'Nobody in Tesco buys spy books by women': how female authors took on the genre

Publishing’s long established boys’ club in espionage fiction is having its cover blown by a new school led by Stella Rimington, Manda Scott and Charlotte PhilbyWhen Stella Rimington, the former director general of MI5 and spy author, wrote a new foreword last year to The Spy’s Bedside Book, Graham Greene and his brother Hugh’s 1957 anthology , she was glowingly complimentary. She had just one complaint. “After everything we have done for spying, there is, apart from the obligatory reference to Mata Hari, hardly anything in this book about women!” she wrote.The Greene brothers aren’t alone in their short sight. Wikipedia lists 127 notable writers of spy fiction, dead and living, and only seven of them are women. (Rimington is one of them.) Pick any list of the best spy novels, and it will usually be peopled only by male writers such as John le Carré, John Buchan, Rudyard Kipling, Erskine Childers, Joseph Conrad, Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum.Publishing has become much more gender-blind – before it was: ‘Only blokes can write this’ Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-07 09:00:54 UTC ]
News tagged with: #male writers #rudyard kipling #joseph conrad #ian fleming #tom clancy #anthology

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With Dovetail, a Product Designer Branches Into Books

The Brooklyn-based W&P Design, which is established in the food-and-drink market, is launching a publishing company to pair books with its original products. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Strongest shortlist yet' for Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards

The 12-strong shortlist for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2016 has been unveiled, with a strong presence from larger publishers Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Penguin Random House. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Print Books Tumble at Wiley

Sales of print books took a beating at John Wiley in the first quarter ended July 31. The biggest decline was in the higher education segment, where sales of printed textbooks dropped 31%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newsweek Makes Its Frankfurt Book Fair Debut in October

The international news magazine Newsweek—which publishes in six languages—will host several events and exhibit at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. The post Newsweek Makes Its Frankfurt Book Fair Debut in October appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books continue to buck national retail sales trend

Books continue to buck the national retail trend, with sales up 8.9% year-on-year in volume in August in comparison to the year before, where total UK retail sales were down 0.9% in the same period. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zed Books launches new website

Zed Books has launched a new website promoting short form content, to respond to the increase in people reading on their mobile phones. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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High five for Cursed Child in book chart

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has racked up five weeks as the Official UK Top 50 number one—but the gap is closing. According to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, the playscript sold 36,485 copies for £455,824, just 7,503 units above runner-up The Girl on the Train... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authoring an audience

Bobby Nayyar on how authors have to build audiences if they want their books to succeed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three 'gripping reads' shortlisted for Scottish Teenage Book Prize

Titles published by Barrington Stoke, Hot Key Books and Birlinn are on the shortlist for the first Scottish Teenage Book Prize, organised by Scottish Book Trust. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Gove turns book reviewer for The Times

Former justice secretary Michael Gove is set to return to the Times newspaper as a book reviewer and columnist. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SoA to administer Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction

The Society of Authors has taken over the administration of The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction from charity BookTrust. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Hockney To Give Keynote at Frankfurt Book Fair’s Opening News Conference

Praising David Hockney's 'openness to new media and his application of digital techniques,' Frankfurt's Juergen Boos announces Hockney's keynote comments on October 18. The post David Hockney To Give Keynote at Frankfurt Book Fair’s Opening News Conference appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German Publisher dtv Launches New Service for Book Clubs

One of German publisher dtv's latest initiatives is an information portal aimed at marketing their titles to the numerous book clubs around the country. The post German Publisher dtv Launches New Service for Book Clubs appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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White House Letter: Lucrative Book Deals Might Finance the Obamas’ Post-White House Life

President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in July. He could earn as much as $30 million with a two- or three-book contract once his second term ends, said Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Gove returns to the Times as columnist and book reviewer

Former justice secretary and Leave campaigner left newspaper to become Surrey Heath MP in 2005Michael Gove, the former justice secretary and Leave campaigner, is set to return to the Times as a columnist and book reviewer.Gove, who was sacked by prime minister Theresa May after making an... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Silvertail Books to republish classic military thrillers

Silvertail Books is to bring four classic military thrillers by Mike Lunnon-Wood back into print. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic book stamps mark Great Fire of London anniversary

The 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London is to be commemorated with a set of six new stamps. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pay-back time for publishers: authors forced to return their advances

This week, it emerged that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith was being sued by his publisher to return his advance. From Julian Assange to Amy Schumer, he isn’t alone...Though he’s fallen out spectacularly with his publisher, Seth Grahame-Smith at least has the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Picks: Books of the Week, September 5, 2016

This week: a grind house horror shoot gone wrong in the Colombian rain forest, plus Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel in over a decade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of September 5, 2016

Katherine Tegen Welcomes Cole’s ‘Daughter’; Klam Offers Her ‘Sisters’ to Riverhead; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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