Over one hundred UK authors have formed a new group to address inequality in the publishing industry. In an open letter, members of the Black Writers’ Guild—including Bernardine Evaristo, Candice Carty-Williams, and Kit de Waal—asked the Big Five publishers to make the publishing process more transparent and to hire more black editors and employees, among other recommendations. “Publishers have taken advantage of this moment to amplify the marketing of titles by their black authors and release statements of support for the black communities who have been campaigning for equality for decades,” they write. “Although we welcome your support at this time, we are deeply concerned that British publishers are raising awareness of racial inequality without significantly addressing their own.”
NPR looks at the “internal uprising” at the Los Angeles Times. Employees have been frustrated by the paper’s coverage of recent protests, as well as its hiring practices and inequitable salaries. Staff at Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal have similar concerns about their own organizations.
For the New York Times, Jericho Brown, Carmen Maria Machado, and Thomas Page McBee reflect on Stonewall, protest, and what Pride means to them.
On the Otherppl podcast, Brad Listi talks to Roxane Gay about racism, pain, and change.
At Vice, Laura Wagner profiles Kelly McBride, a media ethics expert at Poynter. “Over the course of her time as the industry’s most established ethicist, the world has changed around her,” she writes. “In many ways, McBride’s down-the-middle, please-everyone approach feels like a representation of a worldview that’s lost its legitimacy.”
Trump’s niece is publishing a book about her family. Mary Trump, the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., will reveal a number of “harrowing and salacious” details about the president and the Trump family, including the fact that she provided the New York Times with the tax documents used in their reporting on Trump’s finances. Too Much and Never Enough will be published by Simon & Schuster in August.
