Where are fiction’s real working-class heroes? | Letter

Working-class lives are unlikely to be properly represented in fiction if the publishing industry is run by middle-class graduates, says Nick MossKeiran Goddard is right to say that too many novels that claim to portray working-class life just give us “recent arts graduate feels emotionally, financially and erotically unsatisfied” (Close to Home by Michael Magee review – Belfast struggles, 21 April). He then raves about Michael Magee’s novel about a “sullen man in his 20s who has returned to Belfast after university”. The gatekeepers of the publishing industry are, all too often, recent university graduates, white and middle class, who work as literary agents and assistants. Their peers fill the broadsheet culture sections.Little wonder then that they can only recognise working-class stories when mediated through their own experience as graduates. The idea that there are other stories to be told and other working-class voices appears to bypass even your reviewer. I guess, given that most working-class kids are now being priced out of university, even the “recent arts graduate returns home” trope will soon focus solely on the lives of twentysomethings in the home counties. Nick Moss London Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-30 16:40:05 UTC ]
News tagged with: #middle class #literary agents #publishing industry

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Where are fiction’s real working-class heroes? | Letter'


Where are fiction’s real working-class heroes? | Letter

Working-class lives are unlikely to be properly represented in fiction if the publishing industry is run by middle-class graduates, says Nick MossKeiran Goddard is right to say that too many novels that claim to portray working-class life just give us “recent arts graduate feels emotionally,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-30 16:40:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #middle class #literary agents #publishing industry


Working-class fiction has been written out of publishing

Everyone is the poorer for publishers' widespread assumption that nobody wants to read about this part of societyI have spent the last 25 years selling and then publishing books, so I read with interest Melvyn Bragg's recent comments on working-class characters in fiction being stereotyped and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing books #recent comments #working class


10 New Works of Queer Fiction

Akwaeke Emezi, Rivers Solomon, and others offer realistic, fantastical, and experimental looks at LGBTQ life. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #akwaeke emezi


Mat Osman: ‘I wanted to write about a dirty, dangerous, working-class London’

The Suede bassist and author on writing without a safety net, terrifying himself for his next novel and which of the Thursday Murder Club books – by his brother Richard – he likes bestMat Osman is, along with Brett Anderson, a founding and current member of the band Suede, and the author of two... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-03-23 18:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #safety net #widely praised #older brother #tv presenter #first novel


20 Must-Read Works of Historical Fiction Set in Mexico

Want to read more historical fiction set in Mexico? We've got you covered with these 20 absolute must-read books! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-07-11 10:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction


The Best Science Fiction is Real: Realistic Sci-Fi to TBR

Red your way into the best realistic science fiction, ranging from well-known classics to lesser known gems. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction


The Eerie Experience of Watching My Science Fiction Story Become Real

On May 13, I finally got to read my wayward science fiction story “It Is the Voice That Unnerves Me” in The Dread Machine. I had been submitting the story since the spring of 2019, and had thought many times about consigning it to the “retired” list. I knew every word, sentence and section break... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-10-20 11:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #electric literature #science fiction


10 Essential Works of Fabulist Fiction

Kathryn Harlan, author of the new story collection 'Fruiting Bodies,' picks 10 books that represent fabulism at its best. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #story collection


6 works of historical fiction highlight resilience amid war

New and upcoming books by Rhys Bowen, Kate Forsyth and others imagine the heroic efforts of everyday people during World War II Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-20 14:33:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #upcoming books #historical fiction


Unseen works by ‘queen of gothic fiction’ Shirley Jackson published

Two previously unseen short stories by Jackson, rated by Stephen King as one of the great horror fiction writers, are to appear in US magazine the StrandTwo previously unpublished short stories by Shirley Jackson, the queen of gothic fiction, have been released.Charlie Roberts and Only Stand and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 14:05:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shirley jackson #strand magazine #stephen king #short stories


A first edition of Harry Potter is now the most expensive modern work of fiction ever sold.

Apparently, J.K. Rowling’s bruised reputation has not lowered the value of her books. Yesterday, a rare first edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold at auction for $471,000, which Heritage Auctions says is “the highest price ever paid for the boy wizard’s debut... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-10 18:27:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sharry potter #boy wizard #harry potter


Festival for Working Class Writers calls for book club titles

The Festival for Working-Class Writers' team are on the lookout for books to promote as part of their new book club, which launches in 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 23:43:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #working-class writers #book club


I write ‘women’s commercial fiction’ –why is my work still seen as inferior to men’s? | Emma Hughes

A recent roundup of the ‘best books of 2021’ had every possible genre of novel – with the unsurprising exception of romanceIn the four months since my first novel came out, I’ve had the same conversation probably a dozen times.“What’s it about?” a well-meaning stranger will ask. “Well,” I’ll... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-05 15:25:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #commercial fiction #dozen times #high heels #first novel


Bookshop Heroes class of 2021 revealed

Twenty-three people have been included in The Bookseller's Bookshop Heroes class of 2021, a list of some of the best individual booksellers in the UK and Ireland.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 04:23:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #individual booksellers #bookshop


Working Class Writers' Festival seeks publisher sponsorship for 2022

The Working Class Writers' Festival is urging publishers to demonstrate their commitment to diversity by investing in sponsorship for next year's event.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-10 12:00:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #urging publishers


Foundation: an introduction to five major themes in the work of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov

One of the greatest science fiction writers, Asimov’s work has had a lasting effect thanks to his prescient takes on technology, climate collapse and humanity’s future. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-09-24 15:01:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major themes #lasting effect #science fiction


Arts centre offers residency as part of Working Class Writers Festival

Bristol arts hub and charity Knowle West Media Centre is seeking a writer who identifies as working-class to participate in a mini residency as part of the centre's Working Class Writers Festival. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-01 12:58:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The first bestselling paperback original in the US was a work of lesbian pulp fiction.

Today, dear readers, is Paperback Book Day! It’s the anniversary of the day that the first Penguin paperback was published in England. Good! Personally, I’ll take paperbacks over hardcovers any old day. Don’t @ me! They’re more affordable. They’re lighter. And they don’t wear book jackets that,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-30 16:26:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dear readers


Mendez to judge W&A Working-Class Writers Prize

Author Paul Mendez is to judge this year's Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize, which returns this summer. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-08 05:21:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Maggie Shipstead’s ‘Great Circle’ is a soaring work of historical fiction and a perfect summer novel

The arresting tale of a “lady pilot” in the mid-20th century is interwoven with the story of a modern-day Hollywood actress. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-03 09:40:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #maggie shipstead #great circle #mid-20th century #historical fiction