The author of a debut novel about diversity in the workplace on how black people act around white people, embracing her hair, and what’s changed a year after George Floyd’s murderZakiya Dalila Harris was born and raised in Connecticut and is currently based in Brooklyn. Now a full-time writer, she previously worked in book publishing, an experience she draws on in her highly anticipated debut novel, The Other Black Girl, which combines thriller with social satire to tell the story of Nella, the only black employee at a fictional publishing house, until Hazel joins the company. The book charts how the two become frenemies, explores the challenges of surviving in a systemically racist workplace, and was the subject of a 15-way auction prior to publication in the US.What were your own experiences in publishing and how have they played into the book?I worked in publishing for two and a half years. I was an editorial assistant then promoted to assistant editor. I felt fortunate, as a part of me enjoyed editing and I felt I was good at it, but it’s also an exhausting job for an entry-level person in terms of the pay. I was also one of the very few black people in the company – it wasn’t as bad as Nella in the book, but I was the only black woman in editorial in a full-time position for a while. I thought: why does it feel like we’re living in 1955 still, in terms of what we value? Publishing is such a rich, easily spoofable world.Code-switching is the act of switching up how... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-06-05 17:00:15 UTC ]
Ash Davidson’s debut novel delves into the complex relationship among people who love the trees that are also their livelihood. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-02 16:47:33 UTC ]
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Poet Oli Hazzard on writing his debut novel Lorem Ipsum, which is made up of one single 50,000-word sentence. The post Notes on Craft appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2021-07-22 08:54:09 UTC ]
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Back in April, A24 and Rhombus Media optioned the rights to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer, Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning debut novel about a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who serves as a communist double agent after the fall of Saigon. The novel is being adapted into a limited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-16 15:33:34 UTC ]
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The illustrated debut novel 'Orphans of the Tide' wins the 2021 Branford Boase Award, which honors both authors and their editors. The post Struan Murray, Ben Horslen Win the UK’s Branford Boase Award appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-15 20:44:40 UTC ]
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Carolyn Ferrell’s beautifully hair-raising debut novel takes readers into a house of horrors where some survivors have a better chance than others. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-07-07 09:00:03 UTC ]
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The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
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St. Martin’s buys a debut novel by a Bloomsbury UK assistant editor, a pair of podcasters sells a book on race to Park Row, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Book clubs are over the moon for Zakiya Dalila Harris's 'The Other Black Girl,' Oprah announces her latest pick, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing a debut novel is never easy. 100,000 long-form works of English-language fiction are published every year and even in normal circumstances it’s a struggle to for a first-time novelist to stand out from the pack. But the last 15 or so months have been particularly trying. Full lockdown... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-12 22:02:54 UTC ]
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The author of a debut novel about diversity in the workplace on how black people act around white people, embracing her hair, and what’s changed a year after George Floyd’s murderZakiya Dalila Harris was born and raised in Connecticut and is currently based in Brooklyn. Now a full-time writer,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-06-05 17:00:15 UTC ]
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Among our picks: ‘The Other Black Girl,’ by Zakiya Dalila Harris and ‘Hairpin Bridge’ by Taylor Adams Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-06-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Ireland has pre-empted a debut novel by award-winning actor and playwright Emmet Kirwan, to be published in 2023. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 22:53:36 UTC ]
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Lisa Taddeo, whose book "Three Women" broke the mold of immersive journalism, talks about her first novel, "Animal," and the struggle to write and live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 13:00:06 UTC ]
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Zakiya Dalila Harris, a former editorial assistant, is making a splash with “The Other Black Girl,” her debut novel about an African-American woman navigating a nearly all-white workplace. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-05-23 20:21:45 UTC ]
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Shola von Reinhold wins the award for small publishing houses with their novel LOTE, but financial reward split among 10 publishersThe Scottish author Shola von Reinhold has won the Republic of Consciousness prize for small presses for their “dazzling” queer debut novel LOTE. But the £20,000... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-05-19 12:17:35 UTC ]
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In Christine Smallwood’s debut novel The Life of the Mind, protagonist Dorothy escapes the stifled environment of an academic conference for one she finds even more depressing: the slot machines. There, she runs into her former dissertation advisor, Judith, a woman who caused her significant... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-05-06 11:00:00 UTC ]
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TJ Newman dreamt up her terror-in-the-skies novel Falling while guarding the cockpit as the pilots took a toilet break. She reveals how she kept going through furlough and 41 rejectionsFlight attendant Torri Newman was working on the red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York when the idea for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-05-04 05:00:21 UTC ]
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Pamela Dorman buys a debut novel by a longtime Knopf editor, Holt signs a memoir by Ronnie Spector, Hanya Yanagihara re-ups with Doubleday, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In a deal rumored to be in the seven figure-range, Knopf editor Jenny Jackson sold her debut novel to Pam Dorman, who has an eponymous imprint at Penguin Random House. 'Pineapple Street' follows three sisters who are members of a wealthy family, and is slated to be released in early 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the things that Black people know to be true is that when we lift up our voices to celebrate our joy, share our pain, or warn of the injustices levelled against our communities, we are often silenced—either by being denied the necessary platforms to elevate our voices, or by wilful... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 17:56:08 UTC ]
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