We need literature that wrestles with the evils of slavery while confronting its complexity – especially when it’s written for childrenA book called George Washington’s Birthday Cake has caused controversy for depicting a smiling black cook, in this case chef Hercules and his daughter, preparing cake in the kitchen for the president, who held in bondage hundreds of enslaved workers. It is unclear what kind of moment we are witnessing on the cover. Is it familial love, servile obedience, or, perhaps, a smile to hide the pain of being enslaved? Improving our understanding of the lives of slaves is key to answering those uncomfortable questions. The rationale which the illustrator, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, gave for the “happy slaves” imagery was that these enslaved folk, identified as “servants”, were proud and felt privileged to serve a man of such a great “stature”. In her plea for a middle ground, the author, Ramin Ganeshram, argued that not every enslaved person was in the middle of hell every single second, and therefore, smiling isn’t an unreasonable thing to suggest. I know Ganeshram, as do many in the black culinary scene. I have not dialogued with her about the book, nor have I had the opportunity to read it. Both the author and illustrator, are of color. On the surface, they are right on both counts. But why are we still uncomfortable, opposed and furious – even after the book has been pulled? Related: Scholastic pulls George Washington book over slave cake... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#racist abuse
When Penguin Random House announced recently that it had acquired world rights to the next two adult coloring books from Johanna Basford, the so-called queen of coloring, it was just the latest sign that the demand for coloring books in the U.S. is continuing to surge. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#coloring books
#johanna basford
#latest sign
Six years after Book Soup founder Glenn Goldman’s death, his iconic bookstore on Los Angeles’s Sunset Strip is getting ready to celebrate its 40th birthday over the June 12–14 weekend. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sunset strip
#iconic bookstore
#40th birthday
A writer who penned her first novel in her 40s is among three female authors shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for new fiction. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
In this week's column agent Holly McGhee closes on her debut middle grade novel; British author Clare Mackintosh inks a two-book deal with Berkley; TV writer Ron McGee signs with HC Kids; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book deals
This week in children's apps, an interactive travel guide that instructs in language and cooking. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The strong US dollar, a struggling bookstore sector and a slowdown in government book acquisitions has pushed the Brazilian publishing sector into a crisis. The post What Happened to Brazil’s Booming Book Business? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Pan Macmillan’s Bluebird has acquired a “provocative, conversation-starting” book which presents a “pioneering new way to think about parenting” by child psychologist Dr Lisa Miller. Carole Tonkinson bought UK and Commonwealth rights to The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#pan macmillan
#chris scheina
#st martin
The first title selected for the group is 'I'll Give You the Sun' by Jandy Nelson. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon creates
#ll give
#jandy nelson
A title from Welsh press Honno has won the Bread & Roses award for radical publishing. Here We Stand: Women Changing the World, edited by Helena Earnshaw and Angharad Penrhyn Jones, is a collection of interviews and articles in which 17 British women campaigners talk about their activism.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#radical publishing
Connect Books is consulting with 12 people in its Bradford office as the company continues to improve the “efficiency and flexibility” of its library supply service. Bertrams, which supplies libraries on behalf of Connect Books, has headquarters in Norwich but also an office in Bradford which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#company continues
#jobs consultation
#connect books
#library service
Emma Cox, a headteacher from Devon, has won this year’s New Children’s Author Prize, organised by the National Literacy Trust and Bloomsbury. Malkin Moonlight, chosen from a shortlist of six books, is about a cat who is looking for his friend Roux. He comes across a group of cats at a recycling... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#author prize
#rebecca mcnally
#strong sense
Passengers flying on Southwest Airlines will now be able to access frontlist ebooks, as well as excerpts from frontlist titles, from major publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#southwest airlines
#frontlist titles
#major publishers
India's Ritesh Batra is to direct the film adaptation of The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes' Booker-winning novel, with British actor Jim Broadbent in the lead. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#film adaptation
#julian barnes
Sun, sand, and--sin? Shelve the beach reads for books that explore the shadows of evil-doing and guilt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#beach reads
Travel rewards programs don't exactly scream "creativity," but FCB Brazil stepped way out of the box to promote the Smiles loyalty platform. Previously affiliated solely with Gol airlines, it's now an independent business attached to a number of other global partners. The agency created Trip... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#buenos aires
#people thinking
#set foot
Paul Kingsnorth’s The Wake, published by crowd-funding platform Unbound, has been named the inaugural Book of the Year at the Bookseller Industry Awards 2015. The book is written in re-imagined old English and set in 1066, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Folio Prize,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#paul kingsnorth
#inaugural book
#folio prize
#goldsmiths prize
The Wake wins honour from the Bookseller magazine, recognising both the book and its innovative publisher UnboundPaul Kingsnorth’s crowdfunded novel The Wake, which the author wrote in an invented form of Old English and originally envisaged self-publishing, has won the inaugural book of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookseller magazine
#author wrote
#raising money
#reimagined version
First quarter sales at Hachette Book Group USA fell 12.3% compared to the first first period of 2014. A decline in ebook sales was a major reason for the drop. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sales decline
#quarter sales
#3% compared
#ebook sales
#major reason
The memoir by a Dutch plane crash survivor, initially self-published, draws multiple houses; a Swedish spy series repped by the Salomonsson Agency lures pubs from Greece and beyond; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
'Biblical Archaeology Review' has spent four decades covering a contentious field, standing for authenticity amid controversial claims. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |