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 ]

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At Bologna Children’s Book Fair: A Program on African Innovators

The 2020 edition of Bologna Children's Book Fair will feature four of the most visible publishing leaders in today's African markets. The post At Bologna Children’s Book Fair: A Program on African Innovators appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-21 18:31:14 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of February 24, 2020

Among this week’s notable deals is the seven-figure sale of a debut novel titled The Other Black Girl. The send-up of the publishing industry, by a former Knopf assistant editor, was pitched as Get Out meets Younger. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Brown … Children’s Book Author?

For his latest project, the writer best known for “The Da Vinci Code” is turning his attention to a younger audience. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-20 14:15:06 UTC ]
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Canongate publishing 'astonishing' debut novel from Phil Klay

Canongate is publishing an "astonishing" debut novel of “extraordinary suspense” from award-winning writer and US Marine Corps veteran Phil Klay. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-19 20:45:41 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times announces its 2019 Book Prize finalists and a new award for science fiction.

It’s an exciting year for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes! This will be its 40th year of celebrating the literary community. The Times announced their 2019 Book Prize finalists today; the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 17th. Additionally, bestselling crime... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 17:41:26 UTC ]
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LeBron James, my hero, has written a children’s book.

Is there anything LeBron James can’t do? Before you attempt to form a response, let me save you some time; the answer, of course, is no. Case in point: HarperCollins yesterday announced a two-book deal with the LeBron James Foundation. James’ debut, a picture book titled I Promise,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 16:36:39 UTC ]
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Jeff Bridges, living his truth, is now a children’s book illustrator.

There comes a time in every parent’s life when they briefly think, “Wow, I bet I could easily write and publish a really great children’s book and make a lot of money.” Thankfully, most do not even try… Not so Jeff Bridges, who has illustrated his daughter’s new book, Daddy Daughter Day, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-18 15:32:11 UTC ]
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Jeremy O. Harris: Brandon Taylor ‘Subjugates Us With the Deft Hand of a Dom’

In the debut novel “Real Life,” a biochemistry Ph.D. candidate confronts the harder lessons of how to be a gay black man in a white world. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-18 10:00:07 UTC ]
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Jeremy O. Harris: Brandon Taylor ‘Subjugates Us With the Deft Hand of a Dom’

In the debut novel “Real Life,” a biochemistry Ph.D. candidate confronts the harder lessons of how to be a gay black man in a white world. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-18 10:00:07 UTC ]
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Judy Blume to Headline BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast

ReedPop announced the author lineup for BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, which will be held on Friday, May 29, at the Javits Center in New York City, and hosted and moderated by renowned children's author Judy Blume. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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SHARJAH FOCUS: London Book Fair events

 Tuesday 10 March Omar Ghobash in Conversation with Philippe Sands11.45-12.15, English PEN Literary Salon (3E90), OlympiaOmar Ghobash is a former diplomat and the author of Letters to a Young Muslim (Picador 2018), an exploration of the complexities of life as a modern Muslim, written as a... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-02-17 10:55:59 UTC ]
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Election Year Children’s Book Bonanza

November may seem far away, but political titles for young readers are already hitting shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers! Apply for an International Bookselling Fellowship

Bookselling Without Borders is a global partnership of independent publishers that supports travel to international book fairs and residencies for booksellers. It is currently accepting applications for 2020 fellowships. BWB connects booksellers to the international book community through... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-12 09:46:49 UTC ]
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In ‘Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line,’ an unforgettable voice emerges from an Indian slum

The debut novel follows a child detective bent on tracking down a missing classmate. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-06 17:56:05 UTC ]
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Review: Chasing homers, ballplayers and dreams

Emily Nemens' debut novel about a fictional baseball team takes on the social swirl of spring training. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-02 15:00:12 UTC ]
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The publishing industry is probably even less diverse than you thought.

Children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books, a minority-owned company that focuses on multicultural literature, recently released the results of a survey geared towards finding out one thing: What do the numbers say about the widely perceived lack of diversity in the publishing world? The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 21:40:46 UTC ]
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‘On Swift Horses’ is a vibrant tale of unconventionality

Shannon Pufahl’s remarkable debut novel “On Swift Horses” tells a searing story about a forgotten side of 1950s America. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-01-28 20:36:21 UTC ]
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Paulo Coelho deletes draft of children’s book he was working on with Kobe Bryant.

This is a sad and simple human gesture in the face of death. Within hours of learning Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash, novelist Paulo Coelho—most famous in the US for his 1988 novel The Alchemist—deleted the draft of a children’s book he had been working on with Bryant. As Coelho to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-28 16:12:50 UTC ]
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Graphic novel New Kid wins prestigious Newbery Medal

Jerry Craft’s story exploring ‘friendship, race, class and bullying in a fresh manner’ is the first graphic novel to win the long-running American children’s awardFor the first time, a graphic novel has won the Newbery Medal, the oldest and most prestigious children’s book award in the US. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-28 16:03:46 UTC ]
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Paulo Coelho deletes draft of children's book collaboration with Kobe Bryant

Alchemist author says basketball player’s death in helicopter crash means book has ‘lost its reason’Author Paulo Coelho has deleted the draft of a children’s book he was working on with Kobe Bryant, saying that without the basketball player’s contribution, “this book has lost its reason”.The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-28 10:57:21 UTC ]
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