Patience, Perspective, and the Power of Story: An Interview with Toni Ann Johnson, by Scott LaMascus Interviews [email protected] Mon, 10/16/2023 - 13:46 Storyteller Toni Ann Johnson uses her skills as an actor, playwright, and fiction writer to tell powerful stories of race, reconciliation, and the effects of lingering racism. She is award-winning on stage and screen, most recently with her story collection Light Skin Gone to Waste (University of Georgia Press, 2022), selected for the 2021 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. When I spoke to Johnson in Los Angeles and later by email, we explored the role stories can play in our understanding of truths, including matters many would rather forget. Scott LaMascus: If you were joining the late Flannery O’Connor on her porch in Milledgeville, Georgia, what do you hope she would praise about your stories that were honored with the award named for her? Toni Ann Johnson: I wouldn’t expect Ms. O’Connor to praise my stories. Her racism would likely have prevented her from appreciating their subject matter. In her letters, she wrote: About the Negroes, the kind I don’t like is the philosophizing prophesying pontificating kind, the James Baldwin kind. Very ignorant but never silent. Baldwin can tell us what it feels like to be a Negro in Harlem but he tries to tell us everything else too. O’Connor was put off by James Baldwin’s writing because it dared to stray beyond the... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-16 18:46:19 UTC ]
A literary agent who doesn’t “believe in contracts” is suing Australian author Kate Morton over allegedly breaching an agreement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent and president of the Association of Authors’ Agents Lizzy Kremer comments on the ALCS survey on author earnings. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johanna Castillo is returning to her roots, leaving her editorial job for a post as a literary agent. The v-p and executive editor of Atria will return to the deal-maker's life on June 6, joining Writers House as a senior literary agent. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Giles Milburn tells us all about his role as managing director and literary agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Five decades after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., thousands of people began to gather on the downtown streets of this Southern city and across the country to mourn his death, celebrate his life and rekindle his struggle for economic and social justice. In an echo of King’s... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late physicist’s editor, Peter Guzzardi, recalls his first meetings with Hawking and how his book became a bestsellerStephen Hawking dies aged 76I first encountered Stephen Hawking on the cover of the New York Times magazine. Inside, its pages told a story we all know today, but at the time... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of online accusations, The Maze Runner author James Dashner has lost representation, as has Thirteen Reasons Why author Jay AsherThe Maze Runner author James Dashner has been dropped by his literary agent after a series of anonymous accusations of sexual harassment were made against... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The £580,000 Arts Council England funding will support new initiative to find and develop black and minority ethnic, disabled and LGBTQ writersA new literary agency, which aims to discover “the next generation of diverse writers” and “blow open the pipeline” for them, is being launched by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charlie Brotherstone, literary agent at Ed Victor Ltd, is opening his own agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jessica Kingsley Publishers is releasing 30 Years of Social Change, a collection of original essays exploring the past, present and future of many of the helping or altruistic professions, to mark 30 years of publishing books on social justice and difference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kids these days apparently want to read books that reflect their lives. So following that whole supply-and-demand thing we all learned in Economics 101, Kirkus is giving the people what they want. They’ve just launched Kirkus Collections, which brings together Young Adult and children’s lit... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cristobal Pera is rejoining Penguin Random House after a two-year stint as a literary agent with The Wiley Agency. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hello readers! I’m books editor Carolyn Kellogg, back after taking a newsletter break for Memorial Day Weekend. THE BIG ESSAY This week, critic at large Adriana E. Ramírez takes a look at “The Hate U Give.” The young adult novel is something of a phenomenon, selling like gangbusters since its... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Radio has appointed a literary agent for the first time to represent books deriving from its programmes - Luigi Bonomi of LBA. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you're a mediocre writer and want an agent to sign you... marry one. But if you're a talented writer, all it takes is getting your book into the hands of the right literary agent and BINGO... instant representation! Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2017-02-10 19:11:09 UTC ]
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David Miller, literary agent at Rogers, Coleridge and White, has died at the age of 50. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The onslaught of tech information is relentless. Stay on top of the latest with PCWorld’s Digital Edition. Available as single copies or as a yearlong subscription, it highlights the best content from PCWorld.com—the most important news, the key product reviews, and the most useful features and... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2016-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Social justice is at the center of today’s national conversation and is a special concern for millennials. Books provide perspective and guidance for the push toward a more equal nation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent and bestselling author Carole Blake, a familiar face in the UK and global book community, passed away on October 25, 2016. The post Remembering Carole Blake, Literary Agent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new bursary of £10,000 is to be awarded from the Deborah Rogers Foundation, targeting either a publishing rights professional or a literary agent. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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