Almost a third of school-age children are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. But they will still struggle to find characters who resemble themselvesBooks can show us the world both as it is, and as it could be – “mirrors and windows”, as the author Malorie Blackman notes. For children, they are currently falling short on both counts. In the pages of a picture or chapter book, readers have their experience affirmed or glimpse exciting new possibilities: mastering a fear of the dark, or travelling through space. Yet a young black or Asian child picking up a book today is more likely to encounter a rabbit than a protagonist who looks like them, says the expert who has led a new review of representation, Reflecting Realities. This is astonishing in an age when 32% of school-age children are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds; and is bad news not only for them but for all young readers. Publishers are offering a dated, narrow and skewed picture of the complex, diverse, interconnected world around them.Don’t blame Beatrix Potter. This is not a historic, cumulative problem; the new research covers only books published in 2017. The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education asked publishers to submit titles with BAME characters and received fewer than 400, set against the roughly 9,000 books published for children aged three to 11. Quality and sheer variety are as important as quantity. Only 1% of titles featured a BAME lead character; in a quarter of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling authors Cormac McCarthy, Walter Isaacson, the late Nora Ephron, and Jennifer Egan are among the many authors represented by ICM Partners, whose book sales are boosted by the adaptation of their work to film and television, all under the watchful eyes of agents Ron Bernstein, Josie... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new children’s bookshop has opened in Essex, seeing “promising” sales in its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the market for a new e-reader? One could certainly do worse than Sony's Reader line. The company's been packing features onto its devices, and the already leaked latest entry is no different, with upgrades over its predecessor, packed into a newly redesigned body with bigger, better looking... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld has acquired a book which promises to lift the lid on doping in the world of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales in the UK slumped 7% (£1.8m) to £24.5m week on week in the second... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Got an email from a “fan” outraged that a novel I’ve been working on for two years, six days a week is $13 in ebook. Enjoy your $4 coffee. – Author Brent Weeks, via Twitter Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Edinburgh International Book festival is beginning its 16-day residence in the city's Charlotte Square Gardens. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thriller writer James Patterson has been crowed as the world’s top-earning author in 2011-... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers say sport could play a major part in the Christmas market, as publishers hasten to sign... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' has passed the 'Harry Potter' books and 'The Da Vinci Code' to become the country's bestselling book. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxford University Press children’s books is entering the digital picture book market as the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers say sport could play a major part in the Christmas market, as publishers hasten to sign... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins UK has described its annual performance as "strong", despite the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild is seeking more than $2 billion in damages from Google Books – which may make this one of the most expensive copyright damages cases in litigation history. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.co.uk customers are buying more Kindle books than print books, both hardback and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online retailer Amazon announces it sells more ebooks than hardbacks and paperbacks combined. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The organizer of the Kidwell-eFestival has vowed that the event will take place again, despite... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a round of key filings, two Authors Guild cases challenging Google’s ambitious library book-scanning program are on schedule for early fall trial dates. Final reply briefs were filed July 27 for the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, with that case now fully briefed and all but set for a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through the Harry Potter book club, J.K. Rowling will answer readers' questions via a classroom webcast. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate has stopped the distribution and sale of Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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