'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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PW Picks: Books of the Week, January 11, 2016

This week: new books from Elizabeth Strout and China Mieville, and the fascinating world of brilliant con artists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of January 8, 2016

Baird Harper sells his debut to Scribner, Swedish indie success Emilie Schepp lands at Mira, cartoonist Zac Gorman sells a middle grade fantasy series, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No Women for Comics Prize Incites Fury in France

The 30-name longlist for the prestigious Grand Prix d’Angoulême honoring comic book artists in France, included no women, prompting a burgeoning boycott The post No Women for Comics Prize Incites Fury in France appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPA slams Vatican for attempting to silence authors

The International Publishers Association and the Italian Publishers Association have condemned the Vatican for attempting to jail two authors who alleged corruption and financial wrongdoing in the Holy See. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alleged corruption


Struggling as an author? Stop writing only what you want to write

Earning a living as a writer is as likely as winning the lottery. Instead of writing books and persuading others to buy them, find out what people want to write, then do it for themPhilip Pullman: professional writers set to become ‘an endangered species’ due to low wagesI left school with a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rejection slip


Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver: Open Source Publishing for India’s Children

India's Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform offers open source of children's books and encourages users to translate, adapt and use the content for free. The post Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver: Open Source Publishing for India’s Children appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #children appeared


Turner Publishing Buys Basic Health Publications

The deal, which closed December 31, will see Turner get the publishing rights, inventory and related assets to about 280 titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Name that book: emoji special answers

Did you try our emoji book quiz? Take a look at the answers and let us know how many you got right. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Solutions Sold to Private Equity Firm

Penguin Random House has sold its Author Solutions division to an affiliate of the Najafi Companies, a private investment firm that at one point owned Bookspan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What's happening in children's books in 2016? A literary calendar

Want to know when your favourite author has a new book published? When the awards are being dished out? What film adaptations are up-coming or get the low-down on festivals near you? Then check out our literary calendar for 2016Have we missed anything? Email us at [email protected]... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book published #film adaptations #@gdnchildrensbks #ll add #tom ellen #lucy ivison


In Germany, Exchange Your Unwanted Xmas Presents for Books!

In Germany, publisher Bastei Lübbe and bookseller Hugendubel offer vending machines where you can donate unwanted gifts in exchange for new books. The post In Germany, Exchange Your Unwanted Xmas Presents for Books! appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian censors target children's books that break the mould

Publishing a children’s book in Russia is not a straightforward matter, as Anna Starobinets found when her detective stories set among woodland animals were deemed to be far too beastly for children I wrote my first children’s book, The Land of Good Girls, in 2009 for my then five-year-old... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #contemporary authors #tove jansson #jk rowling #wonderful world


Amazon Keeps Firm Grip on E-book Market, Even as the Format Loses Market Share

With sales of ebooks slipping and print books enjoying a mild rebound, ebooks’ share of consumer spending on books has declined over the past two years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling Books of 2015

Harper Lee, Marie Kondo, and Jeff Kinney topped the print bestseller lists in 2015 for adult fiction, adult nonfiction, and juvenile books, respectively. Here are the 20 bestselling books of the year in each of those categories. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Begins Letter-Writing Campaign to Meet with Publishers

As part of its ongoing effort to raise writers’ income, the Authors Guild is sending an open letter to members of the Association of American Publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not bound by history, L.A.'s Caravan Book Store continues to turn pages

A shuffling step carries Leonard Bernstein onto Grand Avenue. The pilasters and garlands of the PacMutual Building rise above him. Nearly 70, a balding man with a gray cattle-catcher mustache, he finds his keys and stoops to the lock in the threshold. Two bells tied to a red ribbon jingle as the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Petitions Supreme Court to Hear Google Case

Authors Guild executives say that the case represents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to clarify fair use for the digital age. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Postcapitalism, Tolkien and Harper Lee: the big books news of 2015

Our annual review of the site’s most popular book stories puts Paul Mason’s utopian futurology ahead of perenially popular authorsThe living room carpet is covered in needles, the potato salad covered in mould: as we heave ourselves up out of the year that’s gone and prepare to belly-flop our... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #festive season #novels written


DOJ Urges Supreme Court to Deny Apple’s E-book Appeal

In an opposition brief filed on December 23, the U.S. Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court not to hear Apple’s appeal in the long-running ebook price-fixing case. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-book appeal #deny apple #supreme court #hear apple


Trade pledges aid for flood-hit Book Case Hebden

Publishers including Phaidon, Galley Beggar Press, HarperCollins and And Other Stories have pledged to help West Yorkshire indie Book Case Hebden, which has lost all its stock to flood damage.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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