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 ]
Indonesia is the country of focus at the London Book Fair this year and recently at Frankfurt - to what extent do you think Indonesian literature is finally having it's moment in the spotlight? I cannot say for certain what these one-off ‘spotlights’ on Indonesian literature would mean for... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-02-08 10:06:53 UTC ]
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For International Women’s Day, Waterstones has given over its website front page to female authors. This is welcome, but it’s far from enoughWomen are used to living off scraps that fall from the table. Whether we’re being patronised by politicians touting for our votes, or being told by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author of the popular young adult series has issued an apology for being ‘part of the problem’ in the wake of anonymous claims posted onlineJames Dashner, author of the bestselling young adult Maze Runner books, has issued an apology in which he says that he “will seek counselling and guidance”... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Other writers have reacted with scepticism to the Alex Rider author’s claim that he was discouraged from ‘artificial and possibly patronising’ writingA furore has broken out in the children’s books world around claims by Alex Rider creator Anthony Horowitz that he was “warned off” creating a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The books community that my site joined was driven by enthusiasm not clicks, goodwill and not money – and that culture has goneI miss the internet. I know that, technically, the internet still exists. It’s the Facebook-, Twitter-filtered series of algorithms designed to put cat videos, think... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winner of the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award, a £10,000 prize for an unpublished writer, is Sharlene Wen-Ning Teo for Ponti, a work of fiction about "a misfit adolescent girl growing up in sultry, sweaty Singapore". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oldcastle Books is launching a new short story competition for its crime fiction imprint No Exit Press as part of Oldcastle’s 30th anniversary celebrations. The competition will launch on 25th May to mark the publication of Leigh Russell’s latest novel, Killer Plan. It will be open to any... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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