- Joined
- Dec 24, 2008
- Messages
- 264
- Reaction score
- 23
Justine Larbalestier is a young adult novelist, but the topic she covered in her latest blog entry is about the publishing industry. Her book Liar is about a compulsive liar, but it's made clear that the protagonist is black. However, the cover features a white model.
Nothing new. People will find any reason to okey-doke their decision (does anyone have substantial proof that highly-publicized books featuring a non-white person on the cover tanks or is that something we just accept as the truth?), but I'm disappointed by this. I definitely second Ms. Larbalestier's suggestion in her entry to people upset by this.
http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/23/aint-that-a-shame/
---
Editorial Anonymous's "Untrustworthy Narrators and Publishers" - http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-week-in-publisher-gossip.html
Media Bistro's "YA Critics Feel Cheated by Liar Cover Girl" -http://www.mediabistro.com/galleyca...l_cheated_by_liar_cover_girl_122466.asp?c=rss
The notion that "black books" don’t sell is pervasive at every level of publishing. Yet I have found few examples of books with a person of colour on the cover that have had the full weight of a publishing house behind them. Until that happens more often we can’t know if it's true that white people won't buy books about people of colour. All we can say is that poorly publicised books with "black covers" don't sell. The same is usually true of poorly publicised books with "white covers."
Nothing new. People will find any reason to okey-doke their decision (does anyone have substantial proof that highly-publicized books featuring a non-white person on the cover tanks or is that something we just accept as the truth?), but I'm disappointed by this. I definitely second Ms. Larbalestier's suggestion in her entry to people upset by this.
http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/23/aint-that-a-shame/
---
Editorial Anonymous's "Untrustworthy Narrators and Publishers" - http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-week-in-publisher-gossip.html
Media Bistro's "YA Critics Feel Cheated by Liar Cover Girl" -http://www.mediabistro.com/galleyca...l_cheated_by_liar_cover_girl_122466.asp?c=rss
Last edited: