The former children’s laureate shares her sometimes enraging story of rejection, determination and resilienceAt the beginning of Malorie Blackman’s engrossing and often shocking memoir, the former children’s laureate asks: “Why am I an author?” What she goes on to tell us certainly shows how she was able to succeed: absolute determination, powered by rejection and by the love and support of others.The memoir eschews a strictly chronological approach. There are five themes – Wonder, Loss, Anger, Perseverance, Representation and Love. The prose and occasional poem contain intimate, often painful and sometimes funny insights into the author’s life.Born in south London in 1962, Blackman’s parents were part of what’s now referred to as the Windrush generation – British citizens encouraged to move to the UK after the war. In Barbados, her father had been a master carpenter. In the UK he drove buses. Her mother worked in a factory, denied further education back home, since school money was saved for the boys. It was a “staggered” family – Blackman’s parents coming to England first, her older Barbados-born siblings joining them later. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-19 06:30:17 UTC ]
Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Splinters, the first memoir from Leslie Jamison, the bestselling author of The Recovering and The Empathy Exams, coming from Little, Brown early next year. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: Leslie Jamison has become one of our most... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-07 14:00:32 UTC ]
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In a cultural milieu that is increasingly recognizing the value of narratives that describe the experience of chronic pain and illness, Emily Wells’ memoir is a unique contribution. In some ways, A Matter of Appearance is not a memoir at all, though that’s where you’ll find it shelved in... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-06-06 11:05:00 UTC ]
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In the “brutally honest” memoir “Pageboy,” the actor recounts the fears and obstacles to gender transition, and the hard-won happiness that’s followed. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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In The Race to Be Myself, the Olympian athlete will detail her battle for permission to compete as a woman with hyperandrogenismStormzy’s #Merky Books is to publish Olympian Caster Semenya’s memoir this year.South African athlete Semenya, whose book is titled The Race to Be Myself, was just 18... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-02 12:52:34 UTC ]
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Take a look at previous What We’re Reading blogs for more reading inspiration. Hungry Ghosts, by Kevin Jared HoseinI'm thoroughly enjoying Hungry Ghosts, the debut novel by Kevin Jared Hosein, who won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018, and whom I had the pleasure of hearing read at the... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2023-06-01 06:19:41 UTC ]
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For 17 books, Luis Alberto Urrea has highlighted the joys and sorrows of life along the U.S.-Mexican border, a territory which moves with its peoples, no matter the walls we build on the land and in our hearts. Through his memoir Nobody’s Son, novels like The House of Broken Angels, his essay... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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World Literature Today Announces 2023 Student Translation Prize Winners News and Events [email protected] Tue, 05/30/2023 - 09:42 Katie Kassam and Vala Thorodds, winners of the 2023 Student Translation PrizesWorld Literature Today, the University... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-30 14:42:03 UTC ]
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"Zev's Los Angeles," a memoir by former L.A. County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, covers an era when L.A. transformed radically — and does it really well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-29 13:00:43 UTC ]
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Take a look at previous What We’re Reading blogs for more reading inspiration. Hungry Ghosts, by Kevin Jared HoseinI'm thoroughly enjoying Hungry Ghosts, the debut novel by Kevin Jared Hosein, who won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018, and whom I had the pleasure of hearing read at the... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2023-05-25 16:57:18 UTC ]
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He exploded into the tweedy world of literature, a young, pouting and outrageously brash crusader for prose. Our writer remembers her encounters with the novelist, whose smarts and chutzpah confounded his peers‘You’ll be reading me every now and then at least until about 2080, weather... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-22 05:00:48 UTC ]
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Martin Amis, best known for a scathing, dazzling trilogy of novels on money-saturated '80s London and the memoir "Experience," died Friday at 73. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-20 20:05:38 UTC ]
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The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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Park Row bets on a debut novel about love and death, actor Ione Skye sells a memoir to Gallery, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 02:17:52 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-15 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Hua Hsu, author of the memoir “Stay True,” and Hernan Diaz, author of the novel “Trust,” discuss their books and their reactions to winning the Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-12 20:24:06 UTC ]
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Mother’s Day was never a real holiday to my mother—more about marketing than raising me. No white carnations or special dinners for her. But that my memoir about her, Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son, was published just before this Mother’s Day would make her smile. Likewise, that I have... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-12 13:21:24 UTC ]
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When I first became a single mother, I hid it from everyone, including myself. In my new book, The Leaving Season: A Memoir in Essays, I track the evolution of my relationship with motherhood, starting as a reluctant mother of two in a married household and ultimately ending as a single mother... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-12 11:10:00 UTC ]
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CNN reporter and West Baltimore native John Blake wishes he could give a copy of his new memoir to his mother for Mother's Day. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2023-05-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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In “How Not to Kill Yourself,” a memoir on suicide, the author returns to the obsessions and self-obliterations that have recurred in his fiction and essays. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-05-10 19:01:05 UTC ]
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