More work to do

[girliejones]

But it doesn’t take a seer to predict that with more awareness and a more open mind, editors will be less likely to dismiss, even unconsciously, fiction that is good but isn’t only about white heterosexual male concerns.
Creating Better Magazines (And Anthologies)I've been enjoying K Tempest Bradford's commentary on the diversity of voices in

Comments

[narrelle]

I haven't done an analysis like that myself, and I think I probably should. But if you are seeking some recommendations, some excellent books by nonwhite writers I've read are:

* Look Who's Morphing by Tom Cho - www.tomcho.com - recently nominated for the Age Book of the Year
* Unpolished Gem - Alice Pung
* Love - Toni Morrison (which I figure you've probably already read...)
* anything by Naghuib Mahfouz - Egyptian writer. We got some of his books in English translation while living in Cairo

For books with characters of colour, have you read Liz Williams' Snake Agent series?

That's all off the top of my head. Any recommendations you can make in return would be great!

[girliejones]

Thanks for the recommendations - much appreciated.

I think Satanic Verses is one of my favourite books of all time, Rushdie has such beautiful, exquisite prose. I love the poetry of it. It's so careful and detailed, just like the arabic artwork.

[narrelle]

I haven't read that one, but I read Midnight's Children many years ago and enjoyed it. An Equal Music by Vikram Seth is another wonderful book. Oh, and the original Q&A, which Slumdog Millionaire is based on - and as much as I loved the film, the book is soooooo much better!

[girliejones]

ooh thanks, I'll check that out.

[pharaoh_katt]

Not really on topic, but...

I'm going to start writing again in the hope that I end up in one of your anthologies. Also, keep a lookout in the paper for our add (published today or tomorrow I hope!)

[girliejones]

Well that is really cool - thanks!

And I shall keep an eye out for the ad.

[alias_sqbr]

Having had a similar realisation a while ago, I have been getting a lot out of doing 50books_poc. (Here are the books I've read and remembered to tag)

[girliejones]

Awesome - thank you very much!

[girliejones]

Yay more recs! Thank you!

[punktortoise]

RJ Astruc is a name to watch. She's had stories in ASIM and Aurealis, about Zeem, an emigrant Persian fairy in London; but she's also written quite a lot of cyberpunk / steampunk type material. She has a blog story going at avepasifika on lj - well worth a look. And I'm not entirely sure of her heritage ... I think she'd qualify as a POC, but I also get the impression she's not keen on labelling of that sort.

[girliejones]

I have read a lot of RJ Astruc as she's been publishing. Thanks for the suggestion.

[thawrecka]

We do tend to read what's familiar to us. I read a lot of fiction with queer characters because I look for it in the hope some will reflect my life in some way, but I know I don't tend to think about looking for fiction written by PoC or about people with disabilities, etc. either. (I think I'm actually lucky that the tokenism of the 70s and 80s in superhero comics has lead to such a wide variety of characters of differing ethnicities, sexual orientations, abilities, etc.)

[girliejones]

Do you have any novels with queer characters you'd recommend reading?

[thawrecka]

Not many. Most I find are clichéd and melodramatic and I'm so sick to death of (a) whiny teenagers coming out to much drama, (b) two dudes fall in love and then one or both dies of AIDS or is/are horribly murdered, and (c) person dying of AIDS thinks fondly on their days of promiscuous sex with multiple partners. So bored with these painfully cliché stories (esp. because they reflect absolutely none of my existence). I have little to no tolerance for the 'being queer makes you insane or kills you' cliché that is always popping up in everything.

Off the top of my head, though, I did enjoy Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite. It is the sequel to The Value of X which is a tiresomely dull story about two gay teenagers in love having melodramatic coming out process/annoying teenage angst, but in Liquor they're adults with normal adult concerns, working in restaurants in New Orleans, and their relationship is the backbone of the story. It has sequels I have not read, as well, but which I hear are good

[girliejones]

Well yay, Liquor is in the queue here, yay!

And I wonder if the queer fiction you were reading was written by queer writers? There must be more positive coming out stories and love stories?? Surely?!?! Have you read The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson?