Children’s books in the UK remain biased against BAME and female characters for yet another year
Back in July 2018 we reported that only 1% of children’s books in the UK depict Black And Minority Ethnic main characters (BAME), and almost a year later, it seems… Read more »
Copy of David Copperfield from 1910 South Pole expedition on display
Imagine only having three books to carry you through seven months—and having to share them with your companions. Such was the luck of the men of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s… Read more »
Everyone we saw at the London Book Fair 2019
The London Book Fair can be a pretty overwhelming place. As one of the biggest trade fairs in the world, you can expect a LOT of people to show up—many… Read more »
Who will step in for Man? Previous winners speculate on the Booker Prize’s future
As we reported yesterday, The Booker Prize parted ways with Man Group this week; the hedge fund that financially backed the U.K.’s most famous literary prize for the last 18… Read more »
A Pushcart Prize nominated poet is suspected of plagiarism
Following mounting allegations of plagiarism that surfaced on Twitter this past weekend, Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Ailey O’Toole’s forthcoming book has been cancelled, and many of the publications that previously published her… Read more »
PBS’s Great American Read doesn’t necessarily mean we’re reading Americans
For The Guardian, Allison Flood breaks down the demographics of PBS’s inaugural “Great American Read” program, revealing our country’s continued attraction to all things British. Launched in April, PBS asked American audiences… Read more »
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race is named the UK’s most influential book by a woman
It’s clear by now the publishing industry has become, for better or worse, a more direct reflection of the larger world’s infatuation with this recent batch of Western leaders. Trump, Macron, Brexit,… Read more »
A new writing award will highlight stories that keep violence against women off the page
A new prize for thriller writers who do not describe sexual abuse, rape, or violence against their female protagonists has been launched in London. Entries for the Staunch Book Prize, as Allison Flood reports at… Read more »
The anxiety of the summer reading list
Ken Kalfus, the author of, among other things, the funniest novel ever written about 9/11 and the best short story ever written about an IMF official, recently published a piece… Read more »
NYPL releases the weirdest reference questions from the 1940s-1980s
Librarians’ patience has been tested at least as long as there have been libraries. Oh, and as long as there have been people. People to bother them. People who need… Read more »