Britain's first homegrown existentialist star, he failed to follow up the huge success of his 1956 book, The OutsiderFor a few dazzling months, Colin Wilson, who has died aged 82, was taken at his own valuation in his diary as "the major literary genius of our century", a writer destined to be "Plato's ideal sage and king". The phenomenal reviews and sales of his first book, The Outsider (1956), led him to be seen as a potential saviour of the human spirit, a thinker who might find a way through the spiritual nullity of the postwar years.The book remains extraordinary, more for its reach than its grasp. It was an attempt to map a single, negotiable path of mysticism from the span of recent western art and philosophy. Wilson looked for the path through case studies of the agonies and ecstasies of thinkers, artists and men of action including Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Vaslav Nijinsky, Vincent van Gogh, Hermann Hesse and Lawrence of Arabia. He condensed them into a single type, "the Outsider", a questing spirit straddled between devastating experiences of nothingness and moments of the highest insight."Our life in modern society is a repetition of Van Gogh's problem," Wilson said, "the day-to-day struggle for intensity that disappears overnight, interrupted by human triviality and endless pettiness." The book was excitingly written, with a sense of revelation. The failing, which took longer to emerge, was that it oversimplified... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
Candice Chaplin, v-p and director of backlist sales at Penguin Random House, died of cancer on September 7 in Gladwyne, Pa. She was 53. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Peter Warner, the longtime president of Thames & Hudson, died on September 9 from complications due to myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 79. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Former publisher and bookseller John Hitchin died in August, aged 88. He is remembered by Tim Godfray and Dotti Irving. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-02 19:38:30 UTC ]
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Obituary: Bernette Ford 1950–2021 Boxer Books publisher David Bennett writes: About 30 years ago, while on a sales trip to New York, I met Bernette Ford. I had no idea then that she would become my best buddy and our families would grow so close. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-02 19:34:27 UTC ]
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Erika Seyfried, v-p and director of digital strategy and consumer engagement at Penguin Random House, died after going missing while vacationing in Vermont on August 29. She was 36. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jack Covert, founder of the business book bookseller and distributor Porchlight Book Company (originally known as 800-CEO READ), died on August 13. He was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Kite has signed Wild Kilted Yoga: Flow and Feel Free by social media star Finlay Wilson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-12 10:31:30 UTC ]
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Award-winning author-illustrator Ted Lewin, known for his realistic and richly detailed watercolors, died on July 28 at age 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The longlists for the second Diverse Book Awards have been revealed, recognising inclusivity in children’s, YA and adult fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-27 07:16:05 UTC ]
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Colin Kaepernick—the activist quarterback blackballed by the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem at the start of games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality—is releasing a children’s book inspired by a pivotal moment in his childhood. I Color Myself Different, the first... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-16 15:56:17 UTC ]
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The former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick writes in his first book in the series about differences between himself and his adoptive family. The post Scholastic Signs Multi-Book Deal with Colin Kaepernick appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-15 19:14:31 UTC ]
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Athlete-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick will publish 'I Color Myself Different,' a picture book inspired by his own experiences, in April. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-07-15 15:14:30 UTC ]
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Author and journalist Ann Rinaldi, best known for her painstakingly researched YA historical fiction featuring female protagonists, died on July 1 in Branchburg, N.J.; she was 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-07-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author, editor, and publisher Bernette Ford, a champion of children's books by people of color, died of cancer on June 19. She was 70. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children's book author Patricia Reilly Giff died on June 22 at her home in Fairfield, Conn. She was 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children's book author-illustrator and fine artist Robert M. Quackenbush died on May 17; he was 91. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, known for her signature collage artwork featuring bold colors and crisply cut shapes as well as found objects, died on May 25 at age 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Iconic and groundbreaking author, illustrator, and fine artist Eric Carle died on May 23 in Northampton, Mass. He was 91. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bradford Literature Festival will return from 25th June to 4th July with a mix of live and free online events including appearances from Caitlin Moran, A A Dhand, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-17 06:32:50 UTC ]
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