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 ]
News tagged with:
#james baldwin
The good news: According to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, more than half of American adults read books for pleasure in 2012.The good news: According to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, more than half of American adults read books for pleasure in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#short stories
#bad news
#national endowment
News Corp., the publishing company that owns The Wall Street Journal, reported $506 million in net income for the fiscal year ended June 30, the last year before its split from Rupert Murdoch's entertainment operations.The profit, which amounted to 87 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.08... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#york post
#entertainment operations
#rupert murdoch
#net income
#company broke
#york-based company
Barbara Ehrenreich tackles "the truth"; Arianna Huffington tackles success; Elizabeth Gilbert tackles fiction; Alice McDermott tackles being ordinary; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#american agencies
Patterson says a bookstore will need to be 'viable' and have a kids' section to qualify for a donation. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#indie bookstores
#james patterson
After a two-decade-long relationship between the magazine giant Time Inc. and American Express, Time Inc. plans to close quickly on its purchase of American Express’s publishing division. “This 20-year courtship is finally bei ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#publishing division
#american express
#long history
The late New York Times Reporter Anthony Shadid, who died in Syria last year, is among the winners of the 2013 Arab American Book Awards. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Following up on a story on ESPN's global dominance, The Atlantic has published a series of charts that show why the sports network remains so expensive––and why men continue to pay for its premium. The network's internal research, which polls its subscribers (take from that what you will), finds... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#include advertising
#tv companies
#nate silver
The ABA's CEO sent an open letter to independent booksellers encouraging them to publicize Amazon as a company "detrimental" to the book business and buyers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#book business
#open letter
#fight amazon
#american booksellers
Michael Joseph has signed three novels from crime writer James Oswald. Alex Clarke, publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#michael joseph
#james oswald
Oh, the magic of finding a great book through the sheer power of chance! Is the summer the best time for that to happen? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#great book
#summer reading
The author's children were so mesmerized by Kafka's strange, macabre tales that he wrote My First Kafka: Runaways, Rodents and Giant Bugs, an illustrated, kid-friendly adaptation of three classic Kafka stories. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
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 ]
More news stories like this |
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#picture books
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#black dog
#picture book
#maggot moon
#sally gardner
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#oral history
#vanity fair
#news updates
#news broke
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#special collection
#public libraries
#school libraries
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#reading agency
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#fortune magazine
#long believed
#literary community
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#cut costs
#digital edition
#print versions
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 ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#main themes
#moonbot studios