The literary editor and memoirist turns 100 this month, and what better way to celebrate than answering Guardian readers’ questions? She’ll be online on Monday 11 December from 2pm GMT 3.14pm GMT On 21 December 21, Diana Athill will be 100 years old. This is an achievement in itself, though Athill has never been one to congratulate herself for simply hanging on in there. A 50-year career in publishing at Andre Deutsch, working closely with an illustrious portfolio of writers including Jean Rhys, Philip Roth, John Updike and Margaret Atwood among many others, would be more than enough to satisfy most people. But after retiring in 1993 at the age of 75, she simply cracked on with her second career as a memoirist, in the process eclipsing many of the writers whose work she used to edit.Athill’s books detail her extraordinary life in vivid and unflinching detail, from her childhood at Ditchingham Hall, Norfolk, to working for the BBC during the second world war, to her overseas travels and affairs with various fascinating, unstable men – one, Egyptian writer Waguih Ghali, committed suicide at her home; another, the African-American activist Hakim Jamal, was assassinated. Her most recent memoir, 2015’s Alive, Alive Oh!, reflected on losing a baby at the age of 43 – and almost dying herself in the process. Yet having survived to an age that most people never get to experience, she writes powerfully about what really matters from her special vantage point. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
Two Roads has acquired the new novel by Sara Gruen, whose Water for Elephants (Two Roads) is one of the titles chosen for World Book Night 2015. Publisher Lisa Highton bought UK rights to At the Water’s Edge from Sarah Lutyens at Lutyens and Rubinstein. At the Water’s Edge is a “gripping and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin is donating a copy of Jeremy Paxman’s history of the First World War to every... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World War I is remarkable in military history for its massive scope and loss of life, with more than nine million combatants killed. But its role in religious history is less appreciated, and an array of books coinciding with the July centennial could change that. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author of "World War Z" and "The Harlem Hellfighters" says it's okay to have over 200 drafts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The existence of the D-notice (aka DA-notice) committee is under threat, reports the Sunday Times. It cites sources who say some officials in the Ministry of Defence, which is considering a review of the system, want to fold the committee into the new press regulator or place it within the MoD's... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend Paul Westlake, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a pillar of the radical publishing world from the mid-1970s onwards. He was an advocate of workers' co-operatives and gained much experience in ensuring that the output of independent publishers reached the bookshops.In autumn 1976,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hutchinson has acquired a new anthology of life-writing from and about the First World War,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is to run a category preview on First World War titles in the issue of 13th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oscar season is over, which means one thing: it’s on to the summer blockbusters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The History Press has signed The First World War in 100 Objects by battlefield specialist Peter... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Martins First World War novel The Somme Stations (Faber) has won this years... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orbit has acquired a fantasy retelling of the events of the Second World War by American author... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 10:59 Penguin has acquired a diary written during the Second World War by a teenage concentration camp internee, striking a deal directly with the author at her home in Prague. Viking publishing director Venetia Butterfield... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 05:28 Aurum Press has bought a biography about the service that monitored and intercepted the German military's radio traffic during the Second World War. Publisher Graham Coster bought world English language rights to The Secret Listeners by Sinclair McKay... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 13/06/2011 - 15:17 Allison & Busby has acquired two books by crime writer Jacqueline Winspear, with the author moving from John Murray to the independent. Publishing director Susie Dunlop bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 16:31 The Japanese earthquake and tsunami has caused the worst disruption to the Japanese book industry since the Second World War, the president of the Japanese Publishers Association has said. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/02/2011 - 12:05 Pan Macmillan has acquired a biography of the first woman to work as a British secret agent in the Second World War, outbidding Penguin at auction. Editorial director Georgina Morley bought UK and British Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the account of the life of "real life Charlotte Gray". Pearl Witherington was the only female agent in the Special Operations Executive to run her own network in France during the second world war. Hodder non-fiction publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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