Margaret Busby: how Britain's first black female publisher revolutionised literature – and never gave up

In her 20s, she set up her own company, publishing everyone from James Ellroy to the Worst Witch series, and changing Britain for the better, book by book There is a revealing story Margaret Busby tells, about the first novel she published. A family friend had bumped into a former US serviceman called Sam Greenlee. Greenlee said he had written a novel, rejected by 40 American publishers, a satirical thriller about the first African American man hired by the CIA but given a very visible non-job (the point being it was only to improve the CIA’s image). The man keeps his head down, learns about guerrilla warfare, then quits to become a freedom fighter in Chicago. Busby took it on, borrowing money so Greenlee could stay in London while the book was edited and, when it was about to be published, in 1969, she sent it to the Observer.The paper refused it – it didn’t extract fiction and certainly not black power novels. Busby sent it back, insisting the paper was wrong. It ran an extract, and The Spook Who Sat By the Door was translated into six languages and turned into a film. When this “parable of institutional racism”, as the New York Times described the film, opened in 1973, newspapers wondered if it would start race warfare. It closed early under FBI pressure, and was not reissued until 2004, then, nearly a decade later, added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-22 05:00:17 UTC ]
News tagged with: #james ellroy #satirical thriller #freedom fighter #institutional racism #first novel

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Margaret Busby: how Britain's first black female publisher revolutionised literature – and never gave up'


Margaret Busby: how Britain's first black female publisher revolutionised literature – and never gave up

In her 20s, she set up her own company, publishing everyone from James Ellroy to the Worst Witch series, and changing Britain for the better, book by book There is a revealing story Margaret Busby tells, about the first novel she published. A family friend had bumped into a former US serviceman... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-22 05:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james ellroy #satirical thriller #freedom fighter #institutional racism #first novel


Haymarket Books, Kaepernick Publishing to Co-Publish Anthology Defending Black Studies

In response to educational bans, Haymarket Books and Kaepernick Publishing are collaborating on a compilation of essays by African American scholars and other Black intellectuals writing in defense of African American/Black Studies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Black Women, Black Voices: Debut Memoirists on Career and Publishing

PW, in partnership with Amazon Publishing, presents this panel— scheduled for May 25, 1:30–2:30 p.m. ET, and moderated by Regina Brooks, the founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency—in which Cin Fabré, Bria Adimora Godley, Danielle Prescod, and Aomawa Shields discuss their... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing company that's only publishing female authors in 2018

One publishing company has taken up a challenge to put out only books by female authors this year. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2018-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘I will defeat Richard Osman!’: Holly Jackson on being Britain’s top selling female crime author

The YA novelist talks about her early love of Tomb Raider, true crime and fangirling the cast of the BBC adaptation of A Good Girl’s Guide to MurderA few minutes into our conversation, bestselling author Holly Jackson is convinced she’s spotted the American singer Nick Jonas. It would be... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-03-30 11:00:08 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: 'Shook! A Black Horror Anthology,' Edited by Second Sight Publishing

Published by Dark Horse Books in collaboration with the African American horror publisher Second Sight Publishing, 'Shook! A Black Horror Anthology' collects a dozen tales of hair-raising terror, monsters, and gore grounded in America’s grim racial history and enlivened by humor and hip-hop culture. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Revisiting The Brownies’ Book, a Magazine for Black Children Published by W.E.B. Du Bois

An anthology that combines new work with selections from The Brownies’ Book, a children’s magazine launched by W.E.B. Du Bois, is bringing its mission to bear in a new national context. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-10-09 13:26:00 UTC ]
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Sub-Saharan Africa Publishing and Literature Sector Study

Sub-Saharan Africa Publishing and Literature Sector Study The British Council wishes to engage a researcher to conduct in-depth research into the trade publishing and literature sectors in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa which provides market insights and focuses on innovative practice and... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2023-10-06 14:19:45 UTC ]
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Writers' Guild of Great Britain Publishes Report on AI

Sixty-five percent of those responding to a survey conducted by the U.K. union that represents writers in such professions as books, film, and said that they believed that the increased use of AI will reduce their income from writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Black Women Are Being Erased in Book Publishing

Obsessively scratching her scalp, while simultaneously chiding herself not to, Kendra Rae Phillips sits on a MetroNorth train anxious and jittery. She’s worried about being found, after being found out. Every lingering eye incites more sweat, and more scratching. Relief only comes when her train... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-06-19 11:07:00 UTC ]
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The Black-owned publishing houses that shaped the Windrush generation

Community-produced newsletters informed newcomers of the local shops, clubs and bars that were most welcoming to Caribbean migrants. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-06-19 09:17:46 UTC ]
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CCBC Releases Statistics Regarding Diversity in Children's Literature Published in 2022

The Cooperative Children's Book Center has released its annual statistics on diversity in children's literature, and the results are heartening: 40% of books published in 2022 have a BIPOC author, illustrator, or compiler. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At IBPA PubU, Black Indie Publishers Call for Audacity and Advocacy

Founders of Third World Press, Black Classic Press, Africa World Press, and Just Us Books gathered for a May 6 keynote at IBPA's PubU. Plus, the IBPA announces its Innovative Voices Program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sub-Saharan Africa Literature and Publishing Sector Report

Sub-Saharan Africa Literature and Publishing Sector Report As we look to build on our programmes with the literature and publishing sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, the British Council has commissioned a scoping report into the trade publishing and literature sectors across nine countries in which... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2023-04-17 10:35:15 UTC ]
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Haymarket Book Publisher Offering Free eBooks on Black History

A Chicago-based independent publisher has responded to the recent attack on Black History by offering free books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-08 16:46:55 UTC ]
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Laura Warrell on Publishing While Black

The young Black woman giggles behind her hands as she sits in the furthest corner of the lecture hall at the DC public library where I’m launching Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, my debut novel about a cast of women, of all ages and backgrounds, who become entangled with a freedom-loving jazz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-06 09:55:20 UTC ]
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Can Black Literature Escape the Representation Trap?

A crop of recent novels strains against the expectations of a publishing industry attempting to embrace diversity. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-10-13 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Black Lives Matter Spurs a Publishing Awakening

David Unger, director of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York, highlights how Black Lives Matter woke up the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Black Publishing in High Cotton

Tracy Sherrod, the former v-p and editorial director of Amistad, on Black books, discourse, commerce, and the American racial reckoning. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Federal department gave money to magazine publishing pandemic misinformation

As the federal government was promising to tackle harmful online disinformation about the pandemic, it was giving thousands of dollars to a magazine spreading conspiracy theories — including unsubstantiated claims that COVID-19 vaccines could... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2022-03-11 09:00:00 UTC ]
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