Zadie Smith on Male Critics, Appropriation, and What Interests Her Novelistically About Trump

In an interview in 2000, Zadie Smith told the Guardian about the pressure she felt after the astonishing success of her debut novel, White Teeth. “I was expected to be some expert on multicultural affairs, as if multiculturalism is a genre of fiction or something,” she said. “Whereas it’s just a fact of life—like there are people of different races on the planet.” Whether it’s indeed a fact of life or, we now fear, a feature of American life that is at risk of erasure, multiculturalism in all its complexity is at the center of Smith’s books. From White Teeth to NW, which was published in 2012, Smith’s characters inhabit mixed urban communities, often in London. Her latest novel, Swing Time, is out this week; set in England and West Africa, the story concerns the friendship of two young girls who meet in a dance class (“our shade of brown was exactly the same”) and traces the paths of their lives over a quarter-century. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2016-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #american life #white teeth #swing time #west africa #young girls

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Trump Family Doubles Down, Urges Court to Block S&S from Publishing Mary Trump’s Tell-All

In an unusually massive reply brief, Trump family attorney Charles B. Harder ripped publisher Simon & Schuster for rushing ahead with the publication of Mary L. Trump’s explosive tell-all. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid Mounting Criticism, PEN America Literary Awards In Limbo

Nine of the 10 longlisted authors for this year's PEN/Jean Stein Book Award have withdrawn their books for consideration for the prize, effectively rendering it unawardable, as the controversy surrounding the freedom of expression organization continues to expand in scope. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bologna 2024: Heinz Janisch and Sydney Smith Win 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

This year’s recipients of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children’s books, are Austria’s Heinz Janisch, for writing; and Canada’s Sydney Smith, for illustration. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Riot, Grrrls: Marisa Crawford on Why Feminist Lit and 1990s Girl Culture Need More Critical Attention

Marisa Crawford is the founder of the feminist blog Weird Sister, which highlights writing at the intersections of feminism, literature, and pop culture. This spring the Feminist Press released The Weird Sister Collection, a vital anthology that collects a decade’s worth of writing published on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-08 08:54:36 UTC ]
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Vernor Vinge, Innovative Science Fiction Novelist, Dies at 79

He conceived an early version of cyberspace and predicted the “technological singularity,” a tipping point at which machines would become smarter than humans. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-03-28 22:04:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #early version #tipping point #science fiction


PEN Union Cries Foul in Contract Talks as Criticism of PEN America Intensifies

A proposal in ongoing contract negotiations between PEN America management and PEN America United, its staff union, has led to charges by the union that the organization’s leadership is trying to stifle union members’ free speech rights—an assertion PEN management firmly disputes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

Safiya Sinclair, Lorrie Moore, and Kim Hyseoon were among those to take home National Book Critics Circle Awards on March 21, at the second in-person ceremony held by the organization since the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tor Books Criticized for Use of AI-Generated Art in 'Gothikana' Cover Design

The use of AI-generated assets in the cover art for the dark academia novel 'Gothikana' by RuNyx, originally self-published and reissued by Tor Books' romance imprint Bramble, has set off a debate about the role of AI in publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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ABC warns staff of agenda-driven criticism after News Corp pounces on Aboriginal land comment | The Weekly Beast

Newsroom director decries The Australian’s ‘constant’ swipes at individual ABC employees. Plus: a mushroom misstepFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastWhen the ABC Indigenous affairs editor, Bridget... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-16 02:50:06 UTC ]
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Pulitzer-Winning Critic to Publish Book About Reality TV

An award-winning critic chronicles the rise of reality TV, a Virginia bill would ban book bans by school boards, and more news today in books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-02-07 16:10:04 UTC ]
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Two novelists have cut ties with PEN over its Mayim Bialik event and Gaza silence.

Two prominent novelists have broken with PEN America over the organization’s decision to platform controversial actor and outspoken ceasefire opponent Mayim Bialik, as well as its relative silence on the unfolding genocide in Gaza (which so far has claimed the lives of at least 120 writers,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-31 20:56:06 UTC ]
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Finalists for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards Announced

The Finalists for 2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced today. They include books published in 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-25 15:20:11 UTC ]
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2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalists Announced

Thirty finalists in six categories for this year's National Book Critics Circle Awards, which recognize books from the publishing year 2023, have been announced. 'Washington Post' critic Becca Rothfeld, author Judy Blume, and the American Library Association have also won special awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Graphic novelist Posy Simmonds wins prestigious French comics award

Award marks first time a British artist and author has won Grand Prix at International Comics festival in AngoulêmeThe graphic novelist Posy Simmonds has won the Grand Prix at France’s Angoulême International Comics festival – the first time a British artist and author has been awarded the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-24 17:52:58 UTC ]
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‘There is joy, and there is rage’: the new generation of novelists writing about motherhood

From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
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Meet the 10 best new novelists for 2024

Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
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Keanu and co: how celebrities became bestselling novelists

From Richard Osman and Millie Bobby Brown to the upcoming book by Keanu Reeves, celebrity novels are everywhere. What’s behind the boom? And how do non-famous writers feel about it?I understood that if I was going to do it, I would have to put 100% of myself into it,” says Richard Osman about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-13 09:00:12 UTC ]
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‘Impossible People’ and ‘Roaming’ Top PW’s 2023 Graphic Novel Critics Poll

New York City in the mid-aughts set the backdrop for stylistically unique graphic narratives on a common theme—women at a pivotal moment of early adulthood and the transformative nature of friendships—which tied for the top spot on our annual graphic novel critics poll this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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