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 ]
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The novels that captivated us include James McBride’s “Deacon King Kong” and Hilary Mantel’s “The Mirror and the Light.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-19 13:30:00 UTC ]
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Scottish author Douglas Stuart talks to us about his Booker Prize 2020-shortlisted début novel, Shuggie Bain. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 13:46:50 UTC ]
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The artistic director for The Working Class Writers' Festival is issuing a call-out to publishers, agents and booksellers to get involved in next year's event. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-10 22:51:27 UTC ]
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“Make Russia Great Again” and “Rodham” are two recent novels that benefit from blending fact and fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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For 18 seasons, he served as creative director and producer of the global phenomenon ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ But his debut novel isn’t the juicy tell-all you might’ve expected. Makeup artist and stylist Jay Manuel has spent more than 20 years in the fashion industry, most famously serving as... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-08-03 12:15:52 UTC ]
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The Festival for Working Class Writers is being launched in Bristol next year, hoping to shine a spotlight on authors who organiser Natasha Carthew says are underrepresented at other events. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-20 17:38:05 UTC ]
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Over the past few months, as gyms and yoga studios and fitness centers have remained closed, many of you antsy yogis and barre-enthusiasts and Zumba-addicts have gone back to that most elemental of exercises: the run. For those of us who like to read and run, well, plenty of books on the subject... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-23 08:49:25 UTC ]
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At the beginning of 2020, well before my debut novel was published, I was invited to an evening soiree in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library – a kind of preview event for authors performing at a well-known literary festival. I changed quickly in the toilet at the car salesroom I worked in and navigated... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-15 16:53:37 UTC ]
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Lawrence Wright’s new novel about a pandemic was meant to be speculative. The author says he’s both proud and embarrassed about what turned out to be foresight. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s been a day since the publication of The Mirror and the Light—the final installment of Hilary Mantel’s celebrated trilogy about Tudor England, starring the enigmatic Thomas Cromwell—so you’ve already blazed through it, right? Well, whether you have already or you’re about to, once you’ve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-11 08:55:24 UTC ]
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Clive Cussler, the author of more than 85 books, written over 4 decades, died at home on Monday, February 24, at the age of 88. Cussler was a major bestseller in his lifetime, selling over 100 million copies of his thrillers and adventure novels, and hitting The New York Times‘s bestseller list... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-26 20:05:13 UTC ]
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From about 1890 to 1940, a half century of ultra-cheap editions of Jane Austen’s novels aimed explicitly at educating the working poor. Because these ill-printed and shabby versions of her stories never made it into the scholarly libraries that safeguard “important” editions, the hardscrabble... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-04 09:49:29 UTC ]
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Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn tell the stories of those struggling to stay balanced. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-31 04:45:27 UTC ]
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The Legend Times group has launched a new publisher called Hero, specialising in "inspirational and thought-provoking" non-fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-08 20:47:54 UTC ]
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The National Centre for Writing in Norwich is relaunching its Escalator Talent Development Scheme, with a special focus this year on writers from working class backgrounds. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-15 00:58:56 UTC ]
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The Bookseller’s Working Class survey, an analysis of class in the publishing business, has been named Content Piece of the Year at the PPA's Independent Publisher Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-11 12:39:47 UTC ]
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Unbound is launching an anthology of working class writers from across Ireland, featuring original pieces by Roddy Doyle and Lisa McInerney alongside lesser known authors and edited by Paul McVeigh. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-04 02:04:57 UTC ]
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The British Book Awards and The Bookseller’s working class survey have been shortlisted for prizes at this year’s Professional Publishers Association (PPA) Independent Publisher Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-02 16:52:21 UTC ]
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Lucy Kissick’s debut novel Plutoshine has won the inaugural Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 19:06:55 UTC ]
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Author Carmen Marcus has teamed up with the North Yorkshire bookshop Book Corner to offer aspiring working-class writers a free course on developing a strategy to write professionally. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-10 19:37:39 UTC ]
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