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 ]
The response to the criticism of Kate Clanchy’s memoir was a moral failure on the part of white publishing—and an artistic failure too Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 18:27:25 UTC ]
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In the memoir “Here, Right Matters,” Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman defends his decision to report President Trump’s call with Ukraine. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-09-29 18:40:35 UTC ]
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In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Made in China author Anna Qu, who will be leading a year-long Online Memoir Generator for writers of color... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-09-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has landed a memoir by Keith Brymer Jones, star judge of Channel Four’s “The Great Pottery Throwdown”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 20:55:02 UTC ]
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Sphere has pre-empted In Two Minds: Stories of Murder, Justice and Recovery from a Forensic Psychiatrist by Dr Sohom Das. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 23:05:16 UTC ]
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Monoray has secured a deal for In the Shadow of the Mountain, the “heart-breaking and empowering” memoir from climber Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, which will soon be adapted into a film starring Selena Gomez. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-17 20:43:04 UTC ]
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Rajika Bhandari talks about her memoir “America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility” and how students from other countries benefit the U.S. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-09-13 14:26:03 UTC ]
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Fiction Drawing inspiration from the writing of Lesley Nneka Arimah, Edwin Okolo creates a world of birth factories, colossal levees, secret labs, and New Biafra, where we find Ameli, Lotanna’s wife—because he chose her. Those colossal levees, rising... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-09-13 14:09:11 UTC ]
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“Feeling afraid to obey the demands of your own heart? Is there anything more human?” Jennifer Finney Boylan considers Henry David Thoreau and the risks we take to live our full truth. | Lit Hub Memoir Who was Laurie Colwin, and what makes her (newly reissued) fiction so relevant today? | Lit... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-13 10:30:34 UTC ]
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Anna Qu is the guest. Her new book, Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor, is out now from Catapult. From the episode: Anna Qu: I think I was trying to capture a couple of points. The first point is really arriving at a single moment of betrayal, and that betrayal was reporting […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-13 08:48:59 UTC ]
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Wildfire has acquired Love from the Pink Palace: Memories of Love, Loss and Cabaret Through the AIDS Crisis, a memoir by Jill Nalder, the real-life inspiration behind the character Jill from Channel 4's "It’s a Sin". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-09 20:53:00 UTC ]
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Grisham, also a former top aide to Melania Trump, to publish memoir containing ‘surprising new scandals’ in October The former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, also a former top aide to former first lady Melania Trump, will release a memoir in October. Related: ‘Bring it’:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-09 19:11:26 UTC ]
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David Ulin read four of the recall candidate's books, from the jeremiad "Showdown" to the memoir "A Lot Like Me," and found not a writer but a brand. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-08 13:00:05 UTC ]
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Dawn Turner’s memoir gives a tutorial of urban decay, White privilege, poor city planning and the influence of fads and digital advances on Black urban teenagers. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In ‘Forever Young,’ the 75-year-old actress opens up about life before and after ‘The Parent Trap’ Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Five years ago, when in her late twenties, Emma Gannon released her first book: Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online. It’s a funny and thoughtful memoir which charts her formative experiences on the internet as a Millennial woman born in the same year as the World Wide Web. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 14:05:09 UTC ]
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Shawna Kay Rodenberg recounts her childhood in a religious sect and in rural Kentucky. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Why did author Kate Clanchy get an opportunity to rewrite a memoir others called out as racist and ableist? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-09-03 10:34:00 UTC ]
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A memoir from Congressman Jamie Raskin goes to Harper, Penguin signs Coll’s last Afghanistan book, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At Ploughshares, Kat Chow discusses Seeing Ghosts, her memoir that examines grief and sorrow through the lens of three generations of her Chinese-American family. “I’ve always been drawn to writing about the body—our physical selves and how they reflect our inner lives—and how our bodies are an... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2021-09-02 20:30:39 UTC ]
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