Publishers want more black authors. Why have they silenced us for so long? | Candice Carty-Williams

As Black Lives Matter protests take place across the world, the publishing world is rushing to support those ‘ignored by the mainstream’. Who is the mainstream, then?The publishing industry is stilted and archaic. I worked in it for seven years, and left due to reasons I can’t legally talk about. Though, in that time, I was able to enforce and oversee some steps towards sustainable change. At 4th Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins, I started the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story prize (still going strong, five years later). Staggered by the lack of underrepresented voices, I knew I had to do something, anything to give those voices a way to permeate the industry.It is taken for granted that would-be writers will know what a literary agent is. But most have no idea how to structure a book proposal, or where to send it. This information is possessed by those in the know, and the people in the know often want to keep it to themselves. Let’s talk about literary agents for a second; they are, effectively, tastemakers. Editors trust them to deliver books and authors that adhere to their (sometimes limited) taste. And what happens when these arbiters continue to work within the circles of writers who they already know? The same thing that always happens: books that follow trends, that look the same, that are written by the same kinds of people. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 09:44:22 UTC ]
News tagged with: #underrepresented voices #deliver books #candice carty-williams #sustainable change #4th estate #book proposal #follow trends #literary agents #literary agent #publishing industry #publishing world

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Publishers want more black authors. Why have they silenced us for so long? | Candice Carty-Williams'

Publishers want more black authors. Why have they silenced us for so long? | Candice Carty-Williams

As Black Lives Matter protests take place across the world, the publishing world is rushing to support those ‘ignored by the mainstream’. Who is the mainstream, then?The publishing industry is stilted and archaic. I worked in it for seven years, and left due to reasons I can’t legally talk... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 09:44:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #underrepresented voices #deliver books #candice carty-williams #sustainable change #4th estate #book proposal #follow trends #literary agents #literary agent #publishing industry #publishing world

Evaristo and Carty-Williams become first black authors to win top British Book awards

Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #candice carty-williams #year accolade #bernardine evaristo #black authors #top prizes #monday night #lisa taddeo #serial killer #oyinkan braithwaite #debut novel #book of the year #british book

Publishing has to keep up with the world, not the other way round | Candice Carty-Williams

A survey of diversity – or lack of it – in the US books industry makes for dismal reading once moreThe results of a survey of diversity in the world of US publishing were released last month. The figures cover executives, editorial staff, sales, publicity and marketing as well as reviewers,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-08 07:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #editorial staff #literary agents

Aspiring writers, enter that prize. Even if you don't win, you'll be seen | Candice Carty-Williams

Simply submitting your story to be read by someone who knows talent when they see it is important for so many reasonsWriting prizes are massively important for aspiring and emerging writers. I think they are vastly more important than literary prizes. So many aspiring writers don’t have access... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-03 07:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #emerging writers #literary prizes #candice carty-williams #imprint launched #opened applications #longlisted authors #greatest thing #publishing industry

Michaela Coel plays the first on-screen writer I can relate to | Candice Carty-Williams

I May Destroy You skewers the weirdness of fandom and captures just how terrifying the publishing industry can beMichaela Coel’s critically acclaimed new TV series I May Destroy You (BBC One), the journey of a young woman uncovering and trying to deal with sexual trauma, is a show that I fall... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-11 07:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #candice carty-williams #critically acclaimed #tv series #all-consuming nature #main character #stephen king #publishing industry

Dorothy Koomson: 'publishing is a hostile environment for Black authors'

Author Dorothy Koomson has written an open letter to the publishing industry, in which she describes it as a “hostile environment for Black authors”.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 06:37:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing industry #dorothy koomson #hostile environment #black authors #open letter

Publishers, agents and authors continue to respond to Black Lives Matter protests

Publishers and authors have continued to share reading lists and offers of help following the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-05 10:41:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors continue

Quick Reads returns with Adam Kay and Candice Carty-Williams

Adam Kay has created a special Quick Reads version of his bestselling This is Going to Hurt (Picador) for the first intake of the bitesize book range since Jojo Moyes saved the scheme from closure. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-08 03:31:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adam kay #candice carty-williams

Five questions for...Candice Carty-Williams

Candice Carty-Williams, senior marketing executive at Vintage Books, talks to us about publishing her debut novel, Queenie. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #candice carty-williams #vintage books

PRH to publish 'Silence of the Lambs' author's first novel in 13 years

Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, is returning after more than a decade with a new novel, to be published by Cornerstone imprint William Heinemann next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #thomas harris

Horowitz's UK publisher says it did not warn author off creating black character

Anthony Horowitz children's publisher at Walker has said it would not instruct authors on whether or not to include characters of a different race or background in their books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk publisher

Just William author Crompton's 'forgotten' adult novels to be published

Pan Macmillan's digital imprint Bello is to publish eight of Richmal Crompton's "forgotten" adult novels. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adult novels #pan macmillan #richmal crompton

Smart: 'publishers do invest long-term in authors'

Ebury m.d. Rebecca Smart said that traditional publishers need to “shout from the rooftops” more about the value and investment they provide for authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rebecca smart #traditional publishers

William Heinemann to publish long lost love letters

William Heinemann has acquired a “significant” collection of erotic letters from a young woman to her lover dating from the 1920s. Selina Walker, publisher at Century and Arrow, bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Australia New Zealand) rights to the collection, edited by Jean Yves Berthault... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #william heinemann #young woman #bought uk #zealand rights #kerry glencorse

Haymarket Books, Kaepernick Publishing to Co-Publish Anthology Defending Black Studies

In response to educational bans, Haymarket Books and Kaepernick Publishing are collaborating on a compilation of essays by African American scholars and other Black intellectuals writing in defense of African American/Black Studies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #haymarket books #kaepernick publishing #anthology

Black Women, Black Voices: Debut Memoirists on Career and Publishing

PW, in partnership with Amazon Publishing, presents this panel— scheduled for May 25, 1:30–2:30 p.m. ET, and moderated by Regina Brooks, the founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency—in which Cin Fabré, Bria Adimora Godley, Danielle Prescod, and Aomawa Shields discuss their... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon publishing #black women #black voices #regina brooks #corporate america #forthcoming books

Incredible Books By Black Authors, According To Black Bookstore Owners

Works by writers like bell hooks, Damon Young and James Baldwin that will educate and make an impact on everyone. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2022-01-31 16:37:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black authors #bell hooks #james baldwin #bookstore

The Publisher Who Transformed the Careers of Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams

Late in 1942 a Buddhist monk living in Los Angeles carefully inscribed his name in a recently published book by the poet Wallace Stevens. The Buddhist monk had moved to Los Angeles from Japan a year earlier. The book was Notes Toward A Supreme Fiction, published by the Cummington Press, a small... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-04 09:49:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #buddhist monk #year earlier #small press #published book

Are Self-Published Authors Still Indie Authors?

The publishing landscape is rapidly changing—as is the way self-published authors are viewed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published authors #indie authors #publishing landscape

The publishing company that's only publishing female authors in 2018

One publishing company has taken up a challenge to put out only books by female authors this year. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2018-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #female authors