Kamila Shamsie: let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation

It is clear that there is a gender bias in publishing houses and the world of books. Well, enough. Why not try something radical? Make 2018 the Year of Publishing Women, in which no new titles should be by menSeveral years ago, Martin Amis chaired a literary festival panel on “The Crisis of American Fiction” with Richard Ford, Jay McInerney and Junot Díaz. I was in the audience, and halfway through the discussion leaned over to the person sitting next to me and said: “Clearly the crisis of American fiction is that there are no women in it.” It’s not just that there weren’t any women on the stage. In the entire discussion, which lasted nearly an hour, there was no mention of Toni Morrison, Marilynne Robinson, Annie Proulx, Anne Tyler, Donna Tartt, Jhumpa Lahiri or any other contemporary female writer. A single reference to Eudora Welty was the only acknowledgment that women in the US have ever had anything to do with the world of letters. Díaz, near the end of the hour, made the point that the conversation had centred on white American males, but it was too little, too late.I think of this panel when reading yet another article or survey about the gender imbalance that exists in publishing houses, in terms of reviews, top positions in publishing houses, literary prizes etc. The issue can’t of course be broken down into a story of fair-minded women versus bigoted men. Like any effective system of power – and patriarchy is, over time and space, the world’s most effective... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #anne tyler #donna tartt #jhumpa lahiri #gender imbalance #top positions #literary prizes #effective system #win prizes

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Ex-NFL star Darren Sharper sentenced to 18 years in prison for drugging and raping women in four states

Retired NFL star Darren Sharper, convicted of drugging and raping nine women in Los Angeles, Nevada, Arizona and Louisiana, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday by a federal judge in New Orleans. Sharper, 41, had previously pleaded guilty or no contest to drugging and sexually... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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RNA to award agent and publisher of the year

The Romantic Novelists’ Association has added two new categories to its industry awards: Agent of the Year and Publisher of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Graphic Novel Publisher First Second Celebrates Ten Years

Macmillan's graphic novel imprint has published 160 titles to date, including the Gene Luen Yang's National Book Award finalist, 'American Born Chinese.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder to publish two Julian Stockwin novels a year

Hodder and Stoughton has acquired four new novels by Julian Stockwin featuring his Napoleonic-era naval hero, Thomas Kydd. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small Beer to Publish 400-Year-Old SF Novel

The Easthampton, Mass., press is preparing to release an English language edition of what it is calling the world's first science fiction novel, 'The Chemical Wedding,' written in German in 1616. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nobel prize winners and stocking fillers – 65 years in the murky waters of London publishing

Ernest Hecht set up Souvenir Press from his bedroom in 1951. Now, following the death of Lord Weidenfeld, he is the last of the group of remarkable Jewish émigrés who transformed postwar British publishingA 65th birthday is a milestone but – now the official retirement age has been abolished –... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Only wilful blindness can hide the need to publish more women

As a publisher used to the more enlightened scene in Korea, I’m shocked at the gender bias in the UK books world – and I’m doing something about itWhen I founded Tilted Axis Press in 2015, I made a few broad commitments: to focus on translations from Asian languages, to operate without unpaid... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Busy Year for Polish Publishing: BEA, FBM, LBF

Polish publishing is featured in The Markets Global Summit at Frankfurt Book Fair 2016, the Market Forum at BEA 2016, and LBF's Market Focus in 2017. The post A Busy Year for Polish Publishing: BEA, FBM, LBF appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador to publish Brownrigg sequel 20 years on

Picador has acquired Pages For Her by Sylvia Brownrigg, a novel set 20 years on from Brownrigg’s first novel Pages for You. The new novel, set to be released in 2017, will tell the story of Flannery, a wife and mother, who is invited to a writers’ conference and embarks on an affair with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Subversive Women Who Self-Publish Novels Amid Jihadist War

Photographer Glenna Gordon captures the lives of remarkable women self-publishing romance novels and other stories in northern Nigeria. The post The Subversive Women Who Self-Publish Novels Amid Jihadist War appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eighth Harry Potter book set to be 'publishing event of year'

Chain booksellers in the UK have welcomed yesterday’s news that Little, Brown UK will publish the script of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter stage play in book form, although independents are less sure of how well the book will sell. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrating 10 Years of IPG’s Independent Publishing Awards

For a 10th year, IPG Independent Publishing Awards will recognize the work of UK independent publishers and offer a business boost for the winners. The post Celebrating 10 Years of IPG’s Independent Publishing Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Australian Women’s Weekly editor-in-chief Helen McCabe resigns after six years

McCabe the latest senior editorial figure to leave Bauer Media, and comes same day the company announced it was outsourcing the printing and distribution of its magazines Helen McCabe has resigned as editor-in-chief of the Australian Women’s Weekly after six years in the high-profile role at the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From the Fringes to the Mainstream: Ten Years of Growth In Graphic Novel Publishing

To mark this exciting decade in graphic novel publishing, PW invited seven publishing professionals to reflect on the growth of the last ten years and to peer into the future of graphic novel publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microcosm Publishing Celebrates 20 Years

Two decades after starting in a Portland, Ore., bedroom, Microcosm is having its busiest year yet and riding a wave of expansion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shamsie: 'Publishers not investing in author careers'

Novelist Kamila Shamsie has said that traditional publishers’ focus on the “bottom line value of pounds and pennies” has meant a shift away from building authors’ careers in the long-term and created a lack of diversity and new voices. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Saltire Publisher of the Year shortlist unveiled

The 2015 Saltire Publisher of the Year shortlist has been revealed, featuring two past winners and three Edinburgh-based publishing houses. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Playboy to stop publishing fully nude photos of women

Playboy will no longer publish photos of nude women as part of a redesign of the decades-old magazine, according to a news report Monday. Executives for the magazine company told the New York Times that the change will take place in March 2016. The paper reported that the print edition of Playboy... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2018, this publisher will only release books by women. Here's why.

After attending a panel discussion on 'The Crisis of American Fiction,' in which an all-male panel discussed only male authors for an entire hour, author Kamila Shamsie began to research the dearth of women in publishing and literary fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Germany's 'Publisher of the Year' Talks Local Trends

Georg Reuchlein, who was named 2014 Publisher of the Year by Germany's 'BuchMarkt' magazine, talks digitization, discoverability and the German thriller he's publishing this season that he described as "a kind of Berlin 'Chinatown.'" Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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