Podcast appearances and mentions of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

On self-devotion, self-loyalty and why there is no hard part. You have been devoted before. To a person, a role, a version of yourself someone else approved of. In this morning conversation, Joel sits with what happens when that same devotion turns toward your own soul. Why breaking a codependent pattern starts with loyalty to yourself rather than distance from someone else. The difference between dirty pain that spirals and clean pain that transforms. And the full R.I.S.E. practice, the journaling framework he has been doing daily for over twenty years. For anyone who has been loyal to everyone but themselves, and for anyone who has been telling themselves the inner work is too hard to start. · · · In this episode: Why it is okay to feel lonely, and what changes when you stop treating loneliness as a problem to fix Self-devotion as the practice underneath breaking codependent patterns How dirty pain becomes clean pain The R.I.S.E. framework walked through in full: Release, Inquire, Self-Awareness and Empower Why there is no hard part, only the familiar and the unfamiliar Holding three stories around any experience: one that breaks, one that repairs, one that empowers · · ·

Se puede ser grandilocuente sin fuegos artificiales. Se puede aspirar a conmover sin necesidad de ser efectista. Lo demuestra Phoebe Bridgers en su muy esperado nuevo disco, 'Lost Weekend', donde las canciones navegan entre la calidez del folk, la intensidad del rock y los matices y destellos de la electrónica. Hoy escuchamos una de ellas, 'Haunted'. Vuestro Rayito de luz: 'Melody of love' de Hot Chip Lecturas Pendientes: 'Americanah' de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Refugio Climático: Hablamos sobre el espacio Infinito Delicias de Madrid Playlist:Solange - Losing YouBlood Orange, Empress Of - Best To YouSky Ferreira - Everything Is EmbarrassingOlof Dreijer - MakwandeHoney Dijon - SatisfiedBeyoncé - Break My SoulKaytraminé - 4EVA (Feat. Pharrell Williams)Tame Impala - End Of SummerYung Prado - Segundo AfterFCUKERS - L.U.C.K.YCiutat - Quiero Verte BailarBarry B - No Pega Igual (Stuck In Replay)Alice Wonder - LaDrogaMásSuaveDelMundoKarol G, Judeline, Rusowsky - BbY WOWVíctor Coyote - Yo, que creo en el diabloVíctor Coyote - Es tardeHot Chip - Melody Of LoveJamiroquai - Little LSylvan Esso - Concrete GlenAngus & Julia Stone - Celestial BodiesThe Strokes - You Only Live OnceIbibio Sound Machine - LoveIbeyi - Hurry HurryMadonna, Kylie Minogue - Love SensationKylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My HeadJungle - Move Like You DoThe Avalanches - Can't Get Over Losing YouTroye Sivan - She's The BestPhoebe Bridgers - HauntedAlex G - AfterlifeTriángulo De Amor Bizarro - Vigilantes Del EspejoTriángulo De Amor Bizarro - ASMR Para TiThis Is Lorelei - Billy Came BackJoseluís - Hazte AsíWilco - You And IIcona Pop - HurtCharli xcx - CameraJustice Vs Simian - We Are Your FriendsOvermono - Knight In Shining PradaJamie XX, Robyn - LifeEscuchar audio

How can you tell where the real innovation in publishing is happening right now, and why is it emerging from the indie side first? How do you market your own book when you've spent 35 years marketing everyone else's? John Bond talks about Going Indie and what he's learned about authors who last. In the intro, my thoughts on writing with AI, Charles Dickens and encouragement for the 3-year-old dancing to K-Pop at the wedding, UK copyright law, The end of an era — Hugh Howey; Notre Dame, Paris; Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why 2012 was a watershed moment for publishing in the UK Whether the snobbery around self-publishing has finally gone How to co-write a book with someone, and why there's no formula The pride swallowing involved in getting endorsement quotes for your own book The shadow economy of indie sales that no industry chart measures The hallmarks of writers who build a long-term career You can find John at wearewhitefox.com. Transcript of the interview with John Bond Jo: John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. So welcome back to the show, John. John: Thank you, Jo. Thanks so much for having me. Jo: You were last on the show in 2022. You've been on a couple of times, but just set the scene. Tell people a bit more about you and your long background in publishing. John: I suppose I could say I started as a marketing manager at Penguin back in the early 1990s in London, and that role eventually evolved into running sales and marketing, as it often does. I did that at Penguin and at HarperCollins. Then I ran one of the publishing divisions at HarperCollins, including 4th Estate, and published Hilary Mantel and Jonathan Franzen and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others. I left that in 2011 and set up Whitefox in 2012, and it's a classic startup story. It was somebody I worked with at HarperCollins. We sat around a kitchen table, came up with an idea for a business, which was Whitefox, and that's grown into the creative agency that it is today. Jo: So back then, did you think, “I can do this better”? Was that the impetus, “I can do publishing better than Penguin and HarperCollins”? John: No, I thought we would solve a problem. There's something very attractive about that whole startup mentality and beginning something from scratch. I mean, I was in my early 50s. I'd had a long career in traditional publishing. On the plus side, I knew a lot of people, and I thought I could get meetings, people would reply to my phone calls or my emails. On the downside, I didn't necessarily have the energy of a 20 to 25-year-old. I knew a lot of people and I knew quite a lot of things, and I also knew what problems something like Whitefox could solve. We set up with this idea that if we could galvanise and organise the diaspora of freelancers in the publishing space and make them available to anybody that wanted to make a book, that that would be quite a powerful thing. These incredibly creative, wonderful people who were below the radar and were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. I thought if we could access that and make that available not just to traditional publishing people who know about these people, but to individual authors, businesses, brands, people that wanted to make a book, and if you added a layer of our expertise from traditional publishing, that could be quite powerful, I suppose. That's what I was thinking back then. Jo: It's funny, though. You said these wonderful freelancers who were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. That could also apply to a lot of authors in traditional publishing. John: Totally. Totally. But if I'm honest, I don't think I was thinking about that. What's really evolved since we started, even in that 2011, 2012 period, is so much has happened to independent writers, indie authors. The whole ecosystem has become much more vibrant, and what is accessible to those writers is much greater. I'd like to think we've played a part in that. What that's done is put power back into writers' hands, and that quickly became apparent in the business as a byproduct of what we'd set up. Jo: Yes, and 2012 I do think in the UK was a pivot point, because I got into self-publishing in 2006/2007 when the Americans did with the beginning of the Kindle and the iPhone. Really the American ecosystem grew first. I happened to be in Australia, and so I think I was able to escape the negativity of the vortex in the UK, which took a number more years to embrace self-publishing as a force to be reckoned with as opposed to an embarrassing thing in the corner for vanity press. Do you see 2012 as a changing point in UK publishing? John: I think we'd just come out of the Kindle moment, hadn't we? There were all sorts of conversations going on about how that was going to change things forever. I think no one quite knew what the upshot of that was going to be, but we knew that it was incredibly disruptive. In 2012, Penguin, as it was then, before Penguin Random House, had offered to buy Author Solutions for $115 million, presumably seen as some kind of defensive measure as to what the market was going to evolve into. I think it felt like a real period of change. In the UK, James Daunt took over running Waterstones, and he was then ultimately going to run Barnes & Noble. It felt like a bit of a watershed. I think we were lucky in that sense, that maybe in the UK and in London, what we were creating coincided with an opening up of opportunity and creativity, and people wanting access to more tools to be able to do things themselves. Getting this idea that you invest in your own talent and what that could mean for your ability to do things quicker, better. Some of it was happenstance, but lucky for us. As you say, we then became aware that in a sense a lot of these things had come to fruition earlier on the US side. In London, that whole idea of setting up something that wasn't a traditional rights-owning model, but where you wanted to be working with people creatively, felt actually really exciting and timely. Jo: And when you started to work with independent authors, probably a couple of years after that, you started to work with a lot more indie authors and things really started to change in terms of the business side. Did you feel any of the snobbery from the traditional industry? Like you mentioned, you have a lot of contacts, a lot of connections. I came to your wonderful launch party and there were just people from all over the industry. I wondered if you got any kickback, or if anyone raised their eyebrows a little bit at who you were choosing to work with? John: Oh, definitely. And I would say I really think that's gone. You may think differently, Jo, but from my perspective, I think there has been such an evolution in the nearly 15 years that we've been going. So any of that residual snobbery, looking down your nose at people that were going DIY, producing multiple books, learning from every single publication. We've spoken about this before. I remember you sat on the panel of a FutureBook conference in the UK, which was run by a trade magazine, with this idea of looking at the, in quotes, “digital future of the business.” It felt like there were a lot of things being talked about, but not a lot of action on the traditional side. I suppose some sort of awe that there was some magic going on with people who were making a success of self-publishing. But then quite a lot of people looking down their noses at things that shouldn't get through the gatekeepers. I do think that's gone. Or if it's not completely gone, I can see it on the way out of the door, because there's no room for that when agents are struggling to sell books to publishers because publishers are looking at the next indie author, the next Freida McFadden, the next Sarah J. Maas, the next Rebecca Yarros. So whoever it may be, or wherever they're publishing, whatever they're doing now, wherever they may be, knowing that a lot of those people will already be publishing and be on not their first, second, third or fourth, but potentially their 10th or 11th book. It's a race to see who can help those authors, as a traditional publisher would see it, amplify what they're doing. I think the idea that there's an us and them, if it did exist then, which it certainly did in certain publishing quarters, is gone. I used to go to those conferences, like the FutureBook Conference, and certain publishers would talk about publishing, and when they meant publishing, they meant a really tiny area of quite literary, traditional imprints. That's what publishing meant. They didn't even mean publishing to mean educational publishing, or children's publishing, or academic publishing, and certainly not Kindle or POD or whatever. So I think that's had to change for very good, sound, commercial, economic reasons. Jo: Yes, you're right. I definitely have heard, as we go to similar events sometimes, and you do hear agents used to talk a lot more about finding books very occasionally in a slush pile, or doing courses so you could meet people and do pitch events and all this. Now it's often build an audience on BookTok or whatever, and sell lots of books, and traditional publishing as an amplifier, as you said. That's how I always hear them pitch it now, the question of— What can traditional publishing still do when indie authors can do so much? It does seem to be, well, we can amplify you, we can get you into traditional press, we can get you in traditional bookstores, we can help you with film and movie deals, that kind of thing. So that's really interesting, because that's actually changed quite a lot. They don't now seem to say, “Oh, well, we can make sure we pay you,” or, “We are editorial success as such.” John: I think they don't say editorial success or quality or indeed marketing, because that was what used to be said. I think there's an understanding that a lot of indie writers are better marketeers of their own books than traditional publishers, and if you go into the publishing machine, then you'll get your slot. It lasts for a certain period of time and then that moves on to another book. Whereas obviously if you're writing your own book and you're marketing your own book, you're able to do that yourself 24/7 wherever you are in the world, and you will know more about your readers and your audience and how that evolves than a traditional publisher would. What they probably mean now is, as you said, as much as anything, distribution, or even physical distribution. Because to be part of that process, I think that is still where a large conglomerate is able to wield some muscle, with this idea that if you physically want to see your book in bricks and mortar retailers in X outlets around the world, that's potentially easier to do if that is your aim, via a traditional publisher. So it is constantly evolving, because it used to be that marketing was the silver bullet, and I don't think that's the case anymore. Jo: No. We'll come back to marketing, shall we? Struggling with marketing. So let's get into your book. You recently co-wrote Going Indie with James Silver, Publishing Your Book Your Way. Obviously you already knew a lot about indie authors, so I wonder, what did you discover in the process of researching the book and the interviews you did? And I was one of your interviews. Did anything come up that surprised you, since you're already pretty embedded in the world? John: I would say some of it was reinforcing what I knew. So how everything is so intertwined, how in some ways unlinear everything is. People are doing lots of things in a different order to the way that traditionally writers would perceive this relay race of a manuscript gets passed to an editor, an editor passes on. That's just not how it is or needs to be anymore. I still think there is—not even a misconception—but I think there's a received wisdom that when you're talking about self-publishing, you're talking about fiction. The majority of books that Whitefox produces are not fiction, they're non-fiction. Some of them are quite mainstream, some of them are quite niche. That idea of connecting to your audience and your followers, and being slightly more scientific about how you find readers in your non-fiction niche, I think is still unspoken about in a way, in that genre fiction tends to be what people automatically assume the conversation is about. This probably doesn't surprise you, but I was pleasantly surprised to have it confirmed to me quite how much swapping and sharing there is of skills and knowledge in that space. I'm not saying indie writing is egoless at all, but there's quite a lot of sharing of knowledge and what works, and collaboration, which I think is great to see. Again, if you've, as I did many years ago, come out of corporate conglomerate publishing, traditional publishing, there's less of that by the very nature of the kind of organisation. And look, we just talked about marketing a little while ago. I do think this whole idea that the cutting edge of experimentation, it's not traditional publishing, it's indie writers. They are looking at not just how to find readers, but how to fulfil orders, how to make commercial sense of what they're doing from the absolute outset and get-go of what they're doing. And just how now the lines are blurring between what would be classified as traditional digital publishers and the writers who are doing their own thing, or doing their own thing on behalf of a few other writers. Those lines have completely blurred. There used to be this traditional hardback, paperback, X number of books a year, a year after hardback there's a paperback. This is the model we have been doing for centuries, and people doing things on their own. I think that's blurring massively, and the Venn diagrams of people's areas of expertise are just overlapping massively. Jo: Well, I think you're right there, and certainly the hardback special editions with sprayed edges and foil. A lot of us now are doing that first and not putting out the other, or putting out the rest of it at the same time. I dare say probably there are more indie authors with sprayed edge hardbacks than there are traditionally published authors. John: I'm sure that's right. And what's interesting is if you go to a traditional book printer, they are loving the direct communication with writers, that's not coming through traditional channels and traditional relationships. It's great business, it's interesting. I think that's something that's even developed in the last couple of years, that cutting out of some of the middle men required. Jo: Yes, and in terms of supporting freelancers and small publishing houses and printers and stuff, the other thing I've heard is that indie authors pay upfront, or they pay quickly, compared to some of these big publishers who are asking for long lead times and steep discounting. So actually a lot of these independent businesses are doing better under indie author work than they were under traditional. John: I think that's right, and that's what I mean also about the sharing of information and this collaborative idea of sharing creative knowledge. I mean, I'm making it sound like a kind of 19th century cooperative, which it isn't. I'm not suggesting that for a second. It's this idea that there's a lot of people learning a lot of things and there's a keenness to share some of that information, because if you've developed your own readership for your unique creative product, some of those learnings are very exciting. The printers I've spoken to love working on those kinds of things, because they are also being challenged to come up with new ways of developing ever more innovative physical product. Jo: Yes, I think it's a fun, creative time for sure. Things like Kickstarter, which you came on and talked about crowdfunding years ago, and I've obviously done. I think, what am I on now? Seven? I've just done my seventh. John: Wow. Jo: It's so much fun. But now what's happening is traditional publishers are arriving on Kickstarter and all that kind of thing. So we really see a blurring. Let's come back to your book, so Going Indie. You co-wrote it. Now obviously there are lots of positive sides of collaboration, but in terms of any challenges with collaboration and co-writing and the writing process of doing this? Because I've done this several times and I've found it very challenging. So tell us about the collaborative writing process. John: We thought a lot about it before we took it on. What I would say, having done it, is I am assuming there is no formula for how you do this. At Penguin I worked with a married couple who were crime writers, and they wrote books together. They merged their names so it appeared to be one name. I could not tell you, and they didn't share what that process was, whether they were writing different chapters or … I don't know. So I can only speak from my own experience. James is an established journalist. He's great with deadlines. He was very good at chivvying me along when I needed to be persuaded to hit the deadlines that I'd promised. I write blogs, I write newsletters, I write content for our website, but this is my first book. I've never written anything of this length. So in a way it started with the structure. It started with this idea that we would play to what we perceived as our respective strengths in terms of writing. We absolutely were not each writing every third word or anything like that. It was a process of trust in different parts. I thought, James had done some research and will be better at writing that. He deferred to me on areas that he took to be my areas of expertise. We did every interview for the book together. We went over the notes from those before they became part of the interviews for the book. And some of the book's elements are diagrammatic, so those are very easy to collaborate on. I think we tried to be professionally, creatively constructive with each other. So it was raising an eyebrow rather than shouting at each other if we didn't agree about something. A lot of it was down to the editing, and I don't know what your experience was like with a co-writer, but a lot of it came down to: here is something which is quite baggy. How do we, between us, make this as tight as we possibly can? I don't mean copy editing or proofreading. I mean the actual sort of, how do we get this into a pithy, usable, practical but discursive book? We didn't ever set out for this to be a pure reference book at all. We wanted to take a snapshot of what was going on. So a lot of it was genuinely trying to do some research and get people to feed into what was going on from lots of different perspectives, which is why we wanted to get mainstream traditional publishers, we wanted to get agents, we wanted to get indie writers, we wanted to get people who have all sorts of experiences and perspectives. That's what makes it what it is, which is, here's what we think are some of the interesting discussion points of what's going on now. Jo: It is a fantastic snapshot. I think it's really interesting—and obviously you also have seen my book, Successful Self-Publishing, which is on its fourth edition—this is one of the difficult things with snapshot type books. So have you already thought about that? I know this one has just come out, but have you thought, “Oh no, in five years we have to do it again”? John: Well, I think we thought we're going to have to address AI, which we do in the book, and we really tried to caveat that with saying, look, so much may change so quickly, and here we are talking about what we know now. We obviously tried to set the context for where we are now, and we tried as much as possible to make something which would last as long as we can. I think what we did think was, we have tried to make it as international a perspective as possible. But at the same time, we are a London-based agency, and a lot of the views will be from people based in the UK. So I think what I would like to explore is something that looks at potentially somewhere like the US, where I think there'll be different people that would perhaps have different perspectives on different things. So I think we thought about potentially there being future iterations of the book, but not yet. Jo: Not yet. This is the challenge with non-fiction, of course. On that, I would say what you just said around the US and stuff, the successful UK authors all use the same systems as the US. So I wouldn't say that the US … I mean, we all have the US companies we all use. I say Kobo is obviously Canadian, but I would say that we use the same ways of doing things. Obviously you might interview a different author, but … John: That was all I meant. I meant interviewing. Because we've interviewed agents and authors and publishers and they are largely UK based. So it was the idea that maybe there are some perspectives on things rather than systemic. Jo: Differences. John: Yes. Just that. Jo: So then I guess another challenge, we've kind of nodded to it so far, is marketing. So let's talk about the challenges of getting this book out in terms of publishing and marketing. Because you've been on the inner circle side, trying to do that for other people's books, but your own book, this is a whole nother thing. So tell us about that. John: Well, how do you do it, Jo? I mean, honestly, I've loved some of it. I get how you become completely obsessed with your book and trying to make sure that you can get it into the hands of the people that you want to get it into the hands of. We've got some great endorsement quotes, which was a task that, how can I say this? I would call it pride swallowing. The idea that you really try and get people to say nice things about your book and, if they don't reply, you think, “How much do I pester them? How much do I annoy them by asking them again nicely?” And the absolute sheer unadulterated joy when they come back with something positive that you can use and utilise in some way. So that whole process of waiting for feedback, I suppose, and hoping that people are going to like what you've done and help you spread the word for it. We had a launch event, we've given books away. We've published the book as ebook and POD. I think one of the great things about that is it's enabled us to be completely adaptable and make changes right up until the last minute. That drove everybody in my team completely crazy because we were making changes up until the last minute. So, is the book definitely going to be available on publication date? What's it going to do? You know, all of that kind of stuff. Also, just getting this idea that I suppose you can never stop. Is that a very obvious thing to say to a writer? It probably is. You just can't stop, because if you go, “Right, well, I've done it,” complacency is the enemy. Just as soon as you've got that quote, or someone said that they're going to give you an opportunity to talk about it on a platform, it's just another day and you've got to keep thinking about how you can spread the word and tell people that it exists. Jo: Yes, well, I think that's right, and particularly non-fiction, which unless it's very timely and you must get it out right now. But other than that— Most books you just have to keep marketing for years. Then just as you say, when do you stop? Well, you kind of never stop unless you want to, unless you want to retire and just give up, basically. Dean Wesley Smith, who's a big writer in the US and a kind of a mentor of mine in past years, he talks about it as this massive sea of books. And when a book arrives, he pictures it coming down and landing on the water. So the day you launch, it's landed on the water, and then it begins to sink. Then there are all these other books coming down. It's like this rain of books, and your book is sinking as soon as it lands. And your job is to keep it afloat somehow. John: Keep it afloat. Jo: Yes. John: I think you're right, and it's such an interesting perspective for us, who work with a lot of people who have one book. You know, they've spent 10 years writing it. It's their life story. It's their memoir. It's their self-help book. It's their book that accompanies them on their speaking journey, or whatever. Then there are the people who are writing constantly and can't stop writing because they're exercising that creative muscle all the time and wanting to get better, and wanting to improve and learn and understand why this works and why that hasn't worked. Just getting a glimpse into what it must be like for that person for whom writing is not a hobby. I kept saying to myself, “This is not something you're doing as a hobby.” I want this book to be of value to people, and if I'm investing that time and effort into something that I want to get out there, you've got to commit to whatever it is you need to do to make sure you're not sinking. Jo: Yes. John: I will now not be able to get that image out of my head. Jo: Yes. I know there's people listening who don't have a mind's eye, which I always find fascinating, but for those of us with a mind's eye, you can now picture that and you will never forget it. The other thing, I guess, is that, having done a lot, over 40 books now, the inevitable thing is you cannot keep pushing all of those books back up to the surface. So when you do get the bug as such of writing, the most interesting thing for all of us is always the next book. It's always like, ooh, the next thing I'm doing, I'm very excited about. So you do have to pick your battles on marketing. So have you got the bug, do you think? Are you thinking of other books in general? Because as you said, you must be, I guess, in your 60s. John: I am. Jo: You could retire. John: I am. You were talking about that long career. I could. I mean, I really love doing it, and I would love to do more. I think one of the things that surprised me was just how many ideas came up while we were doing the book about tangents that one could take it. I have no desire to write a novel. I don't want to do that. I wouldn't be very good at that. I do think there are some interesting spaces around where there's a kind of intersection of creativity and learning, and how you can develop books that would help people who are trying to achieve different things in different sectors of publishing. So without getting too granular about it, this book doesn't really address brands who want to become publishers, and I think that is something that our business has developed into working with, not just individuals, but businesses and brands. I think there's definitely spin-offs of this book which are not about repeating what we've done so far. And this whole idea of what you've been doing for a long time, what we've been doing since 2011, 2012, it's evolving now at such a speed. I mean, who would have known what was going to come out of TikTok? As you talk about TikTok to Shopify, that whole kind of new ways of finding readers, of taking books to market. As you said, Kickstarter, crowdfunding. There's all sorts of things that I think will emerge, because in a funny sort of way traditional publishing at the moment feels quite conservative with a small c. I mean, the bestsellers. Dan Brown is number one in the bestseller list this week in the UK as I speak, who has been a bestseller forever. And obviously new writers come along the whole time, but the market feels a little bit as if it's waiting now for innovation. I think if that innovation's going to happen, it's probably going to happen in the indie space before it happens in mainstream publishing. So people are coming to us and thinking, does that represent a trend? Does that represent something which could be a way of looking at something a little bit deeper, doing some research around and creating something which is not a long book, not a massive thesis, but something which is indicative of something which could be useful for people. Jo: Just coming back on the Dan Brown is in the bestseller list. I think this is completely to do with the way that traditional publishing measures things. For many years, more than a decade, probably since the beginning of Kindle, certainly the beginning of Kindle Unlimited, there is a shadow economy, I call it, or a parallel economy. I would say that almost zero of my own personal sales are measured by any industry standards. Anyone who makes any money from Kindle Unlimited or Kickstarter or Shopify, or selling direct in any form, or selling books at conventions, none of this is measured by any traditional things. As you know, the New York Times list, for example, does not include Amazon sales in their bestseller list. So you've got indie authors in the UK who are incredibly successful who have to decide, say, someone like LJ Ross, for example, decides, “Okay, I'm going to set up a proper imprint with Gardners or whatever so that I can get in bookstores so that I can hit a Sunday Times list or something.” So I would say that seeing things like Dan Brown on a bestseller list has almost no meaning in the shadow indie economy. John: No, you're absolutely right. We're not even able to see audiobook sales. Jo: Yes, audio. Any kind of borrows, like Spotify. John: No, you're completely right. I suppose I was making a broader cultural point, that it doesn't feel like there's an enormous amount of innovation going on or risk taking within what I would call mainstream trade publishing. And there doesn't seem to be the need to be, because there will be more consolidation. Small companies will be bought by big companies, so there's growth through acquisition. There's still a hope that something will take off that is a surprise, and there's still an enormous reliance on established brands who, even through the traditional metrics of how you measure them, are probably selling less, but still at the top of the pile. I suppose that's what I was meaning. Jo: Yes, and I agree with what the industry looks at as signals. It's just, as we said, a lot of these signals are invisible. So coming onto innovation, at London Book Fair this year there were a lot of sessions on AI, and you mentioned AI briefly, and there is a chapter in Going Indie on generative AI. And of course there's a lot of negativity and drama and lawsuits and this, that and the other. But at the same time, at London Book Fair, a lot of traditional publishers talking about using it, and of course they always say, “Oh, we use AI only in marketing and business, not with the creative or editorial.” Everyone makes this distinction. What are your thoughts on what's happening and where's it going with AI? Is a lot of this stuff not happening in public and just going on behind closed doors? John: I think so. We do have a chapter in the book on AI. We've generated summaries of every chapter using AI, which we explicitly said in the book as well. We've got our Ten Commandments of what we think are useful guidelines. I think that there has to be an enormous amount being done, whether it's experimentation or speeding up for efficiency's sake, or things that slow you down, within mainstream publishing. There has to be more than just the guardrails around the creative process. And clearly when we're talking about metadata, book description, cover copy, presumably royalty calculations, presumably if you're trying to grow your newsletters. There has to be an enormous amount of activity going on. We're driven by the market, so we do not commission. Writers come to us and they either want to work with us and we want to work with them, or that doesn't happen. So we're in a sense seeing what the market is seeing, and that is a whole range of things. As I've said before, there's a lot of sweeping generalisations out there, which if you look back to that Kindle moment, we were talking a little while ago about what was going on in 2010/2011, about the enormous broad brush strokes that were being perceived as a result of Kindle. Kindle has affected some areas of publishing, it's affected some not at all. I think it will be absolutely fascinating when the sweeping generalisations stop and there becomes, I suppose, even more transparency. The thing that people are looking for, isn't it? A little bit less opaqueness as to what is really being done. Because everybody's being so careful about what they say they're doing and what they're not doing. I suppose ElevenLabs is the one where people are openly engaging on the audio side. I mean, everyone is being so careful and cautious. Jo: Me too. John: What do you think? We spoke a bit about AI within the book, and I'm interested to know what you think. Jo: Well, I've obviously been openly talking about it since 2016. I openly talk about using it, and I've got my Patreon community where we talk about how we're using it, and tips on how to use it. But then, because I have been writing and publishing since 2007, 2008, I'm very strong in my creative voice. I'm very strong in my understanding of what I consider to be my level of output, and what I publish under my own name is what I publish under my own name. John: Totally. Jo: So the problem is for people who are less confident, I think, in what they're doing creatively perhaps. I know some people feel like they're scared it will take over or something. When you're as strong-minded as me, it's not taking over anything. John: It's not going to take over anything. And the other side of the coin is how many people are finding Whitefox using ChatGPT. Jo: Mm. John: I'm thrilled that we are emerging, through very detailed briefing of AI, as something that is worth engaging with. Jo: Positive marketing. John: Yes, exactly. As you say, I think there's a lot of negativity, and I think it will settle down eventually. I think less hysteria. Jo: Yes, hopefully sooner rather than later. So as we come to an end, you've been in the publishing industry a long time and seen a lot of people who have disappeared, but also those who've lasted. I wondered if maybe you could comment on those who last, because I definitely feel like I'm in my 50s now, and I want to keep doing this. I'm pretty obsessed with— What are the hallmarks of people who have a long-term career? So reflections on that. John: Oh, that's such a good question. I think there's some common characteristics and themes. So I think authenticity, I think this idea of being continually curious. I think there are people who can't help but create, and this idea that once you've sort of expelled once, that's enough. I think there's people that just can't stop creating, whatever you do with it. But this idea that the more you do, the better you get, the more you evolve and keep an open mind. I think there's definitely entrepreneurial writers who love this idea of keeping their readers engaged, and how that conversation is something that evolves and that collaboration evolves, is fascinating. I think if you love that, and you listen, there's always an opportunity to keep building on what you do. I love the writers who we work with. I can think of a writer who we're working on his fourth novel at the moment, and he is a bundle of positivity. No matter the trials and tribulations, the things that have gone wrong, his expectations definitely not being met with his first book. He definitely has this idea that he wants to keep writing, he wants to get better, and he is getting better. It isn't a journey that has a beginning and an end. It's something that will continue for as long as he wants to write. Every single book that he has published, he has learned and gained confidence, gained a network of connections that he's utilised himself now to not make the first half a dozen mistakes he made on the first book. Who knows where it will end up? But certainly the satisfaction he's getting, and the sales he's getting, are growing as he becomes savvier and quicker to make the right choices and decisions. So I think that's my honest answer to that. I think there are definitely people who think, “Phew, I have really wanted to do this book. Now I can rest easy. I've done my book.” Then there are people who really, whatever their objective, whatever the definition of success is from the get-go, just can't help creating. I do love that and respect that. I don't think our book falls quite into that category, because I think it's a slightly different thing. I think there are people who are still making a success of what they do and redefining that as they go on, and who are really open to ideas and input from different people and are not closed off. I love working with those people. Jo: So where can people find Going Indie and everything you do online? John: Well, Going Indie is available online at all good bookshops. It's available at Amazon and anywhere you buy books online as ebook and POD. Our website is wearewhitefox.com, and you'll find information about not just our book there, but a lot of other things that we're doing on that site. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, John. That was great. John: Thank you so much, Jo. It's been a pleasure. The post Going Indie, Publishing Innovation, And The Challenges Of Book Marketing With John Bond first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Welcome to Palm Wine Central Podcast, where we are spilling the tea on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's pandemic-era novel, Dream Count. We dive deep into the messy reality of four women navigating arrogant exes, sudden ghosting during pregnancy, and the impossible moral choices forced upon immigrants. Grab your favorite drink (just don't order a mimosa in Paris!) and join our debate on whether we are all just ignoring relationship red flags to fulfill our own fantasies.Timeline: - Episode Intro & Ice Breaker - Navigating Adichie's Writing Style - Kadiatou's Real-Life Inspiration- Chiamaka: Begging for Love - Zikora & Kwame's Ultimate Ghosting - Generational Trauma & Motherhood - The Robyn Hood of Abuja - The Reality of Asylum - The VIP Assault & Victim Blaming- Final Ratings & OutroNext month's book pick, Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston and ff you enjoyed this debate, hit that SUBSCRIBE button to help our channel grow! Let us know your thoughts on Michael in the comments.Panel: @uncleak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠|⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@⁠⁠⁠⁠terez_of_the_most_high ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠| @barbie_taku⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Email: palmwinecentral@gmail.com | sitmpodcast237@gmail.com | Website: www.sitmpodcast.com | Instagram & Twitter: @pwccast @SitMPplatform ​

Die nigerianische Autorin Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie prägte unter anderem mit ihrem Essay «We Should All Be Feminists» die Debatte über Gleichberechtigung. Ihr TED-Talk von 2012 traf ein Momentum, erreichte ein Millionenpublikum. Sogar Beyoncé sampelte Auszüge der Rede; Dior druckte den Titel «We Should All Be Feminists» auf T-Shirts. «Americanah» ist ihr dritter Roman. Ein politisches Buch, in dem es um Identitätsfindung, Rassismus, Entfremdung und Heimat geht. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie seziert in «Americanah» messerscharf die amerikanische Gegenwart, wie Redaktorin Annik Hosmann findet. In der zweiten Folge unseres Buchsommers stellt Annik Hosmann ihr Lieblingsbuch vor und erklärt, warum «Americanah» ein politisch vielschichtiges Buch ist – und gleichzeitig eine grosse Liebesgeschichte. Host: Alexandra Aregger Produzentin und Sprecherin: Jacky Wechsler Mehr zu Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie «Die Literatur der Social-Media-Generation wird schrecklich sein» «Michelle Obama mit Zöpfen wäre undenkbar» Ein furchtloses Mädchen gegen die Männerdominanz der Finanzwelt Unser Tagi-Spezialangebot für Podcast-Hörer:innen: tagiabo.chHabt ihr Feedback, Ideen oder Kritik zu «Apropos»? Schreibt uns an podcasts@tamedia.ch Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Für die 400. Folge hat Valentina einige Freund:innen von Andreas gefragt: Wie war das damals, als Erklär mir die Welt entstanden ist? Wir machen uns auf die Spuren des Podcasts. Plus: Was euch im Herbst erwartet. Und: Wieder einige Tipps für Bücher, Serien & Dinge, die wir lieben. Weiterführende Links Die Offenlegung der Einnahmen von Andreas: a-sator.at/offenlegung Der Claude Code-Kurs, den Andreas gerade macht: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR1lI4V0oKE& Die Fahrrad-Navi-App, die Valentina empfiehlt: https://www.bikecitizens.net Das Buch, das Andreas euch für den Sommer ans Herz legt: A More Exciting Life: A guide to greater freedom, spontaneity and enjoyment von The School of Life, https://www.amazon.com/More-Exciting-Life-spontaneity-enjoyment/dp/1912891255 Valentinas Tanz-Tipp, der Impulstanz Public Moves-Kalender: https://www.impulstanz.com/calendar/publicmoves/ The Pitt, die Krankenhausserie, die Andreas geschaut hat: https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt31938062/ Zwei Autorinnen, die Andreas und Valentina cool finden: Liv Strömquist (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liv_Str%C3%B6mquist) und Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie) Zur Werbung: Jetzt Die Presse für 3 Monate für 3 EUR testen auf diepresse.com/erklärmirdiewelt mit dem Code "erklärmirdiewelt" ***Hilf wie 400+ andere Hörer:innen mit, den Podcast zu finanzieren. Danke an alle Unterstützer:innen. ***MACH DEN PODCAST BESSERSchick uns deine Fragen und Wünsche für EpisodenErzähl uns von dir! Mach bei der Hörer:innen-Befragung mit ***NÜTZLICHE LINKS Hier geht's zu unserem Partner paper republicBewirb dich als Hörer:in des MonatsHol dir Updates zum Podcast per E-Mail, Signal, WhatsApp oder TelegramFolge uns bei Instagram, Tiktok und FacebookAlle Folgen ab Mai 2023 gibt es mit Video auf YouTubeSchau im Merch-Shop vorbeiHier kannst du Werbung im Podcast buchenAndreas' Buch "Alles gut?!" darüber, was er im Kampf gegen Armut auf der Welt beitragen kann ***DAS TEAMMitarbeit: Valentina Pfattner und Thomas PelkmannVermarktung: Therese Illiasch und Stefan Lassnig (Missing Link)Audio- und Video: Andreas Fischer (Sisigrant)Logo und CI: Florian HalbmayrMusik: Something Elated by Broke For Free, CC BYBeatbox am Ende: Azad Arslantas

Este episodio lo dedicamos a tres pequeñas obras de la escritora Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Los tres textos, con un aclamado aporte académico, hablan sobre el feminismo y el racismo. En El peligro de la historia única, libro que nació como charla TED, se trata el daño del prejuicio y de tener una sola idea sobre otro u otros. Por ejemplo, y usando casos del propio libro, imaginar que los países africanos solo son pobreza y carencia. En Todos deberíamos ser feministas se exponen las ideas básicas del feminismo y se da una mirada a la cultura patriarcal en la que vivimos. ¿Tratamos igual a hombres y mujeres? ¿la presión que ejercemos sobre las niñas es igual que la que se imprime en los niños? Por último, en Querida Ijeawele, la autora escribe una carta a su amiga que es nueva mamá dándole consejos sobre cómo sería una posible forma de criar a su hija como una feminista, es decir, como una mujer que crea, ejerce y viva en la igualdad de géneros.

Hon slog igenom med romanen En halv gul sol. Efter svår sorg och lång skrivkramp kom hon tillbaka med romanen Drömräkning. Möt en av våra största samtida berättare i en lång, exklusiv intervju från hösten 2025. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radios app. I samtal med Marie Lundström berättar Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie om hur hon i sorgen efter sin mammas död kom tillbaka till skrivandet: ”Jag är övertygad om att min mamma hjälpte mig”.Romanen Drömräkning följer fyra kvinnor och deras liv, tankar, drömmar. Boken återkommer från olika romanpersoners perspektiv till relationen mellan mor och dotter. I intervjun svarar författaren också på lyssnarfrågor och erkänner att hon har mycket hon ångrar och skulle vilja be sin egen mamma om förlåtelse för.Programmet spelades in och sändes första gången hösten 2025.Skriv till oss! bokradio@sverigesradio.seProgramledare: Marie Lundström

Uma conversa ótima, cheia de boas histórias e do maravilhoso sotaque madeirense, com uma talentosa e premiada escritora, muito simpática. Espero que gostem tanto quanto eu.(Gravada ao vivo no Falemos, o festival anual do Livro e da Leitura da Madeira, organizado pela Direção Regional dos Arquivos, das Bibliotecas e do Livro - DRABL).Os livros que escolheu:Como Água para Chocolate, de Laura Esquivel;O Chão dos Pardais, de Dulce Maria Cardoso;Notas sobre o Luto, de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie;Atos de Desobediência, de Helena Magalhães.Outras referências:Filho da Mãe, Hugo Gonçalves.Os que escreveu:Distúrbio;A Morte é uma Serial Killer;Os Loucos Também Dançam;Origami;Vertigens;Um Lobo no Quarto;A Casa das Malvas.O que ofereci:Isola, Allegra Goodman.Os livros aqui:www.wook.pt

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie este o scriitoare și o voce publică foarte cunoscută și apreciată, o adevărată vedetă a literaturii de azi, o prezență strălucitoare, care și-a cucerit publicul prin inteligența sclipitoare, profunzimea temelor abordate și, nu în ultimul rînd, prin umor. S-a născut în Nigeria, a studiat în Statele Unite ale Americii și-și împarte timpul între cele două țări. Romanele ei au fost traduse în peste 30 de limbi iar cele două discursuri TED ale sale, „The Danger of a Single Story” („Pericolul unei singure povești”) și „We Should All Be Feminists” („Cu toții ar trebui să fim feminiști”) au milioane de vizualizări. În 2025 a publicat un nou roman, „Numărătoare de visuri”, la mai bine de zece ani de la precedentul. Romanul a apărut și în limba română în traducerea Iuliei Gorzo, și deschide seria de autor Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, la imprintul ANANSI al Editurii TREI. „Numărătoare de visuri” are în prim plan patru personaje feminine: Chiamaka, scriitoare de literatură de călătorie, Zikora, avocată de succes, Omelogor, bancheră, și Kadiatou, menajera lui Chiamaka. Prin poveștile lor de viață sînt surprinse multe teme, între care imigrația, raportarea la imigranți în America de azi, rasismul, abuzul sexual, trauma, dar și dragostea, relațiile de cuplu, familia, prietenia, relația mamă-fiică. Teme multe și grele pe care scriitoarea le împletește cu mare măiestrie narativă într-o scriitură realistă, ușor de parcurs dar care te lasă cu multe întrebări.Am vorbit cu traducătoarea Iulia Gorzo despre Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie și despre personajele și temele din „Numărătoare de visuri”.Iulia Gorzo: „Mi s-a părut o revenire extrem de ambițioasă a ei. E o carte de doliu – o spune chiar autoarea într-o intervenție la finalul cărții –, deși nu pare. Nu e o carte tristă, ca ton, e o carte foarte complexă, are un firesc în povestire, de aia e și atît de ușor de citit, deși este atît de mare ca teme. Are o multitudine de teme și o multitudine de voci care se împletesc. Dar pornește de la faptul că autoarea și-a pierdut ambii părinți într-un interval foarte scurt. Ea a fost foarte apropiată de familie, cu niște părinți care i-au dat tot ce s-a putut, i-au înlesnit viața și ea spune că e ca și cum acoperămîntul pe care toată viața l-a avut deasupra capului s-a năruit dintr-o dată. Întîi a murit tatăl ei, în pandemie, și, la foarte scurt timp, chiar de ziua tatălui ei, a murit și mama ei. Ea nu s-a putut împăca cu această pierdere și a simțit nevoia să scrie. Ăsta este un roman în mare măsură despre suroritate, despre femei și relațiile dintre ele, dar și despre mame și fiice. Cînd am început să traduc și pe mine m-a uimit exact lejeritatea pe care ea pare să o aibă cînd construiește acest edificiu impunător.”Cum ai citit relațiile mamă-fiică din „Numărătoare de visuri”?Iulia Gorzo: „Cele mai emoționante momente cred că sînt scenele cu Kadiatou și fiica ei. Cu siguranță ăsta e motorul cărții. Autoarea spune că între mame și fiice sînt niște relații foarte misterioase, de multe ori nedrepte – poate că fiicele au tendința să fie uneori mai indulgente cu tații și mai necruțătoare cu mamele. Dinamica e complicată, dar relațiile în această carte sînt foarte frumoase. Avem o scenă în care Chiamaka, scriitoarea de călătorii, își descoperă mama prin ochii altora, descoperă ce mamă frumoasă și mîndră are și își dă seama atunci, pentru prima dată, că mama ei e și o femeie, e și altceva decît acea sursă de căldură și de grijă. E un șoc pentru ea și o descoperire. Mamele și fiicele, în această carte, sînt într-adevăr motorul și coloana vertebrală.”Apasă PLAY pentru a asculta întreaga discuție!O emisiune de Adela GreceanuUn produs Radio România Cultural

What does it mean to teach with cultural intention, and how do you actually do it across every subject area? In this episode of New Teacher Talk, host Dr. Meg White explores the transformative framework of Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors, first introduced by Emily Style in 1988 and expanded by scholar Rudine Sims Bishop in 1990. This powerful lens helps teachers evaluate whether their classroom materials reflect students' own identities, open windows into the lives of others, and invite deeper perspective-taking. Meg unpacks why the "heroes and holidays" approach falls short — and why celebrating culture only on designated days can actually reinforce the stereotypes we're trying to dismantle. Through the lens of the Cinderella story (did you know there are approximately 900 global variations?), she demonstrates how traditional curriculum choices can either limit or expand students' worldviews. You'll also hear practical, subject-specific strategies for building culturally responsive classrooms: from math word problems featuring diverse names and contexts, to STEM lessons that highlight scientists from underrepresented backgrounds, to gallery walks that invite students to engage with real-world social issues. Whether you teach in a rural, suburban, or urban school, this episode offers concrete tools to ensure every student sees their heritage, language, and lived experience reflected in your classroom. Inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" and grounded in equity-focused pedagogy, this episode is essential listening for any educator committed to creating a learning environment where every student feels valued and empowered to succeed. HASHTAGS #TeachWithIntention #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #WindowsMirrorsDoors #NewTeacherSupport #NewTeachers #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherPodcast #NewTeacherTalkPodcast

Sélectionné par le prix Frontières 2026 de l'université de Lorraine, le roman de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, L'Inventaire des rêves, nous est présenté par Erick-Amaury Zion, de la librairie Trait d'union (La Rochefoucauld, en Charente).

In this final episode of the miniseries, Tristan and Rashid step back to reflect on what seven episodes of storytelling from Cape Town have revealed. They revisit the arc of the series, from grounding ourselves in our bodies with Bongeka and Aphiwe, to the critical hope of Ashley and Helene, the courage of Ncedisa, the radical imagination of Leila, and the belonging found at Charlie and Barry's dinner table.They explore the power and danger of stories, drawing on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's “the danger of a single story” and James Cone's call for a global analysis of liberation. They ask what it means to tell stories from the Global South without claiming to speak for it, and challenge the ways resources and power are still gate-kept by those claiming to want change. The episode opens and closes with collectively written poems on the role of stories in making a new world.THEMESReflection. The danger of a single story. Global South and Global North. Collective liberation. Interrogating our own narratives. Stories as world-making. Power and resources. Invitation to the listener.FEATURED VOICESTristan Pringle is a life and executive coach, facilitator, and poet based in Cape Town.Rashid Adams is a musician, songwriter, music producer, and ethnomusicologist based in Cape Town.CREDITS| Produced by | Rashid Epstein Adams| Music by | Rashid Epstein Adams (AKA Arkenstone) and Pursuit| A collaboration between | The Common Good Podcast & The Liminal Space PodcastLINKS| Podcast | linktr.ee/theliminalspacepod | Substack | theliminalspacepodcast.substack.com | Instagram | @theliminalspacepod

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the most influential literary and cultural voices of the 21st century. Born in the Nigerian city of Enugu in 1977, the writer grew up in an academic environment, developing her passion for literature and storytelling. Influenced by her Igbo culture as well as by international authors, she moved to the United States to continue her studies, specializing in writing and African culture. Her literary debut, Purple Hibiscus, along with later works such as Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, established her as a central figure in contemporary literature. Her message has reached audiences around the world through novels, essays, and talks that explore identity, feminism, and the power of storytelling. Adichie is a global reference point in conversations about equality and diversity, and an example of how an authentic personal brand can transform the cultural and social landscape. Her narrative voice, both intimate and universal, has made her an icon of contemporary thought.

Send a textI'm not entirely sure whether Anita and I have really even scratched the surface of a discussion about Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We've both acknowledged that Chimamanda is one of our absolutely favourite novelists and her new novel, Dream Count, does not disappoint on any front. There are themes galore in this book. There are stories of four rather different women whose lives coincide.There are lots of reflections on very common, almost mundane life and health themed issues like constipation and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.  We have elements around class and status. We have lots of thoughts around culture clash. Fundamentally, this is a novel about friendship and about how the world changed during the pandemic. Did we become closer because of video calls, or are we more distanced because of them?It is such a wonderful novel. i have utterly loved talking to Anita today, and I really think if you haven't read this already, it should be on your to-be-read pile.

Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week on the podcast, I was thrilled to have been able to take advantage of the fact that this week's guest and I were on the same timezone because he's literally moving and shaking across Africa and the Middle East full time. Since he last joined us in early 2020, Oswald Osaretin Guobadia has stepped into multiple new roles on top of being an entrepreneur. This includes more roles on boards, becoming a published author--his book In Pursuit - Journeys in African Entrepreneurship, chronicles the journeys of two friends whose experiences in America shaped their approach to starting their own businesses in Nigeria; and a tireless champion for African innovation. Today, Oswald is a senior policy advisor and digital strategy leader with over 25 years building infrastructure and shaping transformative policy across Africa. He is Managing Partner at DigitA, where, since 2023 he has guided projects and policy innovations that have created impact in countries across Africa, helping to set the pace for inclusive digital development and entrepreneurial growth. Oswald's advisory reach includes serving presidential offices, leading government agencies, collaborating with multilateral partners, and forging public–private partnerships to help build resilient infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. As Senior Special Assistant on Digital Transformation to the President of Nigeria, he steered Nigeria's largest startup policy rollout, including the acclaimed Nigeria Startup Act—widely recognized as a benchmark for digital economies. He has shared his insights at TEDx, the United Nations General Assembly, BBC Africa, CNBC Africa, and the Wharton Africa Business Forum, and has graced numerous influential panels and stages globally. He believes, “the next startup to impact the world will start in an African village,” and in this conversation you'll start to understand how this belief is daily practice. Where to find Oswald? On Glocal Citizens On LinkedIn On Instagram On Medium What's Oswald reading? Ths Four by Scott Galloway Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan Other topics of interest: About the Benin Kingdom UNDP Timbuktu Policy Approach Digitization vs Digitalization What is Zoho? On Digital EstoniaSpecial Guest: Oswald Oseratin Guobadia.

After releasing her breakout hit My Sister the Serial Killer in 2018, Oyinkan Braithwaite struggled to write under the pressure of high expectations. She worried about being a one-hit wonder … but her new novel, Cursed Daughters, proves otherwise. The book follows three generations of women from a family that is believed to be cursed, dooming them all to remain single forever. To make matters worse, one of the young women looks so much like her deceased aunt that her relatives think she's a reincarnation. It's a story about family, legacy and how to live freely when your closest loved ones believe your fate is sealed. This week, Oyinkan tells Mattea Roach about how the novel came to be, why she writes complex dynamics between women and what it means to live and work as an artist.Liked this conversation? Keep listening:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's triumphant return to fictionHere's what you have wrong about teen moms

This week, I go back in time to 2012 to share some of my favorite reads as well as discuss other, notable reads from that year. We have a special guest author recommendation from Emily Wiberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka authors of Seeing Other People . Happy New Year, everyone! Shownotes: The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsEleanor & Park by Rainbow RowellWhere'd You Go Bernadette by Maria SempleWe Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieThe Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin SloaneEvery Day by David LevethanMe Before You by Jojo MoyesThe Round House by Loise ErdrichTell The Wolves I'm Home by Carole Rifka BruntLinks to Books Are My People mugsLink to my Chair ArtLink to Empusium Read AlongLink to National Book Award winnersSupport the showGet your Books Are My People coffee mug here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

A brief take on how perspective shapes categorization in Nigerian literature, tracing shifting views from Igbo and Yoruba writers to global recognition of figures like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.Written by Howard Rambsy IIRead by Kassandra Timm

Hon slog igenom med romanen En halv gul sol. Efter svår sorg och lång skrivkramp är hon tillbaka med romanen Drömräkning. Möt en av våra största samtida berättare i en lång, exklusiv intervju. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radios app. I samtal med Marie Lundström berättar Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie om hur hon i sorgen efter sin mammas död kom tillbaka till skrivandet: ”Jag är övertygad om att min mamma hjälpte mig”. Romanen Drömräkning följer fyra kvinnor och deras liv, tankar, drömmar och återkommer till relationen mor-dotter. I intervjun svarar författaren också på lyssnarfrågor och erkänner att hon har mycket hon ångrar och skulle vilja be sin mamma om förlåt för. Skriv till oss! bokradio@sverigesradio.seProgramledare: Marie Lundström

In this episode of The Culture-Centered Classroom, we explore one of the most essential and misunderstood aspects of culturally responsive practice: the difference between celebrating culture and appropriating it.Building on Episodes 1 and 2, Jocelynn offers a grounded, compassionate, and culturally competent look at what happens when celebration intersects with identity, history, and lived experience—especially during the diverse and emotionally charged winter season.This episode is not about shame, it's about clarity, courage, care, and cultural competence.What You'll Learn in This Episode: The Clear Distinction Between Appreciation and AppropriationJocelynn breaks down the difference through the lens of intent vs. impact, emphasizing that cultural celebration without context or permission can unintentionally cause harm—even when well-intentioned.Why Cultural Competence Must Guide CelebrationYou'll learn four truths cultural competence teaches us:Culture is not decorationTraditions carry emotional and historical weightSymbols have context and meaningPractices emerge from lived experience—not Pinterest boardsThese truths help prevent “performing diversity” and instead foster authentic cultural appreciation.A Real-World Example: Florida State Seminoles FootballJocelynn uses the Florida State Seminoles as a concrete case study of how permission, relationship, and collaboration create a model for cultural appreciation rather than appropriation.This example helps educators understand the importance of community consent, not assumption.Why We Must Avoid the “Single Story” TrapDrawing on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's powerful TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, Jocelynn explains how incomplete narratives shape misunderstanding, bias, and cultural harm.This example reinforces the need for multiple voices, not stereotypes or oversimplified representations.A Simple 3-Step Guide for Culturally Respectful CelebrationAligned with the AnchorED for Achievement framework, Jocelynn shares a practical, actionable method:Reflect — examine assumptions, intentions, and classroom normsLearn — seek authentic sources, voices, and historical contextImplement — co-create celebrations with students and familiesThis guide helps you celebrate culture with confidence—not fear.Reflection Questions for EducatorsWhat assumptions do I bring into cultural celebrations?Whose voice is centered? Whose voice is missing?Is this cultural element being used with permission, understanding, and respect?How does this celebration deepen belonging for all students?How can I create space for students to share (or not share) their traditions with agency?Resources MentionedTED Talk: The Danger of a Single Story – Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieBack-to-School Series Freebie: Lesson 1 + activities

Dans cet épisode, nous discutons des personnes qui nous inspirent : autrices, youtubeuses, scientifiques, militantes, entrepreneurs… mais aussi des proches. Quelle est la différence entre admirer quelqu'un et être vraiment inspiré par lui ? Et qu'est-ce que ça change concrètement dans notre vie : oser dire non, changer de voie, reprendre des études, faire ce qu'on aime vraiment ? Interactive Transcript and Vocab Helper Support Easy French and get interactive transcripts, live vocabulary and bonus content for all our episodes: easyfrench.fm/membership Show Notes Autrices : Sally Rooney (https://www.babelio.com/auteur/Sally-Rooney/475546) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (https://www.chimamanda.com/) Judith Duportail – newsletter Rebelles (https://rebelles.substack.com/) YouTube : Michelle Phan (https://www.youtube.com/michellephan) Cari & Janusz – Easy German (https://www.youtube.com/@EasyGerman) Podcasts : Qui est Miss Paddle ? – Judith Duportail Les ex de François – Judith Duportail C'est pas toi, c'est moi – Leslye Granaud Autres personnalités : Albert Moukheiber (neurosciences, vulgarisation) Rokhaya Diallo (journaliste, autrice, militante antiraciste) Ben Mazué (chanteur, ex-médecin) Esther Taillifet (youtubeuse, autrice, future psychologue) Émissions & projets : Émission “Qui veut être mon associé ?” (M6) Pimpant Agrikolis Transcript Intro Judith: [0:17] Bonjour les amis, bienvenue dans un nouvel épisode du podcast Easy French. Et bonjour Hélène. Hélène: [0:23] Salut Judith et salut les amis. Judith: [0:27] Comment tu vas ? Hélène: [0:28] Ça va bien, je suis contente parce que j'ai trouvé une baby-sitter pour mon fils qui parle français. Judith: [0:37] Elle parle français en Hollande, une perle rare. Hélène: [0:40] C'est sa langue maternelle, donc encore mieux. Judith: [0:43] C'est bien parce que vous suivez les aventures de deux mamans à deux stades différents et toutes les galères auxquelles on est confrontées. Hélène: [0:50] Bien sûr, les galères, les bons moments, comme quand on a trouvé quelqu'un pour avoir un peu de relais. Ça, c'est super. Judith: [0:58] Bon alors, aujourd'hui, Hélène, je voulais parler avec toi de toutes les personnes qui nous inspirent ou que nous admirons. Hélène: [1:06] Super programme. Moi, j'en ai beaucoup. Judith: [1:09] Et avant ça, je voulais qu'on écoute ensemble un message vocal d'une auditrice du podcast Easy French. Tu vas voir, ça va te faire plaisir. Support Easy French and get interactive transcripts, live vocabulary and bonus content for all our episodes: easyfrench.fm/membership

Not many people can say that a Booker prize nomination feels like deja vu … but Kiran Desai is one of those rare people. Twenty years after her first win, Kiran is back on the Booker shortlist with her long-awaited new novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. It's an expansive book that traces the paths of two young Indians as they criss-cross the world and each others' lives. It's a love story, a family saga, and an exploration of the things that bring us together… and the forces that keep us apart. This week, Kiran joins Mattea to talk about crafting a novel for two decades, being the daughter of a writer and the wonder of loneliness. Liked this conversation? Keep listening:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's triumphant return to fictionWhat would it take to become the first Cherokee astronaut?

Joan Silber is the author of ten books of fiction, as well as The Art of Time in Fiction which looks at how fiction is shaped and determined by time, with examples from world writers. She's been on the show three times in the past to talk about Fools, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award; Secrets of Happiness, which was a Washington Post Best Book of the year and a Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of the Year; and Improvement, which won The National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Her latest is Mercy. It's told in six chapters, or six stories, each from a different character's point of view (POV). It takes place over the course of 50 years and comes in at a lean 240 pages. Joan joins Marrie Stone to talk about the book, using it as a craft lesson to discuss managing time in fiction and POV choices, how to write about drug use and sex, and how to treat characters with generosity. One chapter appeared as a standalone piece in the New Yorker (“Evolution”), and Joan discusses that chapter in detail (she also talked about it with the New Yorker). Along the way, they also discuss how she's been influenced by Alice Munro, Anton Chekov, and Grace Paley. Paley was one of Joan's undergrad instructors and Joan shares one of Paley's writing prompts. She also discusses the writers she teaches with respect to character generosity (including Chekov and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners! (Recorded on October 30, 2025) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)

It's hard to believe that Zadie Smith was just 24 years old when she wrote White Teeth, the book that made her a literary star. 25 years later, Zadie is still finding new stories from her life to reflect on — and she shares many of those in her latest essay collection, Dead and Alive. The book combines art criticism with musings about technology, parenting and the writers who've inspired her. This week, Zadie joins Mattea Roach to talk about the collection, what it's like to look back on 25 years of writing … and that time she fell out of a window.Liked this conversation? Keep listening:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's triumphant return to fiction Alison Bechdel on making money and seeing Fun Home in a new light

Today we interview Dr. Taiwo Bello about the historical and contemporary contexts of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. Nancy loves this interview because neither she nor Linda knew anything about the Biafran War. Linny likes that we then talk about lessons we can learn so we don't repeat those mistakes.Taiwo Bello is an Assistant Professor of African History and an affiliate faculty member of the Africana Studies Centre at Oklahoma State University. His research and teaching interests encompass gender and women's history, war and society, violence and conflict studies, the history of crime, law, and punishment, Black and diaspora studies, genocide, human rights, and humanitarian histories, as well as global and transnational history. He serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION journal, HISTORY IN AFRICA, published by Cambridge University Press; and the CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN STUDIES journal, the CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES, published by Taylor & Francis. He is a founding editor of SCHOLAR'S CORNER, a subsidiary blog of the journal, GENOCIDE STUDIES INTERNATIONAL, published by University of Toronto Press. He is revising his second book entitled SOLDIERS ON RAMPAGE: GENDER, BLOCKADE, VIOLENCE AND RESISTANCE IN BIAFRA DURING THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR, 1967-1970. The book examines the impact of the wartime violence between the Nigerian and Biafran soldiers on Biafran women and their families, and the women's responses to wartime atrocities. The book demonstrates how food was central to the constant violence unleashed on women in the heartland of Biafra. His forthcoming book, INVENTING ORDER: CRIME, LAW, AND PUNISHMENT IN NIGERIA AND THE DIASPORA, adopts a multidisciplinary approach to examine the evolution of crimes (armed robbery, immigration fraud, financial fraud, drug trafficking) in Nigeria and their local and global implications.

This episode celebrates the immense diversity of African literature, from the ancient oral storytelling traditions of the Griots to the powerful emergence of post-colonial writing. We'll discuss how authors like Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have used literature to reclaim their history, grapple with the legacy of colonialism, and forge new identities. To unlock full access to all our episodes, consider becoming a premium subscriber on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. And don't forget to visit englishpluspodcast.com for even more content, including articles, in-depth studies, and our brand-new audio series and courses now available in our Patreon Shop!

We were delighted to have the chance to speak with Adam Szetela about his new book, That Book Is Dangerous! How Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars Are Remaking Publishing. Adam shares what he learned from authors, agents, and editors about the effects of cancel culture in the publishing industry. His behind-the-scenes account is fascinating and sobering in equal measure.Show Notes* For more info on Adam Szetela, check out his website * Here is the official MIT Press link to Adam's book * The Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie audio clips come from her 2022 Reith Lecture on Free Speech (listen here; read the transcript here)* Matt Yglesias coined the term “The Great Awokening” in this 2019 Vox essay* “a rapid change in discourse and norms around social justice issues”: That's a quote from Stony Brook sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, one of the nation's foremost chroniclers of “The Great Awokening”* see Musa's 2024 book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite * here are two Banished episodes featuring Musa: You Can't Be an Egalitarian Social Climber & Who Speaks the Language of Social Justice?* The Harper's Letter* Michael Hobbes, “Don't Fall for the ‘Cancel Culture Scam,'” HuffPo, July 10, 2020* This 2019 Zadie Smith essay from the New York Review of Books is the definitive rejoinder to the cultural critics who insist that we “should write only about people who are fundamentally ‘like us': racially, sexually, genetically, nationally, politically, personally”* On the controversy surrounding Amélie Wen Zhao's Blood Heir, see Alexandra Alter, “She Pulled Her Debut Book When Critics Found It Racist. Now She Plans to Publish,” New York Times, April 29, 2019* On the cancelation of Kosoko Jackson's book, A Place for Wolves, see Jennifer Senior, “Teen Fiction and the Perils of Cancel Culture,” New York Times, March 8, 2019* On the cancelation of a romance novel based on “criticism from readers over dialogue that some found racist or that praised Elon Musk,” see Alexandra Alter, “A Publisher Pulled a Romance Novel After Criticism From Early Readers,” New York Times, March 5, 2025* On the demographics of the people who work in the publishing industry, with an emphasis on racial diversity, see this 2022 report from Pen America, “Reading Between the Lines”* For more on literature and the culture wars, see Deborah Appleman's incisive 2022 book, Literature and the New Culture Wars: Triggers, Cancel Culture, and the Teacher's Dilemma * On the perils of teaching literature from a narrow social justice lens, see “Poverty of the Imagination,” an essay we wrote a few years back in Arc Digital* On what we keep getting wrong about the cancel culture debate, see this September 26, 2025 Banished post This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe

This month we're reading HALF OF A YELLOW SUN by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Listeners might remember Episode 88 when our guest to discuss Chinua Achebe's THINGS FALL ABOUT, Dr. Thomas Jay Lynn, mentioned one of his favorite books about Africa was HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. We made a note of that, and here we are! Chinua Achebe's THINGS FALL apart was one of Linny's favorite books we've read. So, she was interested to read this book that takes place 80 years later. Nigeria is breaking apart and the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria declare themselves a separate country called Biafra. This novel is set in the late 1960s immediately before and during the Biafran war and we meet a lot of characters, but for Nancy, it is really the story about the private lives of 20-something twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene and the choice they make turning this turbulent time. They come from an affluent and wealthy family and they've been educated in England. Olanna is the “beauty” and she is a people pleaser, and lacks confidence. Kainene is not beautiful and is blunt and is successfully assuming leadership of her father's businesses. Neither Linny nor Nancy knew much about Biafra before reading this book. Linny said she knows there has always been lots of political unrest in Africa. Nancy talks about why she thinks that is a result of colonialization.The war has a huge impact on the arc of all the characters. Olanna, because Odenigbo disintegrates, must step up and help her family survive and also becomes stronger and more confident. Kainene is confident and competent and becomes more so, eventually operating a refugee camp, becoming more a humanitarian.Nancy thinks Ugwu's journey from innocence to moral disintegration is a commentary on war. What does war do to people? We kill each other and perpetrate other inhumanities. Linny says by the end of the war, the characters have to figure out how to pick up the pieces of who they are and try to move on.

Greg and Holly discuss the impactful speech by orator Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on how portrayal in more than one light is a very important thing when considering a story.

On this episode of the podcast, I continue sharing my thoughts on Chimamanda's book Dream Count by highlighting four quotes and excerpts that make me laugh, think, and will stay with me for a long time. I hope you listen to the end. I've re-lauched my Youtube channel! Subscribe and support! Link: https://www.youtube.com/@mylettersandlayers/videosAs always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

Storytelling has a certain power and influence over all of us—good and bad. Join me for an unforgettable TED Talk featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. — Support and sponsor this show! Venmo Tip Jar: @wellthatsinteresting Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wellthatsinterestingpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky: @wtipod Threads: @wellthatsinterestingpod Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wti_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen on YouTube!! Oh, BTW. You're interesting. Email YOUR facts, stories, experiences... Nothing is too big or too small. I'll read it on the show: wellthatsinterestingpod@gmail.com WTI is a part of the Airwave Media podcast network! Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other incredible shows. Want to advertise your glorious product on WTI? Email me: wellthatsinterestingpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textHi, and welcome to this episode of The Bookshop Podcast!Step into the vibrant literary heart of Mexico with the San Miguel Writers Conference, where cultural exchange and creative inspiration meet in one of the world's most beautiful cities. Susan Page, founder and president, alongside executive director Jodi Pincus, unveil the magic behind this extraordinary gathering that transforms writers and readers alike.This unique tricultural and bilingual event bridges the literary communities of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, creating rich connections across borders. Set against the backdrop of San Miguel de Allende—consistently voted the world's #1 city by Conde Nast Traveler—participants immerse themselves in perfectly preserved 18th-century Spanish colonial architecture while engaging with world-class authors and honing their craft.The 2026 conference boasts an exceptional lineup of global voices: Ethiopian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese, Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel, Nigerian literary star Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Indigenous Mexican intellectual Yesnaya Elena Aguilar-Hill, Argentinian author Andrés Neuman, and Chinese-American writer R.F. Kuang. Beyond the keynotes, the conference offers 80 workshops across multiple genres, opportunities to pitch literary agents, discussion circles on timely topics like AI and cultural appropriation, and a dedicated "Pleasures of Reading" track for literary enthusiasts.What truly distinguishes this gathering is its holistic approach to the literary experience—combining rigorous craft development with cultural immersion and community building. Workshops unfold in beautiful gardens, open mics create space for emerging voices, and wellness activities provide balance. Meanwhile, the conference maintains deep connections to local communities through teen writing programs and literary outreach to underserved rural areas.Whether you're a serious writer seeking to refine your craft, a reader hungry for literary inspiration, or someone drawn to the magical energy of San Miguel, the conference offers flexible registration options to create your perfect experience. Mark your calendar for February 11-15, 2026, and join a global community of literary minds in one of the world's most enchanting destinations.San Miguel Writers' ConferenceSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

This week we revisit one of my all-time favourite guests: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, recorded in July 2021. Best known for Americanah and her globally resonant TED Talks, Chimamanda opens up about the profound grief of losing both her parents within a year—and the raw journey of coping in its aftermath. We talk candidly about: Her essay Notes on Grief Being a daughter and the complexities of motherhood Fertility struggles and writing through pain Her cultural influence and, yes...Kim Kardashian It's heartfelt, honest, and deeply moving. Listen when you're ready to feel. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Intro 03:18 Chimamanda's Background and Family 04:39 Exploring Feminism and Dissatisfaction 06:09 Navigating Sexism and Racism 08:29 Cultural Observations and Gender Roles 14:52 Academic Journey and Career Shift 18:12 Grief, Guilt, and Family Memories 35:04 Delight in Simple Pleasures 35:54 A Mother's Determination 38:11 Medical Malpractice and Loss 41:10 Coping with Grief 42:51 Seeking Comfort in Faith 51:20 Struggles with Writing 53:51 Motherhood and Creativity 01:01:44 Fashion, Individuality, and Social Media

Tout l'été, La Grande Librairie vous accompagne en podcast avec certaines des séquences marquantes de notre 17ème saison. Aujourd'hui, trois auteurs étrangers qui nous ouvrent au monde : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Roberto Saviano et Ahmet Altan.

Tout l'été, La Grande Librairie vous accompagne en podcast avec certaines des séquences marquantes de notre 17ème saison. Aujourd'hui, trois auteurs étrangers qui nous ouvrent au monde : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Roberto Saviano et Ahmet Altan.

Against! is the first book-length study of Afro-Caribbean and African immigrant and second-generation writing in the United States. In it, Asha Jeffers evaluates the relationship between Blackness and immigranthood in the US as depicted through the recurring theme of rebellious Black immigrant daughters. Considering the work of Paule Marshall, Edwidge Danticat, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Taiye Selasi, Jeffers untangles how rebellion is informed by race, gender, ethnicity, and migration status. Immigrant and second-generation writers mobilize often complicated familial relationships to comment on a variety of political, social, and psychic contexts. Jeffers argues that rather than categorizing Black migrants as either immediately fully integrated into an African American experience or seeing them as another category altogether that is unbound by race, Marshall, Danticat, Adichie, and Selasi identify the unstable position of Black migrants within the American racial landscape. By highlighting the diverse ways Black migrants and their children negotiate this position amid the dual demands of the respectability politics imposed on African Americans and the model-minority myth imposed on immigrants, Jeffers reveals the unsteady nature of US racial categories. Asha Jeffers is Associate Professor in the Department of English, Gender and Women's Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

The Queen is here! Today we're Stoopin' it with award-winning Nigerian author and ground-breaking cultural icon, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie!Hana has SO many questions for her favorite author- from how African stereotypical narratives are changing, to being a Nigerian mama in 2025 America, to book bans, and returning to writing fiction after 12 years since her groundbreaking novel Americanah. We're chillin' with Chimamanda! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Part 1 We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Summary"We Should All Be Feminists" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an essay adapted from her TEDx talk, which provides a personal and passionate perspective on feminism and its relevance in today's world. Key Points of the Essay: Definition of Feminism: Adichie defines feminism as a movement for the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. She emphasizes that feminism is not about disregarding men but about striving for equity in roles, opportunities, and treatment for both genders. Personal Experiences: Through anecdotes from her life in Nigeria, Adichie highlights the subtle and blatant forms of gender discrimination women face. She recounts experiences from childhood to adulthood that illustrate societal expectations and pressures on women and girls, including how they are often discouraged from pursuing ambitious goals compared to their male counterparts. Cultural Conditioning: Adichie discusses how culture plays a significant role in shaping gender norms, asserting that society raises boys and girls differently, leading to power imbalances. She stresses the importance of awareness of these biases to challenge and change them. Importance of Feminism: The essay argues that everyone—regardless of gender—should be involved in feminist activism. Adichie asserts that true equality would benefit all, leading to a more just society. Challenges to Feminism: Adichie addresses common misconceptions about feminism, including the belief that it is a threat to men. She emphasizes that dismantling patriarchal norms can also free men from toxic expectations placed upon them. Call to Action: The essay concludes with a call for collective action against gender inequality. Adichie advocates for education and dialogue about feminism and encourages individuals to stand up against sexism in their daily lives. Overall, "We Should All Be Feminists" is a compelling argument for gender equality, providing insights into the ways in which society can work towards creating a more equitable world.Part 2 We Should All Be Feminists AuthorChimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author born on September 15, 1977, in Enugu, Nigeria. She is well-known for her engaging storytelling and insightful perspectives on topics such as feminism, identity, and post-colonial experiences. We Should All Be FeministsRelease Date: The book "We Should All Be Feminists" was first published in 2014. It began as a TEDx talk given by Adichie in December 2012, which became widely popular and led to the book's publication.Content: The book is an essay that discusses the definitions of feminism and argues for a more inclusive and adaptive understanding of gender roles in contemporary society. Other Notable WorksChimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written several acclaimed novels and essays. Some of her other notable works include:Purple Hibiscus (2003) Her debut novel, which tells the story of a young Nigerian girl living in a stifled home and exploring themes of freedom and oppression.Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) This novel, set during the Nigerian Civil War, delves into the impact of the conflict on individuals and communities. It won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007.Americanah (2013) This best-selling novel follows the story of a young Nigerian woman who immigrates to the United States and explores issues of race and identity. It received widespread critical acclaim.The Thing Around Your Neck (2009) A collection of short stories that address themes of immigration, culture clash, and personal identity.Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017) A letter to the author's friend on raising her daughter to be a feminist, which outlines practical advice and insights. Best EditionIn terms of editions, "Half of a...

Long before he became a bestselling writer, Ocean Vuong sold rotisserie chickens at Boston Market. In his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, he explores the meaning that can be found in the daily grind of a fast food restaurant. The book follows a young addict named Hai as he unexpectedly becomes caretaker to an elderly woman and makes unlikely connections at the fast-food restaurant where he works. Ocean tells Mattea Roach about challenging the American Dream, how being raised by women shaped him and why this novel is his most self indulgent yet. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's triumphant return to fictionTeresa Wong: Illustrating her family's past — in all its ordinary and epic moments

A week after the meltdown of markets everywhere and Trump's sudden pause on most new tariffs for 90 days - with the exception of China, economists say the trade war is still on, the damage has already been done and the likelihood of a recession remains. Long time allies now view America with suspicion and trust has been badly damaged. To contextualize what this moment means for America, Christiane spoke to renowned global historian Peter Frankopan. Then to find out how Beijing is viewing the Trump administration's actions, Christiane talked to Li Yuan who covers China and its foreign relations for the New York Times. Also, CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports on one IDF soldier who is blowing the whistle on a policy to purposely destroy everything in a massive buffer zone inside Gaza and even make it a kill zone. Afterwards, award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks to Christiane about her new novel "Dream Count" - a tale of love, loss and female solidarity. Then, as Rwanda commemorates 31 years since the genocide there, Christiane revisits her 1994 report on the biblical retribution that befell the Hutu killers who were struck by a plague-like outbreak of cholera after fleeing Rwanda for neighboring countries. And finally, as "The Great Gatsby" turns 100, why it retains its relevance all these years later.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Readers have been waiting for a new novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for 12 years … and Dream Count delivers a sweeping tale that was well worth the wait. In the novel, Chimamanda weaves together the perspectives of four women moving between Nigeria, Guinea and the United States. In this Canadian broadcast exclusive, she joins Mattea Roach to talk about her longing to be known, grappling with the sudden loss of her parents and how her mother's spirit brought her back to fictionCheck out the full video interview on the CBC Arts YouTube channel. 

The world is now in a trade war after the White House imposed tariffs of at least 10% across all countries. Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock is at NATO HQ today, having just visited their ally in Kyiv. She spoke to Christiane from Brussels.  Also on today's show: author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie joins Trevor and Christiana to discuss her new novel and how she approaches the alchemy of writing fiction. The three also discuss the challenge of exchanging opposing ideas in today's world, when joke telling may be crossing the line, and why Chimamanda declines to be on social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we're playing a high-stakes game of Smash or Pass with the latest pop culture offerings. Join us as we debate if anyone needed a Shrek 5, whether the controversy surrounding Bhad Bhadie and Alabama Barker even qualifies as a beef, and decide how we feel about the new floodlighting trend and the new season of White Lotus. Plus, Knox schools Jamie on the ‘Montoya, por favor!' hype.Relevant links: Our full show notes are at knoxandjamie.com/597Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcast or Spotify!Smash or Pass: Shrek 5 Trailer | Beef Alert | Floodlighting | Tate McRae | White Lotus S3Asides: Montoya, por favor! (see also: Spotify)Red Light Mentions: Airports (exhibit A, exhibit B) | Prior judgement of Running Point (aside: also: Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak) Green lights:Jamie: book - We Should All Be Feminist by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | documentary - 20 Days in MariupolKnox: book - Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan MorrisonBonus segment: Join our new Patreon tier to listen ad-free and get exclusive weekly and monthly content. Episode sponsors: Boll & Branch | QuinceSee all our sponsors at knoxandjamie.com/sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2025 is: askew • uh-SKYOO • adjective Askew means “not straight” or “at an angle,” and can be used as both an adjective and an adverb. // The picture on the cabin wall was slightly askew. // The picture was hung askew on the cabin wall. See the entry > Examples: “I reread ‘Biography of Nigeria's Foremost Professor of Statistics, Prof. James Nwoye Adichie,' by Emeritus Professor Alex Animalu, Professor Peter I. Uche, and Jeff Unaegbu, published in 2013, three years before my father was made professor emeritus of the University of Nigeria. The printing is uneven, the pages slightly askew, but I feel a euphoric rush of gratitude to the authors. Why does this line—‘the children and I adore him'—from my mother's tribute soothe me so; why does it feel pacifying and prophetic? It pleases me that it exists, forever declared in print.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The New Yorker, 10 Sept. 2020 Did you know? If you watch enough nature documentaries you may notice that gazelles are able to escape the claws (and, subsequently, jaws) of cheetahs when they zigzag across the savannah rather than simply run in a straight line. In Middle English, prey outmaneuvering a predator in this way might be said to be “skewing.” Skew means both “to take an oblique course” (as it does in modern English too) as well as “to escape,” and comes from the Anglo-French word eschiver, meaning “to escape or avoid.” It's this skew, with its suggestion of crooked lines, that forms the basis of the adjective askew (the prefix a- means “in [such] a state or condition”). Askew is used as both an adjective and an adverb to describe things or actions that are a little off, not straight, or at an angle. The “escape” sense of the Middle English skew isn't so much implied by askew, but we suppose that a painting hanging askew on one's wall could be, metaphorically speaking, attempting to escape from the rest of the décor.

Russia says Western governments are fragmenting over the war in Ukraine. President Putin's spokesman said no coordinated peace plan was on the agenda yet. His remarks reflect recent divisions between President Trump and Ukraine and its supporters in Europe.Also in the programme: Arab states and UN condemn Gaza aid blockade by Israel; Anora sweeps the board at the Oscars; and we speak to Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.(Photo: France, the UK and other European leaders met on Sunday to discuss Ukraine's security. Credit: EPA)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reads her story “Chuka,” from the February 17 and February 24, 2025, issue of the magazine. Adichie's novels include “Half of a Yellow Sun,” which won the Orange Prize for Fiction, and “Americanah,” a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. A new novel, “Dream Count,” from which this story was adapted, will be published in March. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices