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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Personal Space: Alia Volz’s Writing Helped Her Family Heal

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-23 20:00:24 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 14:18:55 UTC ]
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No-prorogation justice Lady Hale to publish memoir and guide to the law

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[ The Guardian | 2020-04-23 14:06:04 UTC ]
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Bodley Head signs Lady Hale memoir in two-book deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 15:33:30 UTC ]
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‘It would be all right’: Novelist Susanna Moore finds solace in a sometimes troubling life story

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[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Lenarduzzi wins 2020 Fitzcarraldo Editions, Mahler & LeWitt Studios Essay Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 06:21:34 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: April 21, 2020

“To me, nonfiction is an act of translation, and the task for the writer is to bring dead letters to life.” Jessica Pearce Rotondi on writing the family saga of her missing uncle. | Lit Hub Memoir Joshua Sperling on the decade John Berger became an art world revolutionary. | Lit Hub Criticism ON... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-21 10:30:09 UTC ]
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Five eye-catching graphic novels that define the genre

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[ The Conversation | 2020-04-20 11:08:17 UTC ]
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Sopan Deb on Approaching His Own Memoir as a Journalist

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-20 08:48:57 UTC ]
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From house of horrors to family home

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
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From house of horrors to family home

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
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From house of horrors to family home

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
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What if the problem of racism has no solution?

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[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Poet Laureate and Her Mother

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 20:00:01 UTC ]
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Alicia Keys Can Now Add ‘Best-Selling Author’ to Her Résumé

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[ The New York Times | 2020-04-16 09:00:04 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2020-04-15 16:08:39 UTC ]
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[ HuffPost | 2020-04-14 20:21:27 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-14 19:35:53 UTC ]
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From Hollywood ‘Pretty Girl’ to Empowered Novelist

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[ The New York Times | 2020-04-14 09:00:20 UTC ]
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