are you going to write a book about me?” he may not have expected his Uncle Jimmy to follow through so quickly. Baldwin’s only children’s book, Little Man, Little Man, which was published in 1976, chronicles a day in the life of three black children in 1970s Harlem. Four-year-old TJ, 7-year-old WT, and 8-year-old Blinky skip rope, dance in the streets, and run errands for their neighbors, but they also see the cops shoot a fleeing suspect, neighborhood boys do drugs, and the friendly Miss Lee drink gin out of sadness. “A children’s story for adults, an adult story for children,” Little Man, Little Man’s dust jacket beamed at the time, “that only a great novelist can produce.” And yet, reviewing the book for the New York Times in 1977, Julius Lester panned it as a great novelist’s admirable but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at producing children’s literature, and the book quickly went out of print. Almost four decades later, Little Man, Little Man is being reissued for a contemporary audience that may be more receptive to its ambition not to smooth over the complexity of growing up black in America. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2018-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Modern Classics is reissuing James Jones’ From Here to Eternity to coincide with a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist nominees for the 2013 PEN Literary Awards have been announced. Categories include debut works, nonfiction, picture books and translation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Gardner has won the prestigious Carnegie Medal for "Maggot Moon;" Levi Pinfold won the Kate Greenaway Medal, which awards excellence in illustration, for his picture book "Black Dog." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A day after news broke of actor James Gandolfini's death, entertainment magazines are lining up content to commemorate The Sopranos star’s life and work. An Entertainment Weekly spokesperson said that the magazine would include a tribute to Gandolfini in its “All Time Greatest” double issue, on... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New! For the July 1, 2013 issue (reservation deadline June 17, 2013): Some call it multicultural, some call it Africana, some call it a “special collection”; but whatever it’s called, the procurement of materials that reflect black culture is a part of a librarian’s job, and we wanted to hear... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling crime writer Peter James is fundraising for The Reading Agency as he publicises his... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary community has long believed that Agee's work 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' was rejected by Fortune magazine for its cryptic narrative, but a newly discovered typescript indicates that may not be the case. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft’s SkyDrive will host the latest digital issue of Complex magazine, in what might be an effective cost-saving solution for niche publications. Microsoft representatives also indicated that a similar partnership would be revealed on Thursday, with more of a pop-culture bent. The Complex... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Jörgits, an indie fantasy novel for kids nine and up, uses interactivity as a supplement to the story, not a stand-in for it. If there’s one reading experience that truly has been transformed by the interactive wonders of the tablet, it’s got to be the children’s book. Apps like The... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House UK has launched stage one of its online narrative gaming project, Black Crown, as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crime writer Peter James has vowed to go ahead with publicity commitments for his latest novel,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The judges of the Man International Booker Prize have done what recent Nobel Prize committees have refused to do: honor an American for "achievement in fiction on the world stage." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Heck, Amazon is selling these books at $9.99, and who knows maybe they are right and we will fail even at $12.99." Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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P D James is one of the writers nominated for the H R F Keating Award, which rewards biographical... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amanda Knox's memoir is titled 'Waiting to be Heard' and discusses her life from childhood to her time in prison in Italy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why isn’t this book more famous?” asked the writer C.P. Snow about John Williams’s Stoner in 1973, eight years after it was first published by Viking Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julieta Lionetti questions why Planeta was ever seduced by the tens of millions of Spanish-speaking Americans and if the Guadalajara Book Fair is following in its footsteps. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling novelist James Herbert has died. Herbert, described by his editor Jeremy Trevathan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An E L James book to help aspiring writers record their "innermost thoughts" - Fifty... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom McCarthy and James Salter are among the winners of the inaugural Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes. Tom McCarthy and James Salter are among the winners of the inaugural Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes, announced Monday at Yale University's Beinecke Rare... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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