Every critic knows that readers love a spirited hatchet job, whether or not the author being chopped is one whose work they’ve hated—or even read. Much of the public seems to possess an ambient belief that the literary world is filled with frauds and self-styled geniuses whose reputations have been propped up by venal publishers and the reviewers who toady up to them. In this light, anyone who dares to challenge the allegedly phony consensus by ripping apart one of the unjustly elect gets hailed as a hero. Every so often, a particularly harsh review will prompt an outcry; recently this happened after William Giraldi’s slashing, in the New York Times Book Review, of two books by the relatively unknown novelist, Alix Ohlin, whom he damned for embracing “the bland earnestness of realism.” But Ohlin was small fry, and much of the outrage Giraldi’s review ignited—he was accused on Twitter of failing to perform a critic’s basic duties and of producing a “pretentious, vicious and self-regarding” piece of work, among other offenses—seemed to arise from the sense that he was an insufferable blowhard while she was nice, or at the very least, harmless. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2017-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
Leading Scottish writers including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Denise Mina have called on the Scottish government to halt potentially "devastating" cuts to arts and literature for "the good of everyone in Scotland". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors is urging its members to protest the proposed cuts to Scottish culture funding. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ESPN is laying off about 150 employees, including people who work in studio production, digital content and technology, the sports company said Wednesday. The cuts, which are the latest sign of the financial pressures the Bristol, Conn.-based operation faces, follow a round of layoffs in April... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Outside of the Oxbridge powerhouses, mid-sized UPs are thriving with bespoke service, local appeal and a global market. Benedicte Page reports. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the most famous lines associated with a government sex scandal was uttered in 1963 by Mandy Rice-Davies, a party girl and peripheral player in the Profumo affair, which helped bring down Harold Macmillan’s Tory government. Informed during an appearance on the witness stand that one of the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job losses expected as publisher Condé Nast announces UK version of title will move from monthly to twice a yearThe British edition of the fashion title Glamour is to implement a digital-first strategy under which it will print a magazine twice a year and merge its editorial and commercial... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Heinemann will publish the “long-awaited” sequel to Kill Your Friends by John Niven, a decade after his cult debut. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lincolnshire and Powys are the latest councils to come under the spotlight for planned cuts to their public library service. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The worldwide educational publisher hopes to save 300 million pounds over the next three years by reducing headcount. Pearson also reported that sales at PRH fell slightly in the first half of 2017, but that profits rose. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A discussion on how watermarking ebooks plays into publishers' overall DRM strategies, and its effectiveness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A government move to offer library supply contracts to foreign firms has spelled the end for the 27-year-old Open Book Company, with six roles affected and the wider trade outraged. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publisher Time Inc. says it's cutting 300 jobs via buyouts and layoffs as it struggles to adjust to an increasingly digital world Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2017-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper agreed to drop his appeal of a four-game suspension and had one game shaved from the punishment. Harper reached the agreement Wednesday with Major League Baseball and begin serving the suspension immediately. The punishment stemmed from a bench-clearing... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blink Publishing has signed a book by plus-size supermodel Tess Holliday, The Not So Subtle Art of Being A Fat Girl, to publish this August. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the Digiday Video Anywhere Summit, video publishers spoke honestly about the challenges in platform publishing, measurement and making money. The post Publishers’ candid thoughts on video: ‘Facebook is taking a cut of what used to be ours’ appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson said it has plans to further reduce costs by $300 million, and it is also reviewing its strategic options for the K-12 courseware business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of Australian actors, dancers, writers and comedians – including Charlotte Wood, Zoe Coombs Marr and Marieke Hardy as well as Pomeranz and Roxburgh – have joined a video campaign calling on Fairfax management to reconsider slashes to its arts coverage. The company has announced 125 jobs... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co., the Boston-based education publisher facing financial headwinds, said it plans to cut as much as 10 percent of its workforce in effort to save money, according to regulatory filing. With a total workforce of 4,500 workers as of the end of last year, the cuts could... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a statement, the American Library Association called Trump's proposal to effectively eliminate all federal library funding "counterproductive and short-sighted," and vowed to fight. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The elimination of the NEA, which is proposed in President Trump's just-released budget plan, could have a severe ripple effect on independent publishing, as hundreds of small presses depend on funding from the NEA to stay afloat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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