Zakiya Dalila Harris: ‘Publishing is such a spoofable world’

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 ]
News tagged with: #black girl #half years #assistant editor #black people #black woman #full-time position #debut novel

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My Novel’s Heroine is Doing Better in the Publishing World Than I Did

When I started writing my current novel, Paris Never Leaves You, I had no idea the protagonist, a young widow struggling to survive in Occupied Paris, would end up working in a New York publishing house. I knew she would get to America, but I assumed she would enter the fashion or beauty... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-31 08:48:22 UTC ]
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[ Publishing Executive | 2020-06-30 20:16:23 UTC ]
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How The Publishing World Is Staying Afloat During The Pandemic

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[ HuffPost | 2020-05-21 09:45:35 UTC ]
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Joanne Harris to publish lockdown writing guide with September

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-11 05:14:14 UTC ]
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Spotify, Wizarding World bring Harry Potter to digital audio

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[ Advertising Age | 2020-05-05 18:54:51 UTC ]
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Publishing must ‘wake up to the world beyond the M25’, new report urges

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 13:41:58 UTC ]
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Holly Harris to join Simon & Schuster as non-fiction publishing director

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Wizarding World Introduces Harry Potter at Home

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Publishing has to keep up with the world, not the other way round | Candice Carty-Williams

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[ The Guardian | 2020-02-08 07:00:31 UTC ]
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Publishing insiders predict 'monster' global book deal for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-10 10:36:03 UTC ]
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Wizarding World Digital launches with Harry Potter fan club and app

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-23 16:30:46 UTC ]
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