What’s in a name? Well, the right letters would help | Noo Saro-Wiwa

I’m used to my name being mangled and botched in every conceivable way, but seeing it wrong on my latest book was too muchIt’s the moment every writer lives for: a box arrives at your door containing copies of the new edition of your book. Beaming with satisfaction, I tear off the binding tape. Years of hard work are stacked and gleaming, ready for display on the bookshelf. But it doesn’t take long for my warm glow to turn frosty. For, when I open the consignment from my US publishers and inspect a copy, I can see that my surname doesn’t look quite right: Saro-Wiwa has become “Saro-Wiva”.Anyone with a complex name will feel my pain. We have resigned ourselves to seeing loose approximations of our names on envelopes, application forms, dinner invitations and event programmes. The issue is so irritating there is even a Facebook support group called “I’m Tired of People Fucking Up My Name” (one of the more polite ways of putting it, in my opinion).So shaky is my faith in society's literacy skills that there is no situation in which I can relax Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #hard work #literacy skills

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Publisher Trade Group Letter Calls Out Apple and Google App Stores in Antitrust Bills

Last week, a trade group representing major publishers including The New York Times, National Public Radio, News Corp. and Associated Press wrote to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for two bills that would curtail the dominance of tech giants in the U.S. The Open App Markets... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2022-02-22 22:10:40 UTC ]
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More than 300 writers and publishers sign letter opposing Policing Bill

More than 300 prominent writers and publishers including Bernardine Evaristo, Alan Hollinghurst and Malorie Blackman have signed a letter to the Times opposing the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill, which is being voted on in the House of Lords over the next two weeks.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-13 12:40:06 UTC ]
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Join the #FReadom Letter Writing Campaign to Combat Censorship!

The #FReadom campaign is asking you to write your school board with provided templates to support school libraries and access to information. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-04 11:39:00 UTC ]
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Letter from New York

It’s been an eventful year in the American publishing industry, with moves and mergers aplenty—but sales figures are incredibly promising. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-19 23:47:40 UTC ]
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“You cover that acid in comfort.” Read Toni Morrison’s 1973 edit letter to Lucille Clifton.

In addition to being a prolific novelist, Toni Morrison was a prolific editor. She was committed to championing Black writers, both through her role as senior editor at Random House and her work with writing collectives like The Sisterhood (which included literary giants like June Jordan, Alice... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-10 18:40:25 UTC ]
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Ilex snaps up Bishopsgate archivists' history of queer love letters

Ilex Press has signed a deal for The Love That Dares: Letters of LGBTQ+ Love & Friendship, collected by Bishopsgate Institute archivists Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-29 21:04:12 UTC ]
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Anthony Doerr’s ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ is a convoluted love letter to books

Doerr’s first novel since winning a Pulitzer Prize for “All the Light We Cannot See” is full of people thinking big thoughts. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Book industry figures condemn abuse of Clanchy critics in open letter

An open letter, signed by more than 150 figures from the book industry, has condemned the abuse suffered by Monisha Rajesh, Professor Sunny Singh and Chimene Suleyman following their criticisms of Kate Clanchy.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-11 17:31:27 UTC ]
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Vintage signs Letters to a Writer of Colour edited by Anappara and Soomro

Vintage has acquired an essay anthology examining the craft of writing through the lens of race and culture, edited by novelists Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-07 11:56:04 UTC ]
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Cassava Republic acquires Mukoma Wa Ngugi's 'love letter to music'

Cassava Republic is to publish Unbury Our Dead, a literary novel by Mukoma Wa Ngugi, described as "a love letter to beauty, music and the imagination". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-14 07:38:11 UTC ]
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‘A Light in the Dark’ is a love letter to directors, personal flaws and all

The latest addition to film historian David Thomson’s opinionated take on the film industry is notable for what it says — and what it doesn’t. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-12 07:00:00 UTC ]
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Letter to the Editor: 'Surprised' by AAP Reaction to PW Article

In a letter to the editor, AAP's general counsel called lawyer Jonathan Band's take on Maryland's library e-book legislation as a "false statement." Band responds. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Letter to the Editor: Maryland's E-Book Bill 'Likely Unconstitutional'

The AAP general counsel calls Maryland's e-book bill an "unprecedented government intervention into the manner and terms by which authors and publishers distribute valuable works of fiction and nonfiction to the public." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A picture book can paint a thousand words | Letters

Readers respond to a Guardian editorial on the power of picture books to fire adult imaginations as much as children’sWith reference to your editorial on the picture book (The Guardian view on the picture book: not just for children, 19 March), how have we managed, given the evolving economics... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-03-26 16:31:22 UTC ]
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Truth, profits and the purpose of journalism | Letters

Integrity is in short supply in many newsrooms, argues Michael Newman, while Eddie O’Brien says journalists must do more to reflect opposing views in their reports Clive Myrie nails down much of what is eating away at the heart of modern written journalism (What is journalism for? The short... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-03-16 17:09:27 UTC ]
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Amazon: letter to the editor

Philip Jones’ editorial “Give and Take” explains Amazon’s recent success and Jeff Bezos stepping down. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-11 12:56:02 UTC ]
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Open letter calls for publishing boycott of Trump administration memoirs

More than 500 book industry professionals have added their names to a call for publishers not to sign up veterans of the departing president’s governmentFive-hundred American authors and literary professionals have signed a letter calling on US publishers not to sign book deals with members of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-19 16:25:50 UTC ]
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Read an open letter from publishing professionals condemning Trump enablers’ book deals.

As you may remember, about a week ago, Senator Josh Hawley challenged the results of the election, encouraged the storming of the Capitol, and then complained about Simon & Schuster canceling his book deal, calling the publisher’s decision “Orwellian” (how?) and “a direct assault on the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-19 16:20:57 UTC ]
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Hundreds in publishing sign letter objecting to book deals for the Trump administration

More than 250 members of the literary community signed a letter this week urging publishers not to sign book deals with anyone in the Trump administration. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-15 19:12:33 UTC ]
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Bell and NLT invite kids to join letter writing project

Usborne author PG Bell, creator of the children’s book series The Train to Impossible Places, has partnered with the National Literacy Trust and The Postal Museum on a letter writing project inviting children to share their experiences of the pandemic with future generations.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 22:56:51 UTC ]
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