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 ]
When We Was Fierce by eE Charlton-Trujillo uses invented street dialect slammed by one reviewer as ‘rife with insult and lack of awareness’The publication of young adult novel When We Was Fierce has been postponed by its author and publisher following harsh criticism of the “deeply offensive”... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion Fiction’s senior commissioning editor Jemima Forrester is moving to David Higham Associates to become a literary agent. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Orion editor Julia Silk is forging a new career path as a literary agent in association with MBA Literary Agents. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One literary agent's story at this fourth iteration of the international conference was about selling 2,000 English-language titles into the Chinese market. Going the other direction? Not so easy. The post Illustrations, Design, and Above All Stories: China’s StoryDrive Asia 2016, Part 2... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A discussion on Wednesday between two publishers, a literary agent, and the executive director of the Authors Guild floated the possibility of a single royalty rate across book formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dissident tales from pseudonymous author Bandi, still living in the country, are very rare fiction to emerge from the secretive dictatorshipA collection of short stories written under a pseudonym and smuggled out of North Korea is on its way to becoming an international literary sensation, with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kalem Literary Agency remembers legendary Spanish literary agent Carmel Balcells and her contributions to international authors, writing and agenting. The post On Carmen Balcells: Remembering the Role of a Literary Agent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cuts to library funding in schools and community mean author visits are a luxury that only some can afford, that’s why author Alexia Casale founded the YA Shot festival and programme to partner libraries and schools for author visits – here’s how your library system can apply to be part of YA... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Omaira Rodríguez is Uruguay's only literary agent, tasked with selling rights abroad and increasing the international awareness of authors from her country. The post Omaira Rodríguez is Uruguay’s Lone Literary Agent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and speaker at PW’s upcoming Global Kids Connect Summit, talked us about what U.S. children's titles seem to be working well abroad right now, and the biggest mistakes publishers make in their approach to their foreign rights business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Curtis Brown and Conville and Walsh are to host a Twitter based event dedicated to "de-mystifying" the publishing process for prospective authors, called Discovery Day Online. Following the literary agencies’ Discovery Days in 2012 and 2013, held at Foyles Charing Cross Road, Discovery Day... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Describe your role It’s my job to support the authors I represent through the whole publishing process. This includes everything from working with them editorially and pitching their work to editors, to negotiating contracts on their behalf. What do you like best about your role? As a brand... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of the marketing campaign for the new young adult novel by Alyson Noël, 'Unrivaled,' HarperCollins will publish the book simultaneously May 10, 2016 in 16 languages. The novel will feature covers that will be coordinated across the different markets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The feted US literary agent on addiction, attempted suicide, and having his first novel longlisted for the Booker prizeBill Clegg is a leading New York literary agent and the author of the bestselling memoirs Portrait of an Addict As a Young Man and Ninety Days, which describe respectively his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robin Stevens’ children’s detective series Murder Most Unladylike has been optioned for television and film by independent production company Pilot Media. Pilot Media optioned the rights from Emily Hayward Whitlock, head of book to film at The Artists’ Partnership, who was acting on behalf of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good news for '80s kids who preferred Blane McDonough to Duckie Dale: "Pretty in Pink" star Andrew McCarthy, who went from Brat Pack actor to travel writer and television director, is coming out with his first novel. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We all want to eat better, and most of us would love to have more meals with healthful and flavorful whole grains on our table. Yet, as a cookbook author specializing in them, whenever I ask during talks, "Did you cook some whole grains this week?" few hands go up in the room. And, as further... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a literary agent, Frankfurt has been a launch pad for some of the most powerful women’s voices from around the world. This year will be no different. The post How Can Women Change the World? Book by Book appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julie Crisp has signed up her first author as a literary agent following her departure from Pan Macmillan. Crisp will represent Sam Hawke, an Australian fantasy writer from Canberra, who has written a novel called Proof, described as “intelligent fantasy concentrating on issues of race, gender... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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