I was called aggressive for criticising passages in Kate Clanchy’s memoir. But the real problem lies deep in the overwhelmingly white world of publishingIt started with a tweet. Kate Clanchy, author of Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me posted on her Twitter account that a reviewer on Goodreads had “made up a racist quote and said it was in my book”. She urged her almost 40,000 followers to flag the review that claimed she had bigoted views on race, class and body image, and had used terms such as “chocolate-coloured skin” and “Jewish noses”. Prominent authors and columnists swooped in to offer support, decrying how Clanchy could possibly be subjected to such inhumane treatment – including the current president of the Society of Authors, Philip Pullman, who declared: “But of all the people and of all the books to have had this happen … It’s hard to stay optimistic about the human race sometimes.”However, it soon emerged that those terms were, in fact, in the book. Incredulous that antisemitic and anti-Black tropes could have made it into a book published as recently as 2019, I downloaded and read it. I recoiled as a Somali boy is described as having a “narrow skull”, while one Muslim girl is “very butch-looking … with a distinct moustache”, and another “looked brilliant because she has such a strong skull shape”, which sounds more like something a eugenicist might observe than a trusted teacher. There is a troubling exchange where Clanchy is baffled by a boy who,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-08-13 13:51:20 UTC ]
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Report says publishers under heavy pressure to make damaging concessions including giving online retailer rights to print on demandBritish authors have condemned as "deeply worrying" reports that Amazon is now pressing for improved terms from publishers in the UK, as its showdown with Hachette... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reduced or zero rates of VAT should be removed from physical books to create a single rate across... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joanne Harris says the book industry is sexist. Why else are there categories for 'women writers' and no equivalents for writers who happen to be men?This is the year of reading women, people, remember? We're all reading female writers and helping address the literary gender imbalance which is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charity The Prison Reform Trust has said new prison regulations, which ban books, as well as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A coalition of publishers, booksellers and libraries argue that pre-enforcement challenges are "a critical tool for protecting free speech." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When online bookstores came on the scene back in 1999, there were around 5,000 brick-and-mortar bookstores in Korea. Today, there are barely 1,500 nationwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK-based startup ValoBox offers an attractive revenue sharing model for those who use social media as a catalyst to sell books, empowering discovery. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A growing right wing movement France has begun attacking children's books depicting content (nudity, homosexuality) they call 'immoral.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The fifth installment of Digital Book World, the annual New York City conference on digital publishing, was held last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has been prising open the wallets of Australian consumers for years – but what will its local push on Kindle mean for readers, writers and publishers?Ben Eltham Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book about Lanai majority owner and Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison’s pursuit of the America’s Cup yachting championship has received rave reviews from Forbes magazine’s editors and writers as one of the “most entertaining and illuminating nonfiction books of the year.” Author Julian... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2013-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Concern is mounting among the publishing community, in London and elsewhere, over a possible relocation of the London Book Fair to the ExCel Exhibition Centre in Docklands, the far east of the capital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Warehouse clubs, mass merchandisers, and other big-box retailers remain important to publishers because they not only sell books, they are places where books can be discovered. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's the last week to pitch your stories and book advertising in our printed Frankfurt Book Fair Show Daily issues running October 8-11. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Department of Justice and 33 state attorneys general on Friday called for an array of sanctions that they claim will "reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy." Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Perspectives will again publish print editions during the Frankfurt Book Fair. We’re looking for interesting stories that can both inform and delight. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With 20% of Russia's bookstores having closed and book sales in free fall, the government is investing $100m to promote reading and change in the industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The gist: "Apple knew that the plan it was proposing involved a ‘dramatic business change’ for publisher defendants." Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstores may be closing right and left under the ebook onslaught, but a sort of traveling bookstore came back to life earlier this month with the launch of Books on Call NYC.The company, which sells books at author readings and other events, is the successor to Mobile Libris, which shut down... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild is encouraging its 8,500 members to submit comments against the proposed settlement between the Department of Justice and three large publishers. The settlement, the guild argues, will only benefit Amazon. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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