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 ]
Pamela Dorman pays up for a debut novel by a former publicity director at Penguin Books Canada, and Princeton University Press lands a big book on the gender pay gap in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown imprint Piatkus has landed the “smart and funny” debut novel from Hannah Tovey in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-09 16:51:11 UTC ]
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Titan Books will publish the supernatural-themed debut novel by Cambridge University librarian and writer Marian Womack as part of a two book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 17:49:35 UTC ]
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Last year, I read R.F. Kuang’s debut novel The Poppy War. I found myself flung backwards in time to August ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-06-28 10:41:44 UTC ]
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There's something missing from YouTube's book blogging community: Black people and books by Black authors. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-06-27 22:17:41 UTC ]
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Muhammad Khan and his editor Lucy Pearse have won this year’s Branford Boase Award for a debut novel for children or young people with I Am Thunder (Macmillan Children’s Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-27 15:50:48 UTC ]
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[caption id="attachment_160867" align="alignright" width="150"] Josh London[/caption] Reuters named Josh London as its new chief marketing officer, effective immediately. Most recently the CMO at IDG Communications, London will now be responsible for all aspects of marketing at the company,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-06-26 15:38:09 UTC ]
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Juliet Escoria’s “Juliet the Maniac” sees the life of a bipolar teenager in gut-wrenching fragments. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-06-24 09:00:07 UTC ]
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The host of NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour" podcast has written her debut novel, the romantic comedy "Evvie Drake Starts Over." Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-06-19 22:05:02 UTC ]
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Hachette Books Ireland has snapped up an "incredible" debut novel by Irish journalist Sophie White about the world of Instagram influencers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-17 14:38:06 UTC ]
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Raymond Antrobus and 70-year-old debut novelist Anne Youngson are among the winners of this year's £100,000 Society of Authors' Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-17 02:12:28 UTC ]
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Taffy Brodesser-Akner's debut novel is a divorce novel wrapped around a mystery: What are women really up to? Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-06-16 12:00:06 UTC ]
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Zaffre has bagged an "unbelievably timely" debut novel from Helly Acton, which has already been optioned for TV, in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-14 12:23:54 UTC ]
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Ocean Vuong reads from his stunning debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-06-14 12:00:01 UTC ]
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Allen & Unwin will publish the debut novel by Sophie Hardcastle, a research assistant at Oxford University, exploring “the female ill-treatment at the hands of men”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-13 21:53:54 UTC ]
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Picador has pre-empted a “razor-sharp, brutal and darkly comic” debut novel from recent NYU graduate Raven Leilani about a black millennial woman pulled into a suburban white couple’s life. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-13 21:43:52 UTC ]
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“We call them Bunnies because that is what they call each other,” explains Samantha Heather Mackey, the narrator of Mona Awad’s new novel, “Bunny.” “Seriously. Bunny. … Bunny, I love you. I love you, Bunny.” Awad does so many things right in “Bunny,” her follow-up to her 2016 debut novel,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-11 15:00:00 UTC ]
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For more than a year, the Observer writer has been probing a darkness at the heart of Silicon Valley. Last week, at a TED talk that became a global viral sensation, she told the tech billionaires they had broken democracy. What happened next?If Silicon Valley is the beast, then TED is its belly.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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Authorities in Texas have charged a 20-year-old man in the shooting death of a 7-year-old black girl who was killed while riding in a vehicle with her family. The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced early Sunday that Eric Black Jr. was charged with capital murder in the death of Jazmine... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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