Hello Boundlings :)

I learned about Margaret Busby recently and I was shocked that I'd never come across her before. She's such an important figure in publishing, yet no-one I've spoken to had heard of her, so I wanted to bring more awareness to her – and maybe by extension, other under-recognised (non-author) figures in the publishing/literary industry.

Margaret Busby was the youngest & first Black woman publisher in the UK, founding publishing house Allison & Busby in 1967 – a diverse and radical publisher who helped push marginalised voices, especially Black voices, into the mainstream of the British publishing/literary scene. If you look at the amount of people she's worked with, you'll definitely find many names you recognise! Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Zadie Smith, Sam Greenlee...

She's been an activist & advocate for inclusivity, justice, & liberation through literature – a sentiment I think many of us here will agree with the importance of! I feel I can't overstate how much of an influence she's had on not just the UK's literary scene, especially in promoting Black voices and experiences, but worldwide.

Busby's a literary critic, written for the stage, edited anthologies of African women writers such as this one, judged literary prizes (the first Black women to chair the Booker & currently the head of English PEN!)... Her own book is also coming out this year, which I'm super excited to check out.

I was just shocked (& disappointed) at my ignorance of her until recently, so I thought it was important to share. Hopefully others will get something from this too! Or are there other important figures who've shaped the literary & publishing world you think are unrecognised? I would love to hear about them.

Also, if any Boundlings happen to be South UK-based, I found out she's doing a talk at a book festival soon!

Just couldn't get through this atm when I have so much other stuff to read. I can't get on with the writing style, it's very repetitive and redundant, as if it doesn't trust the reader to remember what was said two pages ago. The premise, which is what sold me originally, has been repeated like ten times, yet not one of the characters has enough personality to react with any urgency or realism...I don't like DNFing & would want to finish this but reading it was making me actively annoyed 😔

(originally posted this in wrong place, moved it so I can find it again if I come back to the book)