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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Cara Putman didn’t plan on her new book sharing Amazon and Twitter space with George Clooney, but she and her publisher aren’t saying no. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jim Martin's book about Jesus gets a starred review; Kerry Weber's first book takes mercy to the streets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Farrar, Straus and Giroux is releasing George Seldon's Chester Cricket and His Friends series in ebook format for the first time for the new tablet-toting generation of young readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elizabeth Gilbert, author of bestseller Eat, Pray, Love, is one of six writers included on the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPPR report calls for advertising, film and TV to support businesses outside London and to help develop non-white talentThe UK's creative industries need to embrace regional and ethnic diversity if they are to play an improved role in helping the economy, warns a report from a leading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple is looking to escape from New York. In a filing this week, Apple attorneys argue that Judge Denise Cote does not have jurisdiction to oversee its upcoming damages trial. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rudi Lehnert asked if there’s a way to open and read .epub books in a browser. Most of the ebooks I read are in the .epub format, primarily because I’m allergic to Digital Rights Management. (An .epub can have DRM, but they usually don’t.) A handful of e-tailers sell unprotected .epub books,... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Laurens gets seven figures from Mira and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers put out some very curious books on strange topics, as exhibited by this year's shortlist for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How To Poo On A Date and The Origin of Faeces make the Diagram Prize shortlist for the oddest book title of the year. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The prize is divided into 20 print categories, and three additional ebook categories. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 100 copies of Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl have been vandalised in public libraries in Japan's capital Tokyo, library officials say. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, Lorrie Moore's first collection in 15 years, the award-winning novel that was rejected by over 60 publishers, and what neuroscience can tell us about joy and anger. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nominees for the 34th annual L.A. Times Book Prizes have been announced and include five finalists for the graphic novel prize. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifty titles in 10 categories are in contention for the awards, which will be revealed in April. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One week after news broke that Penguin Books India had recalled and destroyed Wendy Doniger’s "The Hindus" the negative fall out continues. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#fallout continues
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In a deal that adds 27 titles to its backlist, Graphic Arts Books has acquired the trade books and publishing rights of Companion Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heron Books, an imprint of Quercus Books, has bought a new title about evolution by Professor... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#quercus books
Considered too inflammatory to publish in the wake of 1980s UK riots, these tales of anarchic runaways are to be re-released as ebooksMichael de Larrabeiti's classic stories of anarchic, pointy-eared street children the Borribles, which were judged to be so lawless in the 1980s that their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Collection will include work by Banks's friend Ken MacLeod and will come out on the anniversary of his death in FebruaryThe final work by Iain Banks – a collection of poetry by the late author – will be released next February, his publisher has announced.Banks died last June, two months after... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#desperately sad