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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This Week's Bestsellers: September 16, 2019

‘Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum’ is the #9 book in country, and one of three new titles at the top of our picture book list. Plus ‘This Tender Land’ sells well in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, and debut novel ‘The Secrets We Kept’ gets the nod from Reese’s Book Club. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador snaps up Scottish author Armstrong's 'blistering' debut

Picador has snapped up a "blistering" debut novel about youth culture, violence and gang life in Scotland by Graeme Armstrong. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-11 13:33:42 UTC ]
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How to Find a Literary Agent: Finding Agents Appropriate for Your Writing

Literary agents are the gate keepers of the publishing world, but not all agents represent all genres of writing. This post shares how to find a literary agent appropriate for your writing project, including links to agents representing various genres. The post How to Find a Literary Agent:... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-09-04 18:25:07 UTC ]
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The 50 Best One-Star Amazon Reviews of Goodnight Moon

Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s book Goodnight Moon was published on this day in 1947. It’s widely beloved, well-reviewed, and much parodied, and also hated intensely by a serious few. You know where this is going—I compile at least one of these one-star reviews pieces a month, but I... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-03 08:50:11 UTC ]
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S&S UK lands fashion insider's debut novel

Simon & Schuster UK will publish the debut novel of former fashion insider Sara-Ella Ozbek, pitched as “a filthier, more candid The Devil Wears Prada” and aimed at fans of “Fleabag”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-02 21:57:13 UTC ]
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A Debut Novel Reimagines the C.I.A.’s Efforts to Promote ‘Doctor Zhivago’

In Lara Prescott’s “The Secrets We Kept,” young women participate in a covert plan to influence the Cold War using Boris Pasternak’s censored love story. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-09-02 18:51:54 UTC ]
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Rewriting the ‘Boy Genius’

Caitlin Horrocks’s debut novel builds on a rich tradition of women writers who complicate the myth of male virtuosity until it crumbles. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-09-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Averiss and Beardshaw win Book of the Year at Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards

Corrinne Averiss and Rosalind Beardshaw have triumphed at this year’s Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards to win the Book of the Year Award for My Pet Star (Hachette Children’s Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-28 19:52:05 UTC ]
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2019 Australian Children’s Book of the Year Awards Winners

The Children's Book Council of Australia chose the winners of the 2019 Book of the Year Awards. Get the list of winners and honorable mentions here. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-08-28 10:39:17 UTC ]
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‘The Ventriloquists’: Featured Fiction from E.R. Ramzipoor

An excerpt from a debut novel that Booklist calls a "compelling historical thriller." The post ‘The Ventriloquists’: Featured Fiction from E.R. Ramzipoor appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-27 19:00:55 UTC ]
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BolognaFiere Leads a First Children’s Book Tour to Moscow Book Fair

On the way to producing a new joint international children's book fair in Russia for 2021, BolognaFiere and Moscow's fair are collaborating on a tour. The post BolognaFiere Leads a First Children’s Book Tour to Moscow Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-27 05:30:16 UTC ]
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Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019 shortlist revealed

The Royal Society Science Book Prize shortlist for 2019 has been revealed with nominations for indies Icon, Bloomsbury and Atlantic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 01:50:28 UTC ]
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Jenny Slate's New Book Is a Box of Treats

The actor, stand-up comic, and children’s book author invites readers into her head with a collection of “little weirds.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Wicked Fox” is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

Kat Cho’s debut novel “Wicked Fox” is a little complicated, but the poignantly rendered family relationships and fantasy drama are worth the ride. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:56 UTC ]
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‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

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‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

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‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

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A Nigerian American in Utah Strives to Be ‘A Particular Kind of Black Man’

Tope Folarin’s debut novel is all at once a search for identity, an immigrant story, and a bildungsroman. A Particular Kind of Black Man follows Tunde Akintola, a Nigerian American in a small town in Utah. Torn between the culture of his Nigerian parents, and the white Mormon culture of Utah,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-21 11:00:12 UTC ]
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Templar Illustration Prize 2019 shortlist revealed

Three Cambridge School of Art Children’s Book Illustration graduates Maria Coco, Paula White and Sally Walker are shortlisted for the second Templar Illustration Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-21 06:53:23 UTC ]
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