Just opened a parcel from a publisher, and it contains two cans of gin. I am getting really, really tired of publishers sending out alcohol without considering whether or not a person drinks. It's got to the point where it's become offensive.
Dear publishing, “competitive” is not a salary. Please use numbers - exact salaries or even bands. By not giving people an idea of what they could earn, you’re contributing to a closed culture that continues to exclude the underrepresented.
I chatted to
@benbarnes
about his literary loves ahead of the release of
#shadowandbone
, and ended up writing my favourite piece ever (yes, it knocked books to read based on your favourite Quality Street off the top spot):
Still thinking about how Jungkook, Hobi and Suga are learning English by taking lessons, and Jimin is learning English by watching Netflix. What an icon.
Given that another article about sensitivity readers is apparently imminent, I'm going to do a thread of things I've picked up in the many sensitivity reads I've done, with the aim of showing what it is we actually do, and how much what we do has been misrepresented.
For the weekend:
1. Don’t click on the articles.
2. Don’t retweet them, even to criticise them.
3. Don’t link to them in any way.
4. And if you really can’t resist the above, don’t tag Sunny, Monisha and Chimene as you may unintentionally send more abuse their way.
I love, love, LOVE reading the acknowledgements in books, and it makes me sad that people might skip them, so I wrote about why they’re so joyful and valuable. (Please let me know your favourite acknowledgements if have them).
My book is out today! South Asian Folktales, Myths and Legends (to give it its proper name, instead of South Asian Tales, which is what I titled every draft) was so much fun to write, and I hope readers like it as much as I do.
I have a book out today! All About Eid is illustrated by
@Aaliyamj
, edited by
@nazxma
and designed by
@minchbeth
. I’d love if you bought a copy for Muslim kids in your life (or non-Muslim kids who want to learn about Eid and Ramadan, make some delicious food and try some crafts)!
Reviewers/booksellers/anyone who gets books from publishers, a few of us have written a letter asking publishers to use packaging that can be recycled. You can view the letter here and DM me if you want to sign it before we send it out:
A few weeks ago I saw something YA-related that disappointed me. I bitched in private but weeks later it still upsets me. I want to get something positive out of the whole mess, so here's a thread of recent and forthcoming YA books by writers of colour...
A short thread... The
#ManBooker2018
is a night for celebrating literary fiction, and Anna Burns and her publisher should be ecstatic about her win for Milkman. She’s made history as the first Northern Irish writer to ever win.
I still think too many people in the industry don’t think about books as pop culture, as something to binge in the way we do TV, and I also don’t think publishing really understands fan culture.
Official* fashion ranking for
#HisDarkMaterials
, ep. two:
1. Mrs Coulter - all those jewel tones. 😍
2. Lord Asriel - ep. 1 knitwear game so strong he ranks even though he wasn’t in ep. 2.
3. Post-Oxford Lyra - collared dresses.
4. Lord Boreal - well-cut suits.
*Decided by me.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because a couple of brown women are wading in to defend a white woman, that white woman is suddenly cleared of wrongdoing. White supremacy works by using internalised racism to position itself as right and true.
Story time... this week I was offered some chairing work by a publisher (no, I won't name them because this is not about them as an individual, but about a wider pattern across the publishing industry). No fee was given, so I went back to ask them what their budget was. 1/10
First listen of J-Hope’s
#JackInTheBox
done and I’m in awe. The lyrics, the music, the way they're paired, is incredible. As a lover of stories, I adore the story the album is telling from beginning to end. How is it possible to be so proud of someone I don’t know directly?!
Calling all book fans, please welcome
#BooksToNourish
, a charity auction to raise money for
@FareShareUK
, the UK’s longest running food redistribution charity. All you need to know about the first stage of Books to Nourish is contained within this thread…
Not sure if this is personal or professional news, but here's the cover of South Asian Folktales, Myths and Legends, a collection of retellings by...me! Gorgeous jacket and inside illustrations by the very talented
@AbeehaTariqArt
. You can pre-order wherever you buy your books:
If you're self-isolating and are in the UK/Ireland, DM me (open for 24 hours from this tweet) telling me some books/TV shows/films you like and giving me your name and address, and I’ll post you a book I think you’ll enjoy, which will hopefully entertain you for a few hours.
Guess what? If you tweet something nasty at me and then a little later you delete it, I can still see it in my notifications. Probably best to just not tweet in the first place. And maybe to get some media training from your publisher.
This research has some horrible numbers in it - ONE PER CENT of kidlit in 2017 had a BAME main character - but I’m so glad it’s been done because now no one can say that there isn’t a problem with representation of POC in children’s books.
#ReflectingRealities
1% of children’s books published in 2017 had a BAME main character
We want to work together to change this – Read our full report and recommendations: (working link)
Instead of reporting this as a news story (taken from a press release?), I'd have loved to have seen
@thebookseller
interrogating the need for this book and the motives behind Ad Lib's decision, and examining publishing's role in responsibly covering death and grief.
Here’s the thing: so many people could be spared emotional labour + distress if, instead of lashing out from a position where you think being accused of racism is worse than being racist, you instead quietly engage with the hard work of understanding why you have been criticised.
I am sure many people will love Milkman and find beauty and depth in Burns' prose. But if you read it and don't love it, or can't finish it, that's ok. It doesn't mean the book isn't good, and it doesn't mean you aren't trying hard enough, it just means it's not the book for you.
Also, do give this very good piece by
@Joannechocolat
a read. It offers a valuable insight into the perspective of an author who has has sensitivity reads done:
I used to tweet a lot about publishing, but the last couple of months it's been really difficult to do so. The industry feels quite hostile in a lot of ways right now, especially for people from minority communities.
When I was 14, at my all girls' school, we had a self-defence course as part of PE. We were taught that if someone (someone being a man) attacked us, we should try and push our fingers into his eyes and then pull down, to try and incapacitate him as much as possible.
From next week I am joining the brilliant team at for a year, as managing editor. It’s a role I’m really excited about, although I have big shoes to fill.
I hate to tell people how to do their jobs, but it is beyond time some publicists stepped in and spoke to their authors about exactly how despicable their current behaviour is, and how much very real distress they're causing to people.
A year ago today, I started a 12-month contract on the
@PenguinUKBooks
' website. I was late, because the trains were a mess, and by 4pm I was on my way home, not knowing then I’d do the whole year of the job from my house instead of the office.
Been trying not to tweet too much about politics because it all makes me so angry, but this is an outrageous decision. That Emily Maitlis is punished while DC continues to thrive shows how dangerous our politics and politicians have become:
I am not sharing that vile video, but I wanted to say to my Jewish siblings that I stand in solidarity with you, and that the behaviour of those people, and the anti-Semitism and misogyny they showed, is disgusting and has absolutely no place in any campaign to free Palestine.
Some good news to share in this miserable week. The
#BooksToNourish
auction raised a grand total of £18,882! That money is for
@FareShareUK
, which redistributes surplus food to charities that turn it into meals.
Made a children’s book emoji quiz for friends, so thought I’d share here in case anyone needs something to distract them for a few minutes. Will do a (more difficult) one for adult books if you like this one!
Books should be enjoyable to read, whether they’re literary fiction or not. Books can be easy to read and enjoyable or they can be complex and enjoyable. If you’re a enjoying a book carry on reading it, if you’re not, stop.
First two Muslim women elected to Congress. First two Native American women elected to Congress. Massachusetts elects its first black Congresswoman. First time in years that I’m crying good tears the morning after a vote.
#Midterms2018
I’m going in... These are mostly 2019 releases, with a few 2018 things I want to save. All the 2019 ones need to be logged in my fancy spreadsheet (it’s not fancy, it’s basic) and sorted into date piles. Wish me luck.
For
@StylistMagazine
, I’ve gathered together some of the reactions about the Mallory piece which speak to the way publishing treats men and women differently:
Floods in Pakistan have affected around 33 million people and killed at least 1,314, including 458 children. A third of the country is underwater, and damage is estimated to be at least $10 billion. 1/5
Me playing the
#HiddenBooksGame
: "Ah yes, those well known novels Sad French Cyclists, Three Artists Round a Fruit Bowl, Four Toddlers in a Puddle, and Dog with Pitchfork."
That was a short and non-exhaustive list, which I hope shows that sensitivity reads aren't about stifling creativity, but about making better books. Am happy to answer good faith questions, bad faith questions will see the user blocked.
This shows a lack of understanding about what sensitivity/authenticity readers do. I’ve never once “sanitised” an author’s work, never once tried to narrow their imagination.
If you had the money to pay someone to do one household chore for you for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Mine would be changing bedsheets (and specifically duvet covers).
I am looking for Muslim women who LOVE Ms Marvel and would be willing to speak about why for an article. If this is you, please wave at me (or DM)!
#journorequests
#MsMarvel
Weird how Thames TV, Syco Entertainment and ITV say they don’t condone Walliams’ behaviour and yet he continues to have a job. It’s almost like they do condone it?
Readers shouldn’t be told to try harder; it implies they don’t like or get a book because they’re not trying hard enough, and implies that literary fiction is for clever people who “get it”. It’s not, it’s for everyone, but no one should have to try harder if they don’t want to.
Got to speak to
@benbarnes
for
@WeAreTheTempest
about imposter syndrome, how quickly your dreams can slip through your fingers, and letting of the work you create. As a treat (?), here are some stills from our chat.
4. A neurodivergent character in a book was described as "mentally subnormal" and "mentally defective" among other things, which I think we can all agree have never been acceptable phrases.
5. In one book, EVERY SINGLE female character was described by what they were wearing and how they looked (the men were not), and they were shallow, lazy and passive for the entire novel.
#BooksForPakistan
is still open for bidding, and we have some fantastic new items opening for bids from 12pm today in addition to all the great lots already up! These items all close for bidding at 8pm on Sunday, October 16, like the auction as a whole. A quick thread of these...
Seems a good day to once again say that if you are in publishing, you should join a union. Even if your employer doesn’t officially recognise a union, you can and still should join one, because a union can offer you support as an individual.
Among the people to be killed recently in Gaza are writer Refaat Alareer and his family. And yet, despite this loss and the thousands of others in Palestine, publishing in the UK still thinks it doesn't need to speak up, that its role is not to make political comments.
I'll be on
@BBCFrontRow
tonight defending audiobooks and talking about why I think they can be as valuable as reading a physical or digital book. Tune in if you're free, or tell me your thoughts on audiobooks...
Other sensitivity readers might not have flagged the things I did, or might have had something contradictory to say. That's because, surprise, we're not all a homogenous mass and we have different lived experiences. Which again is why we give feedback, not demand changes.
We deserve to be paid for our time and our expertise. And we deserve to be paid well. We need to ask for what we're worth, and we need to talk to each other to ensure no one is being left behind. 10/10
Also, I charge for sensitivity reads, and I charge for consultations on sensitivity reading as a general concept. If any media takes and uses this thread, expect a hefty invoice (i.e. just don't use my thread).
1. I often flag use of the word "crazy" with authors. Firstly, I don't think it's a good word to use when talking about people with mental ill health - it carries all sorts of harmful and negative connotations.
2. One book I read had an Asian (I'm going to be vague about where in Asia they were from) character, whose only personality trait was their love of maths. That's it. There's a big problem with Asian people being stereotyped as maths nerds (remember the Oscars?).
Maybe the budget for all those patronising ads/videos the Tories directed to Muslims – instructing us not to gather with family and friends for Eid – should have been spent on messaging for its own staff.
All set up and ready to host today’s
#WriteNow
workshop. Very excited to be playing a small role in helping to demystify the publishing industry for writers. See you in less than an hour!
3. A book I read had a number of characters of different ethnicities, but the Black characters were ONLY described by their skin colour. All the other characters' ethnicity and nationality was described using multiple cultural and ethnic markers.
I’d also like publishing to stop asking Black and brown people to work for free on projects intended to help more Black and brown people get into publishing/get published.
Are they Kenyan? Nigerian? Pakistani? Afghan? Being specific makes for better characters and books, IF a writer does their research, rather than just uses generic stereotypes.
In this case, I suggested the character also be given some other interests or personality traits. So rather than asking for anything to be cut, it was about making the character more well-rounded.
We often think about the financial implications for employees of publishing being London-centric, which is of course huge and important. But I love how in this piece
@katyloftus
nails the loneliness and the alienation, which can be equally affecting:
I know there are still three months of 2019 left, but it's never too early to look ahead when it comes to books, so here's my 2020 non-fiction round-up for
@StylistMagazine
:
We are brought up to take these "preventative" measures, these measures that will keep us safe. But faced with a man who wants to harm us, there is very little we can really do. That's the knowledge we live with every day, and that haunts us even more on days like today.
It is true - I have acquired my first books for
@StripesBooks
! We’ll be bringing the wonderful
@Nishawrites
’ My So-Called Bollywood Life into YOUR lives next year, and I am so excited!