Just Sayin’ by Malorie Blackman review – against the odds

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 ]

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Of course Hunter Biden is publishing a memoir in April.

Today the Associated Press reported that Hunter Biden, son of famous memoirist Joe Biden, will publish a memoir of his own on April 6. The memoir will be published with Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Beautiful Things, acquired by Gallery Books in fall 2019, focuses on Biden’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-04 16:02:23 UTC ]
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Want to read Cicely Tyson's memoir 'Just as I Am'? You'll have to wait

Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson's memoir "Just as I Am" was published two days before her death. Now it's topping the bestseller lists. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-02-04 16:00:34 UTC ]
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Michelle Obama's Becoming out in paperback and young readers edition in March

Michelle Obama's bestselling memoir Becoming will be published in paperback on 2ndMarch, alongside an edition for younger readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-03 06:18:31 UTC ]
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PRH to Issue Two New Editions of 'Becoming'

Michelle Obama’s 'Becoming' will be released in a young reader’s edition and in trade paperback on March 2; originally published in 2018, the former First Lady’s memoir became a #1 international bestseller, with sales topping more than 15 million copies worldwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Can a Comic Book Contain the Drama and Heat of Activism?

In his Graphic Content column, Ed Park looks at “The Black Panther Party,” a new history of the group, and “Come Home, Indio,” a memoir about growing up part Native American. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-02-02 17:30:26 UTC ]
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Aurum swoops on Bourne-Taylor’s 'heartfelt' nature memoir

Aurum, an imprint of The Quarto Group, has acquired Hannah Bourne-Taylor’s debut nature memoir, Fledgling.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-01 23:39:22 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: February 1, 2021

“Is it the fault of the mother that her child will suffer? Or is empire, white supremacy, the denial of ongoing genocide, and the prison industrial system to blame?” Randa Jarrar on Palestinian mothers, the Virgin Mary, and the Mothers of the Movement. | Lit Hub Memoir The internet has been... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-01 11:30:46 UTC ]
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Pam Mandel on Discovering the True-to-Life YA Story She Was Meant to Tell: Her Own

On this episode of Personal Space: The Memoir Show, Sari Botton interviews Pam Mandel, whose book, The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel, is out from Skyhorse Publishing. The book charts Mandel’s travels abroad as a young woman trying to figure out... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-29 09:48:53 UTC ]
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In ‘Just as I Am,’ actress Cicely Tyson reflects on 96 years of a life well lived

While undoubtedly personal, Tyson’s memoir offers an accounting of how far we’ve come — and how far we still must go. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-27 15:38:06 UTC ]
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22 Books That Helped Me Write the Story of My Transition

As a trans person, I spent most of my life with my head in a book imagining other lives, other bodies, and other histories. In some ways, my memoir is an amalgamation of all the books that kept me curious, kept me thinking it was worth it to keep going. Sometimes it was to dream […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-26 09:48:49 UTC ]
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Review: A family travel memoir makes a timely pitch for personal risk

Charles Wheelan's "We Came, We Saw, We Left" charts the Wheelan family's frantic global "gap year" — infections, iffy street food, tantrums and all. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-22 18:26:12 UTC ]
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The Swashbuckling Escapism of Sid Meier’s Pirates!

The legendary developer’s new memoir brought back poignant memories of one of his most famous games—and of the hours I played with my dad. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2021-01-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Aster acquires insomnia memoir by journalist Miranda Levy

Aster, part of Octopus Publishing Group, has acquired The Insomnia Diaries: How I Learned to Sleep Again by journalist Miranda Levy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-20 14:19:20 UTC ]
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A grieving mother's follow-up memoir asks: What now?

Emily Rapp Black lost her toddler to Tay-Sachs disease. She talks to a fellow griever about 'Sanctuary,' her follow-up memoir about rebuilding a life. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-19 15:00:19 UTC ]
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Kate Garraway's Covid memoir to Transworld

Transworld is publishing the "raw and emotional" story of broadcaster Kate Garraway, in which she writes about her husband Derek Draper’s long fight against Covid-19 and the devastating impact it continues to have on him and on their family. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-19 14:42:53 UTC ]
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Ebury signs 'inspirational' memoir from SAS trooper Jamie Hull

Ebury Press has signed an “inspirational” memoir from former SAS trooper and air-accident survivor Jamie Hull. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-18 07:42:38 UTC ]
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Bolton Wins Key Decision in Legal Battle Over His Memoir

In a ruling last week, a federal judge said he will allow the former Trump National Security Advisor to conduct discovery on whether Trump administration officials acted in bad faith in holding up the pre-publication review of Bolton's memoir 'The Room Where It Happened.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Weekly: January 11 – 15, 2021

When white supremacist mobs threaten democracy: David Zucchino on the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 and the Capitol Insurrection of 2021. | Lit Hub Politics Navigating the intricacies of race and the violence of antiblackness: Nadia Owusu reflects on her early years in America. | Lit Hub... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-16 12:30:01 UTC ]
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Mary Catherine Bateson, anthropologist and author of ‘Composing a Life,’ dies at 81

She also wrote a memoir about her parents, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-15 14:46:04 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: January 15, 2021

What if the stories we tell in order to live happen to be conspiracy theories? William J. Bernstein on the evolutionary origins of collective delusion. | Lit Hub History Refugee, resident, dissident: Yiyun Li introduces Bette Howland’s 1974 memoir about her stay in a Chicago psychiatric... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
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