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 ]

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


Gardners and Raynor among award winners at BA Conference

Awards celebrating figures from across the publishing industry have been announced at the Booksellers Association Conference, with recognition for Gardners and Headline's Caitlin Raynor among others.     Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-14 02:38:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


2021 Top Women in Media Awards Luncheon

The women spearheading the progression of the publishing industry will be recognized at the Top Women in Media Awards Celebration on September 30, The post 2021 Top Women in Media Awards Luncheon appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2021-09-10 21:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this


2021 Top Women in Media Awards Luncheon

The women spearheading the progression of the publishing industry will be recognized at the Top Women in Media Awards Celebration on September 30, 2021 in New York City. Join your industry peers, the Folio: and AdMonsters Team, and a few surprise guests to celebrate the honorees and all of their... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2021-09-10 21:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Trade invited to form group and change industry 'for the better'

An open invitation from figures including Nikesh Shukla and Yara Rodrigues Fowler has been issued for people in the trade to form a group that will "change the UK publishing industry for the better".   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-10 01:23:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Todd swaps Head of Zeus for Madeleine Milburn

Hannah Todd has left Head of Zeus to join Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency as a literary agent.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-08 14:13:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Guardian view on changes to copyright law: book lovers beware | Editorial

A government proposal to ease restrictions on the sale of imported cultural works risks harming a world-class industryThe hoopla around the release of Sally Rooney’s new novel on Tuesday – with bookshops opening early, and queues of shoppers eager to lay their hands on Beautiful World, Where Are... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-09-07 18:00:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A New Agency’s Translation Rights Manager: Nicole Eisenbraun

As literary agent Ginger Clark sets up her own agency, she has brought Nicole Eisenbraun with her from Curtis Brown Ltd. The post A New Agency’s Translation Rights Manager: Nicole Eisenbraun appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-08-20 01:55:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nan Shepherd Prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing returns

The Nan Shepherd Prize is returning this month, coinciding with the publication of Small Bodies of Water by the prize's inaugural winner, Nina Mingya Powles.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-06 18:40:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lynn C. Franklin, Literary Agent and Memoirist on Adoption, Dies at 74

She represented Desmond Tutu and Deepak Chopra, but the book closest to her was the one she wrote about giving up her baby and then reuniting with him. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-02 22:55:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Outside the echo chamber

The polite, white middle-class mass that encompasses most of the publishing industry doesn’t hold prejudice against foreigners, probably voted Remain, and yet they will still shut the door in your face. If you’re not British and middle-class, the chances are that you won’t understand the subtle... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-27 06:45:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Printing in Hong Kong and China 2021: All Our Coverage

While the publishing industry had a relatively stable 2020 and a pretty sunny 2021 thus far, we are definitely not out of the woods yet, not with the mutating virus around. For Hong Kong/China print manufacturers, pandemic-induced challenges outside of their control are hampering the efforts to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A long way to go

Representation matters. Last year, using the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award submission list, I wrote about the problems facing the genre publishing industry here in the UK. Since then, using the same methodology, we’ve collated the data from 2013 through 2020 to look for progress. We could have... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-07 19:02:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’

The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


British Council at the Online Book Fair 2021

London Book Fair is online this year. On 30 June, the focus falls on making words travel, with a programme addressing writers, translators, and the ways that books can travel across borders. The British Council is partnering with English PEN and the Literary Translation Centre on three free... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2021-06-02 10:20:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Conservative Publishing Industry Has a Joe Biden Problem

Neither authors nor publishing houses have figured out how to turn the new president into a compelling villain. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2021-06-02 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


World Literature Today Announces 2021 Student Translation Prize Winners

News and Events Mariah Rust and Xin Xu recently were named the recipients of the fourth annual translation prize for students sponsored by World Literature Today at the University of Oklahoma. Consistent with World Literature Today’s commitment to... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-05-20 16:07:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling add lots to auction for global vaccine rollout

Fundraiser running until 21 May also includes chances to consult with star agent Jonny Geller and have a character named after you in a Sarah Pinborough novelA literary auction raising money to help vaccinate the world against coronavirus has made more than £23,000 so far, as book lovers bid to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-18 12:13:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How women conquered the world of fiction

From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Obituary: Joel Friedlander

Joel Friedlander, the author, blogger, book designer, publisher, and publishing industry consultant, died on May 7 of cancer. He was 73. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this