Homeless busker James Bowen was helped in his struggle against addiction by the companionship of a stray cat. Now his books charting their friendship have propelled him into an elite publishing clubSamuel Johnson used to buy oysters for his cat, Hodge; Charles Dickens was so distressed when his own pet died that he had its paw stuffed and turned into a letter opener. Now, proving that there is nothing the British like more than a heartwarming story about an indomitable feline, the homeless busker turned author James Bowen, who wrote about how his cat changed his life in A Street Cat Named Bob, has joined an elite club of writers to have sold more than one million copies of their books in the UK.In 2007, Bowen, a recovering drug addict, found an injured Bob curled up on a step when he himself was living in sheltered accommodation. "He gave me this look, almost saying, 'help', but also 'sort it out'," said the author today. Bowen nursed Bob back to health, only to find the cat following him everywhere he went, even joining him when he busked and sold the Big Issue. The pair became well-known in London, going on to attract the attention of a literary agent, who sold Bowen's story of how, with Bob's help, he would get over his addictions to heroin and methadone, to Hodder & Stoughton.The publisher said today that in just two years, combined sales of A Street Cat Named Bob (written with Garry Jenkins), its sequel The World According to Bob and the children's book Bob: No... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
Bestselling author who enjoyed overnight success with her debut novel A Woman of SubstanceIt was Graham Greene who inadvertently launched Barbara Taylor Bradford, who has died aged 91, on the road that would lead, in 2003, to her induction into the Writers Hall of Fame of America, alongside Mark... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-11-25 16:52:30 UTC ]
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If you’ve read only one book about the Spanish Civil War, chances are it’s either Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls or George Orwell’s memoir Homage to Catalonia. And if you’ve read only two, as to what they might be, I’d confidently push all my chips into the center of the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-11-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson’s new graphic novel ‘Big Jim and the White Boy’ is an imaginative retelling, in comics, of Mark Twain’s ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’ An 11-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Pugilistic metaphors and hard-drinking aphorisms … a brittle misogyny and a vainglorious narcissism. And then there are all the dead animals.” David Barnes considers the baggage of Ernest Hemingway, 100 years after his first published work. | Lit Hub Criticism How language acquisition nourishes... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-22 10:30:40 UTC ]
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“Pugilistic metaphors and hard-drinking aphorisms … a brittle misogyny and a vainglorious narcissism. And then there are all the dead animals.” David Barnes considers the baggage of Ernest Hemingway, 100 years after his first published work. | Lit Hub Criticism Welcome to the Shakespeare... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-17 10:30:58 UTC ]
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One very short story – often attributed to Ernest Hemingway but actually the work of another writer – is just six words long: ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’. And some of the greatest fiction-writers of the last two centuries have written memorable short stories which stretch to little more […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2021-09-25 14:00:49 UTC ]
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Simon Akam says Penguin Random House cancelled his book about the British army, The Changing of the Guard, and demanded back his advance after he refused to let the MoD vet itIn the summer of 2015, journalist Simon Akam was thrilled when Penguin Random House (PRH) imprint William Heinemann won a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-23 13:00:54 UTC ]
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CMA says it is considering whether Penguin Random House’s $2bn deal would lessen competitionAuthors fear the worst if Bertelsmann takes over Simon & SchusterThe UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Penguin Random House’s $2bn (£1.45bn) takeover of Simon & Schuster,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-03-22 09:00:30 UTC ]
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What stands out in Ernest Hemingway’s short stories is their humanity, their feeling for human fragility. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2021-02-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Parisian bookstore and lending library Shakespeare and Company is digitizing decades of its records, revealing the reading habits of its famous patrons. The post The Reading Habits of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-05-22 20:30:26 UTC ]
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His diverse body of work included novels, plays and a memoir about Ernest Hemingway. He was also a partner with his friend Paul Newman in business and charity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-16 15:37:39 UTC ]
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His diverse body of work included novels, plays and a memoir about Ernest Hemingway. He was also a partner with his friend Paul Newman in business and charity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-15 21:06:55 UTC ]
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When I first joined a workshop in 1994, American literary fiction was dominated by and continually lauded a “quiet” kind of writer, one often influenced by J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, or Raymond Carver. I loved literary fiction—I’d been reading, writing, and submitting it since high school.... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-16 11:00:22 UTC ]
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A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-08-13 16:46:49 UTC ]
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Inspired by Twain’s tales, Krueger decided to write about young people, desperate to swap corruption for freedom, who embark on a turbulent river journey. The resulting standalone novel, 'This Tender Land' (Atria, Sept.), combines outdoor exploits and a meditation on the human condition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Works by Ángela Lago, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Omaima Ezadeen are on the first reading list announced by the United Nations' new SDG Book Club. The post SDG Book Club Issues First Reading List on Sustainable Goals at Bologna appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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De Montfort Literature will employ an algorithm ‘to identify career novelists’, and hopes to free its writers from second jobsEven the most revered authors held down day jobs, from TS Eliot’s time at Lloyd’s to Walt Whitman’s stint as a government clerk. Now a “successful hedge fund with a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘My private life being an open sewer, I am sometimes a little touchy,’ wrote the authorHis prose matched his macho lifestyle, from wartime adventures to big-game hunting, boozing and bullfighting. But Ernest Hemingway was extremely sensitive about his private life, which he described as “an open... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Head of venerable press says his sector has important role in the defence of free speech and champions the revival of literary fiction and traditional booksFaber & Faber’s chief executive has called for publishers to oppose crackdowns on free speech and the rise of so-called fake news.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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