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 ]
Court says state is entitled to any profits from Permanent Record because its publication breached non-disclosure agreementsEdward Snowden is not entitled to the profits from his memoir Permanent Record, and any money made must go to the US government, a judge has ruled.Permanent Record, in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-20 13:20:57 UTC ]
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The only actor to appear in every film of the Skywalker saga reflects on his experience in the book “I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-20 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Audacious Brit Dolly Alderton explores a raucous decade of living and loving in her debut, 'Everything I Know About Love.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Tiffany Midge is the author of several books including the recent memoir Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s, a collection of prose that blends humor with social commentary and meditations on love and loss. Her poetry collection The Woman Who Married a Bear won Kenyon Review’s Earthworks Prize... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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From stories about commitment to faith to those about leaving the faith, learn more about the traditions in these religious memoirs for Read Harder 2020. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-19 11:33:46 UTC ]
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“I’m not that interested in movies,” says the dancer and choreographer, whose new memoir is “Out Loud.” “I like poetry.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-19 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Snowden's recently published memoir violated the terms of his employment contract. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-12-18 11:37:41 UTC ]
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The unfinished illustrations in the book are themselves an act of optimism, encouraging children to imagine a world without lines others create for them. “Children teach us,” writes Ai-Jen Poo, cofounder of Families Belong Together, a coalition of close to 250 organizations working to end family... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-17 12:30:49 UTC ]
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When I read the reviews of Ali Wong’s memoir Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice For Living Your Best Life, I was at first thrilled—the responses were glowing—and then perplexed. I fundamentally agreed with what they said: that the book is a more intimate and poignant (yet... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-16 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Puffin will publish Brown Girl Dreaming, the multi-award winning memoir told in verse by author Jacqueline Woodson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-15 18:04:41 UTC ]
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#Merky Books will publish the memoir of youth activist Jeremiah Emmanuel, “a guide to overcoming the obstacles young people should not have to face”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-15 13:08:54 UTC ]
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She was also a publisher and an author whose memoir affirmed that her father, the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, had popularized the Serenity Prayer. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-13 22:52:39 UTC ]
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This week, Josh Duboff reviews André Aciman’s “Find Me,” the sequel to his 2007 novel “Call Me by Your Name.” In 1995, Barry Unsworth wrote for the Book Review about “Out of Egypt,” Aciman’s memoir chronicling the family that shaped his life. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-13 10:00:09 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson has pre-empted a “breathtaking” memoir from Tanya Shadrick about waking from a coma. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-12 23:53:18 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 time we’re talking to Lilly Dancyger, editor at Narratively and author of the forthcoming memoir Negative Space. Lilly’s next... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
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A deliciously original study of the cheap editions of Pride and Prejudice and other novels – ignored by literary scholars – casts new light on her readershipJane Austen aficionados think that they know the story of their favourite author’s posthumous dis-appearance and then re-emergence. For... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-11 07:30:31 UTC ]
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Former political aide and author Alastair Campbell is publishing a "candid" and "empowering" memoir about his struggles with mental health Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 06:30:30 UTC ]
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Quiller has bought the memoir of former British banker Giles Darby, one of the NatWest Three who was jailed in the US for his involvement in a $7m fraud. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-10 16:17:14 UTC ]
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Alix O’Neill’s memoir of growing up in a Republican area of Belfast during the 1990s has gone to Fourth Estate Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-10 02:33:14 UTC ]
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The National Books Critics Circle has just announced the seven finalists for the 2019 John Leonard Prize for Best First Book published in the last year. The winner will be announced on January 11th, 2020, but in the meantime, peruse the finalists at your leisure below, and feel free to get... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-06 19:00:27 UTC ]
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