Artist's spoof Ladybird book provokes wrath of Penguin

Publisher tells Miriam Elia to stop selling satire in which Peter and Jane grapple with Tracey Emin-style conceptual artAn artist and comedian has been told by the publisher Penguin that her new satirical art book breaches its copyright, and if she continues to sell copies it could use the courts to seize the books and have them pulped.Miriam Elia, who has her own comedy series, A Series Of Psychotic Episodes, on BBC Radio 4 and has had a number of short segments on Channel 4, had produced a spoof version of the Ladybird books from the 60s. Generations of British children fondly remember these works, which famously portrayed the daily lives of Mummy, Peter and Jane as an introduction to reading and writing for young children.Elia's version sees them visiting an exhibition at a modern art gallery and grappling with existential questions about the nature of Tracey Emin-style conceptualist work, much of it peppered with distinctly adult imagery.Elia, an accomplished artist who trained at the Royal College of Art and has shown in a number of prestigious galleries, produced all the pictures in the book, We Go to the Gallery, herself. Some she painted, while some were collages made from scenes cut from old Ladybird books.She had a brief initial run of 1,000 books printed privately and has been selling them for £20 each. But Penguin, which owns the Ladybird imprint, contacted Elia, saying that her work breached its copyright. The company has told Elia that it will allow her one... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon in Talks to Launch Digital-Book Library

Amazon.com Inc. is talking with book publishers about launching a Netflix Inc.-like service for digital books, in which customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of content, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Prices Prop Up Print Siblings

Even as readers grow more comfortable with digital books, some continue to question why so many of the most popular new ebooks are priced so high. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle E-Book Lending Program: What It Needs to Succeed

Amazon's "Netflix for E-Books" lending program is still a rumor, and not popular with book publishers, but here are some ways it could work. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Ireland acquires war debut

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French Publishers Drop Lawsuits Against Google Book Scanning

Three French publishers have dropped lawsuits against Google alleging that the company infringed their copyright. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virgin buys Palin book

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 11:17 Virgin Books has acquired a title about US political firebrand Sarah Palin, written by Joe McGinniss. Publishing director Ed Faulkner bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Crown Publishers in the US to The Rogue, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Natalie Portman trainer book to Vermilion

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BRC says August book sales "tough"

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fig Tree aquires Nell Leyshon book

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Physical book sales slump 4% month-on-month

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book tells of Evening Standard's Dispossessed campaign

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Galaxy National Book Awards coverage shake-up

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dawn Porter to write for Hodder Children's Books

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books-A-Million At the Crossroads

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin reissues Dahl's grown-up stories

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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