What I was doing while I was not writing blog entries or emails (apologies!)

Three weeks have passed to fast – and when I looked back I suddenly realised, why I haven’t posted anything for some time. And it was not just the record-breaking summer weather or my root canal treatment that kept me from it! This is what I have been doing: I…

• … translated the theatre play “The Breathing Wall” by Yannick Reimers, a play attempting to raise awarness of discrimination and make a stand against marginalisation and violence. The author and his partner, an accordionist, perform at schools and memorial sites, wishing to do something against neo-Nazism and set a sign against discrimination. Here are their official pages (link to the German page and link to the English page).

• … helped to revamp a mentoring scheme for women in publishing. It is a programme for professional publishers, agents, translators, and other female agents in the literary field who are just about to take their next step in their careers. Exciting! Here’s the link to the programme and the application requirements (link).

Off to the sea for a couple of days!

But before I leave, I wanted to draw your attention to Maria Popova’s lovely blog and newsletter “Brainpickings” and two of her recent posts on children’s books:

„The Velveteen Rabbit, Reimagined with Uncommon Tenderness by Beloved Japanese Illustrator Komako Sakai“ (link) (not just for Friends friends) and
„The Best LGBT Children’s Books: A Sweet and Assuring Celebration of Diversity and Difference“ (link)

TTFN, Sandra

ePublishing – aus Fehlern lernen

Konfrontiert mit der Frage nach den größten Chancen für Verleger in unserem „digitalen Zeitalter“ hat Sophie Rochester gescheiterte ePublishing start-ups nach ihren Erfahrungen gefragt, um aus deren Fehlern zu lernen. Die Ergebnisse der Befragung und Sophie Rochesters Kommentare auf FUTUReBOOK (link).

Auch einen Besuch wert: Sophie Rochesters Online Magazin The Literary Platform:

„The Literary Platform magazine covers current thinking about books and technology and innovative projects that blend the two.“

„The White Family“ und konservative Tendenzen im UK Buchmarkt

Maggie Gees Roman „The White Family“ (Saqi Books, 2002) wäre beinahe nie veröffentlicht worden. Im Gegensatz zu anderen
Gegenwartsromanen, die das multikulturelle Großbritannien weit weniger kritisch sehen, konfrontiert Maggie Gee ihre Leserinnen und Leser im Roman mit verschiedenen Formen von Rassissmus. In meinem Artikel bringe zeige ich am Beispiel von „The White Family“ wie Konzentrationsprozesse im britischen Verlagswesen literarische Trends beeinflussen und welchem Druck zur Anpassung Autorinnen und Autoren ausgesetzt sind.

Link zum (englischsprachigen) Artikel: A Conservative Backlash in UK Publishing? The Case of Maggie Gee’s „The White Family“ (Hard Times 89, 2011)