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 people didn’t want to read about an autistic heroine. “In job interviews, I was saying that I wanted to see more books with disabled characters in them that were not traumatic, boring or educational, but fun and full of life. A lot of the reactions were, ‘Waterstones don’t like books like that’,” she says.Now McNicoll’s debut novel A Kind of Spark has won the Waterstones children’s book prize. Published by tiny independent Knights Of, it follows Addie, an 11-year-old autistic girl, as she campaigns for a memorial to the witch trials that took place in her Scottish village. The novel has been praised by Waterstones’ booksellers as “eye opening, heart-wrenching, sad [and] inspiring”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’"


Laura Warrell on Publishing While Black

The young Black woman giggles behind her hands as she sits in the furthest corner of the lecture hall at the DC public library where I’m launching Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, my debut novel about a cast of women, of all ages and backgrounds, who become entangled with a freedom-loving jazz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-06 09:55:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Children’s book ‘Freewater’ wins Newbery, Coretta Scott King awards

The American Library Association has announced the top children’s and young adult books for 2023. This year’s John Newbery Medal for best children’s book went to Amina Luqman-Dawson’s novel “Freewater” about a community of people who escaped slavery. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-01-31 16:14:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bologna Children’s Book Fair: 2023 Ragazzi Awards Winners

The 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Awards, which honors illustrated children's books, attracted 2,349 entries from 644 publishers in 59 countries. The post Bologna Children’s Book Fair: 2023 Ragazzi Awards Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-01-30 15:51:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Publishing World According to Stephen Rubin

The well-connected publishing executive provides a top-down look at the industry—and more than a few harsh appraisals of notable peers—in a new memoir. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When everything breaks down, what does it take to survive?

On an isolated island in Maine, a woman is pushed to the brink to save her family, in Meghan Gilliss’ debut novel “Lungfish.” Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-01-19 22:19:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Emma Straub got uninvited from reading to kids in Texas because of her “foul language” online.

Emma Straub—novelist, bookstore-owner, children’s book author, and all-round nice person—was uninvited from reading at Texas elementary schools because of her use of “foul language” on social media. In an email to parents, administrators from the Katy Independent School District (in the Houston... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-19 15:33:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The last satirical novel from a tech-world alum? It's got a bug

Josh Riedel's debut novel 'Please Report Your Bug Here' tries to be both a sendup of circa-2010 Silicon Valley and a futuristic sci-fi cautionary tale. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-18 14:30:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘Roald Dahl, Teller of the Unexpected’ by Matthew Dennison

“Teller of the Unexpected,” an elegant new biography, sidesteps the ugly side of the children’s book author while capturing his grandiose, tragedy-specked life. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-01-17 20:39:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Charles Tripp Chairs the British Academy’s £25,000 Book Prize Jury

The British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding will name its winner in October. Publishers are submitting now. The post Charles Tripp Chairs the British Academy’s £25,000 Book Prize Jury appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-01-17 04:15:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Manhattan on the rocks: A novel's dual homage to '90s New York and a legendary author

In his debut novel 'Vintage Contemporaries,' Dan Kois tracks two friends with big dreams in '90s New York and pays homage to late author Laurie Colwin. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-13 14:00:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of Maya Angelou’s ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’

‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ is a well-known poem by Maya Angelou (1928-2014). It is the title poem from Angelou’s 1993 collection Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, which was marketed as a children’s book although Angelou did not originally conceive the poems as being specifically for children. A brave,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-01-07 15:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of January 2, 2023

Restless Books buys Immigrant Fiction Prize winner Praveen Herat’s debut, Penguin Press nabs a debut novel about generational trauma, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Obituary: Phyllis Fogelman

Children’s book publisher Phyllis Fogelman, a champion of books by Black authors and illustrators and mentor to many in the children’s book industry, died on December 18 at age 89. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘I’m parking my guilt’: confessions of a celebrity children’s book ghost writer

As an author whose own books never find their way to supermarket shelves, it’s frustrating work – but it puts food on my family’s tableOnce a rare species, celebrity authored children’s books have become stalwarts of supermarket books aisles. Perfect for a grandparent hunting a last-minute... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-16 10:41:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Douglas Stuart’s ‘Young Mungo’ Is on Scotland’s Highland Book Prize Longlist

The Booker Prize winner for 'Shuggie Bain,' Douglas Stuart, is on the new Highland Book Prize longlist of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The post Douglas Stuart’s ‘Young Mungo’ Is on Scotland’s Highland Book Prize Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-12-14 21:04:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Religion Book Deals: Dec. 14, 2022

IVP will publish an illustrated collection of ‘Prayers for Life;’ Revell signs ‘Back Porch Theology’ podcaster Lisa Harper; WaterBrook lands a debut children’s book author; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Internet man uses AI to create a children’s book in praise of AI and it is fatuous and ugly.

What the hell are we doing? All the best things are shutting down and people are out here using computers to make children’s books? Not to get too Jeff Goldblum on you, but just because you build a tool to do something doesn’t make it interesting or worthy. To wit, a product designer named... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-13 15:19:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Top 10 Library Stories of 2022

PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2023 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Exclusive Cover Reveal: Here’s the cover for Elysha Chang’s A Quitter’s Paradise

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Elysha Chang’s A Quitter’s Paradise, the first book on Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint at Zando, forthcoming in June 2023. This debut novel examines the grief of a young woman desperate to detach from the reality of her mother’s death and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-08 14:30:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


England: ‘A (Very) Short History’ Wins the £25,000 Royal Society Science Book Prize

The paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Henry Gee wins the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize sponsored by Insight Investment. The post England: ‘A (Very) Short History’ Wins the £25,000 Royal Society Science Book Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-11-29 20:32:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this