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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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's grows book sales 20%

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ BBC News | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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