By combining self-help and literature, the School of Life’s first novel does both a disservice | Alice Kemp-Habib

Billed as ‘a therapeutic novel’, the publisher’s first foray into fiction follows 29-year-old Anna’s mental health journey – with a view to helping the reader. But how useful can such clunky writing be?At 29 years old, Anna is full of self-loathing. She hates her job, her boyfriend is having an affair and her parents’ response to her troubles is indifferent at best. This is the starting point for A Voice of One’s Own, the first novel to be published by The School of Life. In its pages, fiction and self-help make for uneasy bedfellows.Co-founded by philosopher Alain de Botton in 2008, The School of Life broadly aims to teach its “students” how to lead calmer, more fulfilling lives. Its publishing arm, launched in 2016, disseminates self-help literature with pithy titles such as Reasons to be Hopeful and A Simpler Life, which purport to blend philosophical wisdom with practical advice. Like De Botton himself, the books are Marmite; while many critique the school for peddling watered-down pop philosophy, its teachings have clearly found a market. The organisation has branches in seven major cities, and its most popular title, Big Ideas for Curious Minds, has sold over 120,000 copies globally, while its workshops on playfulness, confidence and self-awareness regularly sell out. The new book represents a departure, however. Through A Voice of One’s Own, The School of Life is showing, rather than telling, its readers how to live better. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-07 15:45:50 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "By combining self-help and literature, the School of Life’s first novel does both a disservice | Alice Kemp-Habib"


'Intimate' Austen letters set for September release

The Bodleian Library's publishing arm is set to release a collection of Jane Austen's letters which will provide "intimate glimpses" into her life after moving to Bath, aged 25. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Profits Rose at Lagardere, HBG in 2016

Profits rose 5.0% at Lagardere Publishing in 2106 over 2015, helped by strict cost controls at Hachette Book Group USA which integrated the publishing arm of Perseus Books Group during the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Icon celebrates 25 years

The Library club on St Martin’s Lane was the chic venue for Icon Books’ celebration of “25 Years of Big Ideas”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Vintage mines backlist to launch new 'big ideas' Minis series

Vintage is launching a new series, Vintage Minis, designed to celebrate the publisher’s extensive backlist by turning snippets from great contemporary and classic writers into small but compelling titles on "big" subjects, such as death, eating and love.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bookstore News: November 1, 2016

A bookstore/restaurant preps for its Maryland opening; stores expand in New Jersey and Washington; a California bookstore adds a publishing arm; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Why Verizon faces an uphill battle with its ambitious content plans

Verizon is trying to become a media company, but history isn't littered with examples of telecoms succeeding at content. It's hard to combine two radically different DNAs, build a publishing arm from scratch and change consumer habits. When you have different businesses, it can be difficult to... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Publishers 'feeding on scraps from Facebook', says Bloomberg Media boss

Justin Smith says social network makes far more money from ads in its news feed than news organisations do from linked trafficNewspapers, magazines and other publishers are “feeding on the scraps” of Facebook’s multibillion-dollar ad business despite playing a central role in keeping the social... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hachette to acquire Perseus' publishing arm, finally

Hachette will acquire Perseus' publishing arm, both publishers announced Tuesday. The deal is the culmination of an effort that started and was stopped in 2014 when details proved too complicated. Now things have been simplified by separating Perseus' publishing business from its distribution... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Markham, Holquist Retire From Discovery House

Judith E. Markham, managing editor at the publishing arm of Our Daily Bread Ministries, and Carol Holquist, publisher of the press, are retiring. They are being replaced, respectively, by Joyce Dinkins and Ken Petersen. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Poisoned Pen to Bring Back Golden Age Mysteries

With "Downton Abbey" reviving interest in the period between the two world wars, the publishing arm of the British Library has been releasing new editions of forgotten classics published in Britain’s golden age of mystery (considered to span most of the 1920s and ’30s) since 2012. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Augsburg Fortress to Launch Kids' Imprint

The publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is launching a children's imprint for the general trade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Stein flies in for FutureBook: bookings extended

E-book pioneer Bob Stein is to join the ‘big ideas’ panel at FutureBook 2014. The last minute addition of Stein means bookings for The Bookseller’s digital publishing conference will now remain open for another five hours. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


7 Ideas to Help You Anticipate the Future of Publishing

Ewan Morrison explains how the 'seven big ideas in the world' dominate culture and can help you prepare for the next book publishing trends. The post 7 Ideas to Help You Anticipate the Future of Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Newsquest's fate uncertain as Gannett spins off its publishing business

Just two weeks on from reporting a large increase in profits, Gannett has announced the splitting of its broadcast and publishing divisions into separate companies. It means that Gannett's British newspaper outfit, Newsquest, will find itself as part of the publishing arm and, quite possibly,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


USA Today owner Gannett to spin off publishing arm

Media giant to create two companies, one of which will focus on broadcasting and digital content and the other on publishingGannett, the publisher of USA Today, is to take full ownership of the auto website Cars.com and spin off its publishing assets into a publicly traded company as it focuses... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


News Corp reports 4% revenue drop

Rupert Murdoch’s publishing arm, which owns Wall Street Journal and the Times, blames ‘challenging advertising market’Dominic Rushe Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Publish Faster, Publish Less: Futurebook’s “Big Ideas”

Nine publishing pros at The Bookseller's Futurebook conference offered their big ideas for the industry, which included publishing faster and publishing less. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Imperial War Museums sales and distribution to Unicorn

Unicorn Press has announced a new sales and distribution contract with the publishing arm of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Big Ideas from Books in Browsers IV

Books in Browsers showcased several, new big ideas for digital publishing, including 'Network Tense,' 'Collaborative Architecture,' 'Book Hacks' and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


News Corp Launches Global Private Ad Exchange

News Corp today announced plans to launch a global programmatic ad exchange that will let advertisers buy across its more than 50 online and mobile products including WSJ.com, Times.co.uk and NYPost.com. News Corp is far from the first to jump on the automated selling trend; other premium... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this