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 ]
News tagged with:
#inhumane treatment
#current president
#philip pullman
#ableist tropes
#memoir
#book published
Want to replace your traditional library with ebooks? Here are some sites and tools that can help you make your physical books disappear. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#traditional library
Today's Wall Street Journal takes a look at a new lineup of "enhanced" digital books that incorporate music, video and high-tech graphics. But as one Wharton expert notes, the market for these elaborate productions remains to be seen. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton
[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2012-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital books
As the internet pats itself on the back for protesting SOPA and changing the minds of a handful of U.S. Senators, file-sharing site Megaupload has been brought down in one of the largest copyright infringement cases of all time. Seven individuals and two international corporations have been... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#international corporations
#copyrighted material
#massive scale
For an indie publisher to launch its first line with a $300 art book takes guts and vision, but that’s what Ammo Books’ founders Paul Norton and Steve Crist did in 2006 when they published 3,000 copies of Gonzo by Hunter S. Thompson and sold out in less than a year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#indie publisher
#steve crist
Jon Appleton has been appointed to the newly-created post of editorial director for fiction at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#head fiction
#newly-created post
The Book Depository’s IT director Will Jones is departing the company after four years.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book depository
World Book Night is continuing its international spread, with Germany now set to join the UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Stationery retailer Viking has reported a “promising” start to its bookselling... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#promising start
Michael Morpurgo's War Horse (Egmont) was comfortably the bestselling book in the UK last... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bestselling book
#michael morpurgo
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is talking nonsense, according to Google. Murdoch, a Twitter user for only the past several weeks, used the service to fire a barrage of accusations Saturday night against President Obama and Google. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#president obama
Waterstones has launched a "book club" promotion, with the strapline: "Books you... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#waterstones launches
#book club
The earnings of German book retailer Thalia's parent group Douglas Holding will be hit by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Independent publisher Saqi Books is to launch a new non-fiction imprint, with plans to publish... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#non-fiction imprint
Print books sales in the US fell 9% in 2011, with strong growth in digital sales appearing to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#borders collapse
#ebook growth
#strong growth
A group of Chinese writers has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's App Store sells pirated versions of the authors' works. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Hodder & Stoughton has acquired music star Sir Elton John's first book, Love is The Cure... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hodder stoughton
#elton john
An imprint of Penguin Group USA discovered Kerry Schafer after she posted samples on Bookcountry.com, a site that lets writers share their work. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#media decoder
Ever since Algonquin used the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute to get booksellers to read and fall in love with Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, which sold more than a million copies before being turned into a film, publishers have been using the winter bookselling confab to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#winter institute
#sara gruen
#million copies
#bookseller attendance
#chris cleave
At least one publisher is looking to capitalize on some last-minute changes to Wael Ghonim's upcoming book tour to promote Revolution 2.0. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wael ghonim
Harper has scored two of the eight spots in Richard & Judy's Spring Book Club, with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#richard judy