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 ]
Katherine Johnson’s work as a NASA mathematician was essential during the space race, if underappreciated. A new memoir sheds light on her story. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-05-21 15:20:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Randa Jarrar’s memoir Love Is An Ex-Country focuses predominantly on the years leading to the 2016 election, a period, which, like now, was characterized by heightened Islamophobia, misogyny, homophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and racism. Jarrar embarks on a road trip inspired by Tahia... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-21 11:00:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actress Miriam Margolyes’ memoir of "extraordinary adventure" will be published by John Murray in September. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-19 23:43:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'WAKE: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts' by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez is a riveting combination of memoir and inspirational scholarship. In this eight-page excerpt Hall's efforts to research a slave revolt in 1712 mark the first steps of a quest that will take her to 18th... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'We are proud to stand with our author,' said the head of Portfolio Books, promising that the memoir 'Flamin' Hot' will still be released June 15. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-19 00:04:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The pop star seems to have entered her memoir era at 19. Her new book, "Billie Eilish," uses photos and spare captions to document her life for fans. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-11 12:00:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bonnier Books UK has bought comedian Josh Widdicombe’s first book, billed as part-childhood memoir, part-comic history of 1990s television and culture. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-07 23:03:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Forty years ago, IBM researcher Charlie Bennett helped usher in the study of quantum mechanics’ impact on computing. IBM is still at it—and so is Bennett. In May 1981, at a conference center housed in a chateau-style mansion outside Boston, a few dozen physicists and computer scientists gathered... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2021-05-07 08:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Verso has acquired Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests and the Pursuit of Freedom, a memoir by Derecka Purnell. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-05 20:05:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Williams Collins has pre-empted a memoir by political columnist and commentator Daniel Finkelstein uncovering his family’s devastating experiences of persecution during the Second World War. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-05 16:01:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A contributing editor for British Vogue, Paris Lees made her name as the UKs first high-profile transgender woman to break into the mainstream when she was named top of the Pink List of the most influential LGBT people in Britain, and became the first “out” transgender woman to appear on BBC... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-01 02:56:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Headline Publishing Group will publish The Queen Bee, the first memoir from Grammy-award winning rapper Lil’ Kim. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-29 09:26:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“Collision of Power” will be part memoir and part investigation into what’s ahead for the free press. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-28 16:45:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this
"Philip Roth: The Biography" and the memoir "The Splendid Things We Planned" are axed as Blake Bailey's publisher plans to donate to charities. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-27 21:01:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
W.W Norton announced that it will cease publication of the newly released edition of Blake Bailey’s 'Philip Roth: The Biography,' as well as Bailey’s 2014 memoir 'The Splendid Things We Planned,' and take both works out of print. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
She was a respected translator from French and a writer on astrology, but her magnum opus was a memoir of her time with Kerouac and the Beats. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-26 17:55:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“Second Place” borrows its story line from a 1930s-era memoir about D.H. Lawrence, but its themes are quintessential Cusk. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-26 17:28:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In an excerpt from her memoir Negative Space, Lilly Dancyger writes about moving back to New York City as a teenager and grappling with her father's death. Continue reading at Guernica
[ Guernica | 2021-04-26 13:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A memoir of life in Silicon Valley, a capitalist satire, a novel that envisions a better future, and more: Your weekly guide to the best in books Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2021-04-23 14:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner—also known as the indie-pop musician Japanese Breakfast—writes of her mother’s battle with terminal cancer and the caretaking process. The mother-daughter relationship is the beating pulse of this memoir, presented in all of its uncomfortable complexities.... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this