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 ]
I have always held a keen interest toward the processes of myth formation and how beliefs about family identity are handed down through generations. My debut novel Defenestrate tells the story of a family in the midst of reckoning with superstition and inheritance, the long-held beliefs that can... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-01-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Europa Editions UK has acquired Esther Yi's "incredible" debut novel Y/N in a two book pre-empt. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 12:54:14 UTC ]
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Andrew Lipstein’s entertaining debut novel mines comedy from an aspiring author’s ethically questionable path to publication. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-01-19 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic Books has acquired Camilla Grudova's Children of Paradise, a "stunning" debut novel exploring the lives of cinema workers and sex. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 06:20:25 UTC ]
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At Electric Literature, Diane Cooke speaks to Jessamine Chan about The School for Good Mothers, Chan’s incisive debut novel that revolves around how a young mother’s error lands her in a government reform program and at risk of losing custody of her child. They discuss one of Chan’s main... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-01-18 21:30:56 UTC ]
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Allison & Busby has netted an "explosive" debut novel by former police officer Graham Bartlett. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-16 13:20:55 UTC ]
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Macmillan has released a golden edition of the children’s classic as the beloved children’s book turns 40 this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-15 17:45:43 UTC ]
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Today’s edition of kids' book deals is sponsored by AfterShock Comics`AfterShock... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-01-12 13:56:03 UTC ]
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Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” takes up themes of autonomy and technology in imagining an experimental facility where parents go through mandatory retraining. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-01-11 17:33:33 UTC ]
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Fig Tree has scooped the "powerful and beautifully humane" debut novel by Mo Siewcharran Prize-winner Santanu Bhattacharya. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-05 14:00:25 UTC ]
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Sequioa Nagamatsu discusses his much-awaited debut novel about people living in a future beset by the Arctic Plague. The post Sequoia Nagamatsu’s Dystopian Debut Is a Must-Read for the New Year appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-01-04 21:00:24 UTC ]
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In “Brown Girls,” Daphne Palasi Andreades breaks a big world into small, meaningful pieces. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-01-04 10:00:03 UTC ]
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For decades, I sat in meetings with all-white teams. The industry needs an independent body to advise on equalityI’m a literary agent and at the height of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests I was sent a list, with accompanying photographs, of the top editors working across the major... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-01 10:00:46 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton will headline the audiobook cast of her debut novel Run Rose Run (Century) along with singer and songwriter Kelsea Ballerini in the role of protégée to Parton’s character. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-21 02:34:41 UTC ]
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Juhea Kim's "Beasts of a Little Land" captures the dualities of Korean history but ties up symbols too tightly in the service of grand ambitions. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-12-14 15:00:20 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year—and what they portend for 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Here's what it's really like to judge a children's book award, including the surprising best part of the process (it's not the free books!) Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-12-08 11:33:00 UTC ]
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Mr. Men Little Miss, the children’s book series created by Roger Hargreaves, turns 50 this year. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-12-08 10:00:15 UTC ]
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The crisp weather makes it the perfect time to snuggle up with a little one and read these 11 December children's book releases. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-12-06 11:39:00 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Sarah Thankam Mathews’ debut novel All This Could Be Different, which will be published by Viking—who acquired it in an 8-way auction—in summer 2022. The publisher describes the book as “an electrifying novel of a young immigrant building a life... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-03 15:00:16 UTC ]
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