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 ]
In foreword to report into diversity in publishing, Booker prize-winning author rails against ‘ridiculous’ beliefsBernardine Evaristo, the first black woman to win the Booker prize, has hit out at “ridiculous” and “misguided” beliefs in the publishing industry, where “black and Asian people are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-23 11:06:09 UTC ]
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“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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Oprah Winfrey announced today that her next book club selection would be Deacon King Kong by James McBride, a novel that she says resonates at a time when America is facing a reckoning over race and violence against black people. “In a moment when our country roils with righteous anger and grief... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-16 20:04:23 UTC ]
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Illustrators Dapo Adeola and Ken Wilson-Max have said the industry could be on the cusp of change over diversity but it requires more black people in sales teams and greater transparency on race. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 15:01:56 UTC ]
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I want to acknowledge that my experience as a South Asian is not the same as those of Black people in this country. Although it’s important to note that we may have some shared experiences, the current BLM protests are about Black Lives, and it’s crucial to know the difference. However, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 19:31:29 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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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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‘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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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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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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The pioneering Black journalist is revered for her reporting that exposed lynching as a white tool of political terror against Black people. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2020-05-04 22:44:29 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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“Strictly” judge Craig Revel Horwood's “fabulous” debut novel has been picked up by Michael O'Mara Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 12:35:01 UTC ]
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Welbeck Publishing Group has acquired Dark Horses, a debut novel from American author Susan Mihalic. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-29 18:22:14 UTC ]
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