What became of 2018 as the year of publishing women?

Only one publisher, And Other Stories, has answered Kamila Shamsie’s challenge to publish only female writers this year. But wider lessons are being learned, as the novelist and other industry insiders explain2018 was meant to be the “year of publishing women”, after the novelist Kamila Shamsie challenged the books industry to publish no new titles by men for a year, in order to “redress the inequality” of the literary world. In the end, the tiny independent And Other Stories was the only publisher to rise to her challenge.Her provocation, published in the Guardian back in 2015, saw the novelist lay out in detail the disproportionate space given to male authors and reviewers in the press, the male skew to writers submitted for the Booker prize and the greater number of male protagonists in award-winning novels. “Like any effective system of power – and patriarchy is, over time and space, the world’s most effective system of power – the means of keeping the power structure intact is complex,” she wrote, then suggesting “a year of publishing women: 2018, the centenary of women over the age of 30 getting the vote in the UK, seems appropriate.” Related: Kamila Shamsie: let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation I believe we need quite radical means to change this way of thinking. It’s too easy to come up with a sticking plaster Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Indies dominate Booker Prize shortlist as Mantel misses out

Diane Cook, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Avni Doshi, Maaza Mengiste, Douglas Stuart and Brandon Taylor have been shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize, in a selection packed with independent presses but featuring the notable absence of two-time winner Hilary Mantel. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 08:26:08 UTC ]
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Booker Prize Shortlist Highlights Debuts, Women, Indies

Six titles made the shortlist for this year's Booker Prize for Fiction, of which four are debuts. The list is also notably diverse, with four female finalists and four titles coming from independent publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In Sophie Mackintosh’s dystopian ‘Blue Ticket,’ a woman’s fate is determined by lottery

Mackintosh’s “The Water Cure,” longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018, also dealt with women living restricted lives. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-30 08:26:14 UTC ]
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‘Black and Asian people not seen as readers’: Bernardine Evaristo condemns books industry

In foreword to report into diversity in publishing, Booker prize-winning author rails against ‘ridiculous’ beliefsBernardine Evaristo, the first black woman to win the Booker prize, has hit out at “ridiculous” and “misguided” beliefs in the publishing industry, where “black and Asian people are... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-23 11:06:09 UTC ]
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At Informa, Virtual Events Are a Testing Ground for Exhibitions’ Hybrid Future

The COVID-19 pandemic was a sudden jolt to organizers of face-to-face events, and perhaps none more so than Informa plc, the world's largest exhibitions firm, which has been forced to cancel or postpone more than 450 live events originally scheduled for the spring and summer. But even as... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-14 17:31:50 UTC ]
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Are women's book festivals part of the problem?

The moment they hit the press, the reviews for The Mirror And The Light were glowing. A “shoo-in for the Booker Prize” said the Guardian. “A masterpiece of historical fiction” according to the Independent. “Does it merit another Booker?” asks the Evening Standard, before concluding “yes it... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-27 10:51:38 UTC ]
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‘The Mirror and the Light’ is a masterful finale to Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy

Mantel’s first two installments, “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” both won the Booker Prize. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-10 15:47:07 UTC ]
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'Booker Prize is for readers first and publishers last', says Wood

Gaby Wood, literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, has said prizes like the Booker are for readers first and foremost, and that they should be treated as an investigation rather than an act of judgement shaping the canon. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-25 12:59:25 UTC ]
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Bernardine Evaristo on the Illusion of Writer’s Block

Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, which recently won the Booker Prize, is out now from Grove Atlantic. We asked her about writers’ block, her favorite books, and more. * Who do you most wish would read your book? Oprah. I don’t know if her book club has ever featured a novel or book... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-05 09:49:45 UTC ]
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In ‘The Man Who Saw Everything,’ Deborah Levy questions our notions of reality

The novel, longlisted for the Booker Prize, is a brilliantly constructed jigsaw puzzle of meaning. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-15 20:26:04 UTC ]
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In ‘Frankissstein,’ Jeanette Winterson brings something zany and intellectual ALIVE!

Longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, this brainy, batty story is an unholy amalgamation of scholarship and comedy. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-15 12:56:00 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo jointly win Booker Prize

Canadian writer Margaret Atwood and British author Bernardine Evaristo split the Booker Prize on Monday, after the judging panel ripped up the rule book and refused to name one winner for the prestigious fiction trophy. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2019-10-14 20:58:08 UTC ]
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Benefits of The Booker Prize and Other Literary Awards for Writers (Besides the Money)

It's the height of literary award season and WD senior editor Amy Jones considers what prizes like The Booker Prize have to offer readers and writers. The post Benefits of The Booker Prize and Other Literary Awards for Writers (Besides the Money) by Amy Jones appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-10-14 19:33:33 UTC ]
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Booker Prize split between Atwood and Evaristo as judges rebel against rules

The Booker Prize has been jointly won by Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Chatto & Windus) and Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other (Hamish Hamilton). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-14 08:52:37 UTC ]
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Kamila Shamsie was stripped of a literary award for her support of Palestine.

Kamila Shamsie, award-winning British Pakistani author, was due to receive this year’s Nelly Sachs Prize—a biennial, €15,000 award given by the German city of Dortmund that recognizes “outstanding literary contributions to the promotion of understanding between peoples”—until yesterday, when the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-19 17:32:17 UTC ]
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Booker Prize stresses 2019 winner remains undecided after bookshop error

The Booker Prize has reassured readers the £50,000 literary award has “not yet been decided” – after a bookshop mistakenly branded copies of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments with a “winner” sticker.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-17 10:52:14 UTC ]
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Reading ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ is mentally taxing — and physically exhausting

Lucy Ellmann’s novel is a 1,000-page single sentence, and it was just shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-11 12:30:00 UTC ]
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'Wide-ranging and diverse' Booker Prize shortlist welcomed by trade, despite surprise omissions

The Booker Prize’s "wide-ranging and diverse" shortlist has been met with a broadly positive response from the trade, though there is surprise from some that authors like Max Porter missed out on the final six. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-04 10:36:45 UTC ]
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Booker tightlipped amid speculation Lee Child will judge 2020 prize

The Booker Prize has remained tightlipped over speculation that Lee Child will join the judging panel for the 2020 prize.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-12 09:45:34 UTC ]
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Embargoed Atwood Novel Makes Booker Longlist

Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments' is among 13 titles longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, despite being embargoed until September 10. It may even make the shortlist, announced on September 3, before it is even published. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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