Welcome to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome (or at least fun to read). Need your book industry news? Never fear, Kate Copeseeley is here to give it to you straight.
In this week’s Buzz Worthy News: #Confess Trailer, #The100 Renewed!!, Aladdin Casting Call, and #Read4Refugees. All this and more!
Buzz Worthy News is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly news post bringing you all the best information about the book and blogging world, particularly for the venn diagram of people who overlap between the two.
OMG THE 100 JUST GOT RENEWED FOR SEASON 5!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh wait, I’m supposed to save that for the story. Ahem. *takes deep breath* [see below]
Confess Trailer
Well, I’ve never heard of go90, but that show looks hot as hell, ngl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv_b9auBDQs
THE 100 IS RENEWED FOR SEASON 5
OMG IT’S HAPPENING, IT’S HAPPENING. MY FAVORITE SHOW WITH MY FAVORITE OTP IS GETTING A FIFTH SEASON!!!!!
The serialized sci-fi drama, which successfully weathered a controversy over the killing off of a lesbian character last season, was one of the first CW series designed for shorter runs and the first to go the distance. It airs 13-season installments in spring.
The 100 was created by Jason Rothenberg, who is expected to remain executive producer and showrunner. Rothenberg has a pilot at the CW, Searchers. If it goes to series, I hear The 100 may beef up its top ranks with a co-showrunner or strong No.2.
I can’t wait to see what torture JR has cooked up for us next year!!!
Aladdin Casting Call!!!
SO FREAKING EXCITED ABOUT THIS!
Guy Ritchie, director for the live-action adaptation of Disney’s classic “Aladdin,” has put out a casting call for actors of Middle Eastern descent between the ages of 18 and 25. He is on the hunt for his Aladdin and Jasmine, and apparently hoping to find them outside of Hollywood’s A-list.
The film will be a musical, like its predecessor “Beauty and the Beast,” that will hit theaters next week. This means whoever is selected has to have singing talent and dancing abilities earn brownie points here.
The selection process won’t be drawn out either because shooting begins this summer in July with rehearsals beginning in April.
This is not the first we’ve heard of Disney recruiting “outside of the box.” A similar casting call was recently put out for the remaking of “Mulan,” where notice was put out for actors speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese.
NGL, I’m super excited about this, but Mulan has always held a special place in my heart that is hard to compete with.
Game of Thrones Teaser and Airdate
Well, that certainly looked intense! I’m so torn. I already got spoiled for things last season and I am sure to be this season. Still, it’s nice to have an actual airdate for this late starting season.
During a Facebook Live event on Thursday, the cable network revealed that the Emmy-winning fantasy hit will return for season 7 on July 16. The network also released the first teaser video for the new season (above).
Until now, HBO would only say “summer” when asked about the show’s return. The season was pushed back several months from its usual April debut to accommodate various production needs. So fans have had to wait longer than ever before for new episodes this cycle and are now finding out the premiere date during the time of year when they’re usually anticipating the start of a new season in just a couple weeks.
The news was revealed in a rather elaborate Facebook Live event where fans waited more than an hour for a block of ice to melt revealing the date. At one point the number of simultaneous viewers topped 140,000, suggesting that millions likely tuned in overall at some point.
The new season will only feature seven episodes (instead of its usual 10), but the production team still spent roughly the same amount of time shooting the new hours as it usually does for a full regular season (about five months).
PS- a prequel would be Ah-mazing!!! What a good idea!
Kerry Washington to adapt The Mothers
I’m not sure if this is going to be a series or a movie, but the idea is intriguing…
Warner Bros. has optioned Brit Bennett’s debut novel The Mothers, with Kerry Washington producing under the Simpson Street Banner.
Bennett also will write the script for the project based on her novel, which was published in October by Riverhead, a division of Penguin.
The New York Times best-seller is set in a black community in a small suburban Southern California town where a big secret rocks the lives of several of its residents. The story explores young love, friendship and loss through a story centered on Nadia, a teen who, while grieving after her mother’s suicide, starts a relationship with Luke, the pastor’s son, and becomes pregnant. The choice she makes not only affects her own life and relationships for decades to come but the lives of Luke and Nadia’s best friend, Aubrey.
Washington will produce with Natalie Krinsky, who wrote the YA adaptation of I’ll Give You the Sun for Warner Bros. She brought The Mothers to Warner Bros. and Simpson Street. Krinsky also is currently adapting In a Dark, Dark Wood for New Line.
Hot Art Being Developed for TV
Are you interested in the seedy underbelly of the stolen art scene? Do you love British dramas? This might be the news for you!
Ovation TV is developing Hot Art, an hour long scripted drama series based on the book by Canadian journalist Joshua Knelman, Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art. UK-based writer Simeon Thornton (Sovereign) will pen the adaptation and Storyscape Entertainment’s Bob Cooper will produce. This marks Ovation TV’s first scripted series.
Hot Art is described as a drama series that offers a fresh, contemporary take on the world of art crime. Set in London, the center of the global art market, the show follows a squad of elite Scotland Yard undercover police agents tasked with solving art crimes… and catching the criminals who aim to keep one step ahead of them.
This is just such a fascinating idea for a TV series. I freaking love caper type movies and it sounds like this will be one giant caper fest of a TV show. I’ll definitely watch this one.
Carnegie Responds to Criticism
As we reported a couple weeks back, there has been a SLEW of criticism over this year’s long list for the Carnegie Medal for children’s book authors. This, in turn, has sparked a review of their metrics for deciding on nominations.
Black and Asian authors have welcomed an independent review of diversity in the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals, after an exceptional year for children’s books by minority authors failed to make an impact on the prize longlists.
The review of the venerable children’s books awards – which are judged by school librarians – was announced on Wednesday by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (Cilip). It is part of a wider diversity and equality action plan by Cilip, which runs the awards, to address the lack of diversity in the information sector.
Cilip chief executive Nick Poole said: “Recent concerns [over the Carnegie longlist] have shown that we need to articulate very clearly what we are doing to address the issues of equality and diversity.” He added that, although the association believed the decisions made about this year’s medal longlists were “appropriate” and reflected the existing criteria for selecting books, there may be a case for changing the criteria to protect the prize from unconscious bias.
Alex Wheatle – who won the 2016 Guardian children’s fiction prize with Crongton Knights – and author Sunny Singh led a call for black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) writers to boycott the award.
Wheatle welcomed news of the review. “Something had to be done,” he said. “What has to be addressed is any unconscious bias in the nomination and judging process.” He added that the review should consider opening the nomination process up to a wider group than librarians. Cilip’s own research has previously revealed that the sector is 96.7% white and 78.1% female, compared with the 87.5% white and 50.1% female UK workforce.
Poole promised that the review would bring about change in the 82-year old Carnegie medal, which has a poor track record of recognising Bame authors. The award has never been won by a Bame writer, it has been awarded to white authors writing about black lives, including Tanya Landman’s Buffalo Soldier in 2015 and South African writer Beverly Naidoo’s The Other Side of Truth in 2000.
The wider Equality and Action Plan commissioned by Cilip in 2015 is due to report this summer. Poole said he hoped it would help develop policies that would entice a much wider demographic into librarianship. “We have to make [it] a universally accessible and aspirational career for absolutely everybody,” he said.
Large Publishing Paygap Continues
Publishers Weekly released a report on gender and diversity this week, and, you know, it’s slightly better, I guess??
There were no dramatic changes in the 2015 survey compared to 2014. Indeed, one of the most consistent findings over the years—the gap between the earnings of men and women—was as stark as ever. In 2015, men earned an average of $96,000, compared to an average of $61,000 for women. Furthermore, 72% of men reported that they earned $70,000 or more compared to only 41% of women. The most common salary range for women was $40,000–$69,999; 42% of women in publishing had salaries in that bracket.
The reasons for the disparity were also in line with previous years. Management, the area that has the highest average salary, was also the area with the largest share of men (men occupy 46% of management jobs). Women were more dominant in other areas, where the average pay is lower. Men were also found to have more experience than women: men reported an average of 20 years’ experience in publishing, while women averaged 12 years on the job.
Less than half of women respondents, 46%, said they were extremely or very satisfied with their job, compared to 58% for men. Low pay was cited by 60% of women as the reason for their dissatisfaction, making it the number one response to this question. Only 43% of men cited low salaries as a major complaint about their jobs; increased workload was the most mentioned issue, raised by half of all men.
Although the topic of diversity has received more attention in the industry over the past few years, responses to this year’s survey suggest that only slight progress has been made. The share of publishing employees who identified themselves as white/Caucasian was 88% in 2015, hardly different from 89% in 2014. The share of male respondents who are white was 94% in the most recent survey, while 86% of women said they are white.
Given the stasis in bringing in more members of racial and ethnic minorities into the industry, it is not surprising that only 30% of all respondents said they thought publishing had made some strides in diversifying its workforce. More white respondents, 31%, said they thought some progress had been made on the issue than nonwhite respondents, 21% of whom said they believed there have been advances.
It’s not exactly heartening, is all I’m saying here.
Bush Sisters To Write Book
No matter what anyone might think of their fathers (and hopefully someday mothers), you can’t deny it would be hard and weird to be the kid of a president. Which is why I think a book written by any president’s kid would a fascinating read and why I think it’s so interesting that one of the Bush twins is writing a book.
Former first daughters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush will release a joint memoir titled Sisters First: Stories From Our Wild and Wonderful Life in the fall, Grand Central Publishing announced Wednesday.
Due Oct. 24, the book will recount how the 35-year-old twin daughters of former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush have navigated coming of age in the public eye — from their grandfather George H.W. Bush’s presidential inauguration to their father’s own swearing-in to their college years spent under the watchful eyes of both the Secret Service and the paparazzi. Laura Bush will provide the foreword.
“We’ve always felt lucky that we had each other to walk side-by-side as sisters through the extraordinary circumstances of our ordinary lives,” the Bush sisters said in a statement. “We are so excited to share the stories that mean the most to us — from the ones that made us laugh to those that shaped us the most — and we hope to make Sisters First an entertaining read that will also give readers a more nuanced look behind the headlines.”
Uplifting News of the Week:
Read In for Refugees
I love it when people come together for a good cause, and also when they read, so this is like the perfect story for my inner booknerd.
Following the latest executive order on immigration issued by President Donald J. Trump, a growing list of authors have committed to participating in #Read4Refugees, a read-in aimed at raising awareness of, and funding to combat, refugee issues.
The campaign is hosted by the nonprofit Go Jane Give, whose co-founder, Josie Lauritsen Lee, places emphasis on the importance of actual donations to refugee causes rather than simply supporting them on social media. “Hashtags for refugees are good. Resources for refugees are better,” Lauritsen Lee said in a statement. “#Read4Refugees empowers everyday people to take on the refugee crisis from their own homes and contribute resources in a doable way.”
The campaign, according to Go Jane Give, “encourages people everywhere to support refugees by donating what they spend on a night out and stay in to read instead.” Writers associated with the campaign, to date, include Junot Díaz, Sherman Alexie, Isabel Allende, Emma Donoghue, Anthony Doerr, Jodi Picoult, Ally Condie, and Sue Monk Kidd.
All donations to #Read4Refugees are given to the nonprofit organization RefugePoint, which helps refugees resettle in countries including the U.S., Canada, and Australia. It also provides refugees with healthcare, counseling, business skills training, and small grants.
“I’m happy to be able to turn my passion for reading and writing into a way to support refugees,” Condie, the first author to sign on to the campaign, said in a statement. “#Read4Refugees is about more than just sending a message—it’s about getting funds into the hands of refugee-focused organizations that are making a real difference.”
The campaign is one of the latest following President Trump’s executive order to involve the publishing industry, including an industry-wide agency call for submissions from Muslim writers in January.
Emma Watson and Book Fairies Go International
Not content to let their Books on the Underground project stay in its native London, the Book Fairies have taken their book bombing to 26 other countries!
The books, by feminist authors including Caitlyn Moran and Maya Angelou, are being left as part of International Women’s Day.
They all include a handwritten note from the Harry Potter actor. In it, she wrote she hoped the reader would enjoy the book, and urged them to leave it in a public place afterwards for others to find.
The books are selections from her book club, Our Shared Self, which she started last year. The actor has described it as a public library lending system. “The idea is make people love reading again and to spread the love, like random acts of kindness,” she said.
Books on the Underground started in 2012 and leaves about 250 books in stations across London each week. Cordelia Oxley, who runs the project, said: “I am so excited to see these amazing books popping up around the world.
“We have a team of international book fairies, New Zealand to Dubai, who are going to share these Our Shared Self books today.
“This is a great way to mark International Women’s Day and we hope to have a lot of fun with it.”
Interesting Links:
Why The Hate U Give is a Bestseller (and author interview)
America’s First Romance and Erotica-Only Bookstore
Danielle
I can’t decide if I want to catch up on GoT or not; they’ve deviated so far from the books it’s hard to be excited. I would DIE for a prequel series though. The Dunk & Egg stories, Robert’s Rebellion, Aegon the Conqueror. Give it to me.
I’m so happy the Aladdin’s looking for a Middle Eastern cast. I’m still a little wary of all these remakes because the originals were so important to me as a kid, but I think this is the one that can use an update most (won’t be the same without Robin though!)
As always, thanks for the round up
Beth W
TBH I am a billion times for excited for live-action Aladdin than live-action Beauty and the Beast. Mulan is gonna kick ass, too.
I’m glad there’s plenty of evidence of the continued pay gap in an industry which most people outside of our community don’t think about (mostly so I can rub it in the eyesockets of my fiance’s female cousin, who believes men and women are paid equally and feminists are ‘just afraid to work hard’).
Thanks for spreading the word about #Read4Refugees! I’m always open to a good cause to throw money at, and it helps with the whole “feeling hopeless while the current administration hijacks the country into policies of hate, discrimination, and profit only for those who contribute to their political campaigns” thing.
And Emma Watson. Will there ever be anything she does that ISN’T awesome? I doubt it.
Carina Olsen
Yay for so many awesome news 😀 As always, gorgeous post Kate. <3 And ahhhh 😀 I am SO thrilled about a new season of The 100. <3 So so happy 😀 Eee. And ah, I cannot wait for the new season of Game of Thrones. <3 It shall be awesome.
Anitya @Hooked To Books
The Book Fairies sounds like a great idea! It’s so hard to find a reason to not love Emma Watson <3 I hope she will be addressed as something else other than "Harry Potter actor" though 🙁
Kate Copeseeley
Maybe now she’ll be addressed as the Beauty and the Beast actor? haha I agree, we could refer to the humanitarian and feminist work she’s done. But most people who don’t know about any of that know that she’s been in Harry Potter, I guess? Ah well.