Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Abir Mukherjee, Courttia Newland, Guy Gunaratne, Paul Mendez and Okechukwu Nzelu on why British writers of colour are left out of the conversationAfter this week’s Booker prize longlist was announced, the Times asked “Where are the new male hotshot novelists?” I was expecting to see the article discussing the brilliant fiction by men, in particular men of colour, being written at the moment, but they were only mentioned in passing. It seemed the hotshot British male novelists the Times was looking for were really British, male and white.It’s exhausting that one of the reasons offered for the dearth of these voices is the industry’s efforts to “introduce more racial diversity to their lists”, posing diversity and inclusion once again as pitting people against each other. Ask any Black or Brown writer if they’re the reason white men are being shut out of the books world and they’ll probably shout, because the alternative is crying. In 2016, only one debut novel from a Black British male author was published in the UK. As the Black Writers’ Guild says, despite efforts across the industry, change isn’t happening fast enough.Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez is published by Dialogue BooksIn Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne is published by Tinder PressA River Called Time by Courttia Newland will be published by Canongate in January 2021The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu is published by Dialogue BooksThe 392 by Ashley Hickson-Lovence... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-31 14:10:18 UTC ]
“What’s Left of Me Is Yours,” a debut novel by Stephanie Scott, is inspired by the events surrounding an unlikely murder that occurred in Japan. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-23 09:00:07 UTC ]
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Responding to the newly formed Black Writers’ Guild, all five of the biggest publishers say they will make more room for black authors and staffThe “big five” UK publishing houses have separately acknowledged that “change is not happening fast enough” and that they must do a lot more to address... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-17 12:45:22 UTC ]
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Hachette imprint Two Roads has pre-empted a debut novel from Mary Karras, in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 01:23:48 UTC ]
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As Sanaë Lemoine’s debut novel progresses, its narrator falls increasingly in thrall to the only people who seem interested in her inner life. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-09 19:07:44 UTC ]
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Natalie Jenner’s debut novel is no Jane Austen work, but it does offer plenty of delights. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-09 16:11:41 UTC ]
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Two sequels which show how the Victorian novelist's stories can be adapted to reflect post-colonial narratives. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-06-08 16:19:12 UTC ]
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The sadness, exhaustion, anger and frustration that have been expressed by Black people across social media this week have, of course, been felt for centuries.But, by living so much through our screens right now, observing video footage, scrolling through reposted statements and infographics,... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-06-05 16:46:27 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Taylor Hickney In this profile, one of Marie-Helene Bertino’s students at the New School provides a personal glimpse of the author, whose new novel, Parakeet, was published June 2. On the evening of the National Book Awards,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-04 19:40:55 UTC ]
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Black Bear Pictures has optioned Naoise Dolan's debut novel Exciting Times for television. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-28 21:51:46 UTC ]
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It’s the kind of timing a publisher dreams of. Less than one week out from its U.S. release, latest Irish literary phenom Naoise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times (Ecco, June 2) has been optioned for TV. Yes, following a hugely successful release in the UK and Ireland back in April, when it... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-28 18:10:32 UTC ]
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Although it was the nineteenth century when the novel arguably came into its own, with novelists like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters writing novels that are still widely read and studied today, the eighteenth century was the age in which the novel emerged as a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-23 14:00:38 UTC ]
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‘The Henna Artist’ Alka Joshi’s debut novel the Reese’s Book Club pick for May, debuts at #16 in hardcover fiction. Plus pair of backlist titles offering advice on coping with adversity have seen renewed interest since Covid-19 took hold in the U.S., and Scott Turow returns for ‘The Last Trial.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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It always takes a little time for novelists to shape a real-life nightmare into a story. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-21 06:58:16 UTC ]
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A debut novel reminds us that the earth itself is alive, and that even in our isolation we are members of a changing world. Continue reading at Guernica
[ Guernica | 2020-05-19 12:00:21 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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Debut and veteran novelists dive into the world of digital events amid the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Francophone African books are still very often published by French imprints, which can make them hard to get at home. But there is a growing push for changeWhen Cameroonian author Daniel Alain Nsegbe first saw his debut novel for sale in his home city of Douala, the price was so high “you would... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-14 09:59:14 UTC ]
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It’s fitting—maybe even a little on-the-nose—that the last book I finished on my commute to work was Hilary Leichter’s Temporary. Now that my twice-daily train ride has been indefinitely suspended alongside the commutes of millions of others, it’s tempting to claim Leichter’s debut novel is even... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-05-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelists Hilary Mantel, Maggie O'Farrell and Margaret Atwood are among the list of big-name writers and thinkers taking part in the first fully digital Hay Festival. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-06 10:09:46 UTC ]
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On this episode of Sheltering, Maris Kreizman talks with Kate Milliken, author of the debut novel Kept Animals, which centers on three teenage girls, a horse ranch, and the accident that changes everything. Milliken discusses the research that went into her knowledge of the Topanga Canyon biome,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-04 19:00:29 UTC ]
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