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 ]
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The Cooperative Children's Book Center has released its annual statistics on diversity in children's literature, and the results are heartening: 40% of books published in 2022 have a BIPOC author, illustrator, or compiler. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Courtney Pentland will begin her role as the 2023–2024 president of the American Association of School Librarians following the official close of the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago on June 27; we spoke with Pentland about how she plans to support her fellow librarians—and encourage pre-service... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sammy Harkham's epic graphic novel took 14 years to create and captures a Los Angeles — and a movie business — that no longer exists. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-06-08 13:00:48 UTC ]
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Every day I see another article framed around a journalist feeding something into ChatGPT and publishing the results, or an author writing 87 books with AI in a single day, or a publishing house using LMM to sort the slush pile, another bone dissolves within my body. Soon, I shall be but a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-05 14:57:22 UTC ]
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When I saw the trailer for Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, I thought we’d reached the nadir of public domain-enabled re-imaginings, but it turns out, it can get much, much more horrifying than a low-budget slasher. Like a picture book in which the beloved bear must face a school shooter.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-30 16:28:26 UTC ]
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World Literature Today Announces 2023 Student Translation Prize Winners News and Events [email protected] Tue, 05/30/2023 - 09:42 Katie Kassam and Vala Thorodds, winners of the 2023 Student Translation PrizesWorld Literature Today, the University... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-30 14:42:03 UTC ]
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Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints‘As you get older you realise that all these things – prizes, reviews, advances, readers – it’s all showbiz, and the real action starts with your obituary.”Martin Amis first started spinning in favour of his future... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-27 17:31:09 UTC ]
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It wasn’t just luck that steered the Guardian columnist to Oxford and into a media career ... She reflects on the subtle mechanics of class (and an early encounter with a naked future PM)Children know. They breathe it in early, for there’s no unknowing the difference between nannies, cleaners,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 12:00:56 UTC ]
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There’s a chance our understanding of biology is radically incomplete. Imagine using your cellphone to control the activity of your own cells to treat injuries and disease. It sounds like something from the imagination of an overly optimistic science fiction writer. But this may one day be a... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-05-18 01:04:00 UTC ]
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A free-speech organization and the country’s largest book publisher said the district violated the First Amendment and the equal protection clause. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-17 17:45:29 UTC ]
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PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House filed a law suit today against a school district for book bans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-05-17 16:28:56 UTC ]
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Doppelganger, due out this autumn, examines ‘the wildness of right now’, including personal issues arising from being confused with Naomi Wolf Award-winning author and Guardian columnist Naomi Klein is to publish a book about conspiracy theories, which she has described as a departure and “more... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-17 13:00:30 UTC ]
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PEN officials called the suit a "first-of-its-kind challenge to unlawful censorship," bringing together concerned parents, authors, and a major publisher. "Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights,"... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The executive editor at Union Square & Co. looks to nurture the work of both debut and seasoned authors. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Iraqi writer Shahad Al Rawi, who was shortlisted for this year’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the young author category, will speak with the New Yorker’s Yasmine AlSayyad. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A Saskatchewan First Nations woman's story about her father's residential school experience has won the world's top journalism award. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-05-08 23:02:08 UTC ]
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I can’t remember exactly when I discovered The Baby-Sitters Club books. Maybe it was at a Scholastic Book Fair at my school. But I’ll always remember the very first book, Kristy’s Great Idea, with its bright yellow cover and alphabet block letters. I saw four friends hanging out, and I... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-05 11:10:00 UTC ]
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Illustration by Krishna Bala Shenoi. Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, and politicians. It’s a podcast where people sound like people. New episodes air every Sunday, distributed by Pushkin Industries. * Live from On Air Fest in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-02 08:54:53 UTC ]
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Telling good stories in games is really hard. It’s hard in any medium, of course, but games provide a set of challenges over and above those faced by novelists and screenwriters. Take the question of agency—if the player is allowed to make the primary narrative decisions in the game, then the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-01 15:00:45 UTC ]
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Surviving years of college is no small feat, so the graduates in our lives deserve rightful praise and celebration. Whether your graduate is going out into the world to get their first job or continuing with their education, there are a number of gadgets you can gift them that will make them... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-05-01 13:15:46 UTC ]
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