Man Booker prize judge Colin Thubron has complained this week that star endorsements bully readers into admiring books, but it’s long been standard practiceSetting cats among pigeons has long been an unofficial part of the contract for judges of the Booker prize. Remember Chris Mullin’s insistence on “zip–along” novels, or, way back in 1992, AN Wilson’s condemnation of the prize itself as “essentially trivial”? This year’s flurry of fur and feathers was provoked by a tirade from Colin Thubron on celebrity endorsements. Some blurbs, said the veteran travel writer, “almost blackmail” readers into feeling that “you’re either intellectually or morally incompetent if you don’t love this book or you’ve failed if you haven’t understood it”. Some people, he felt, “seem to earn their living … saying: ‘This is the most profound book of our generation.’”Starting our Iris Murdoch bookclub with this '69 @PenguinUKBooks edition - you don't find blurbs like this any more! pic.twitter.com/P2XUvgtKAM Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: inside the 'alien' brain of an octopus, and Siri Hustvedt's thought-provoking 'A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ForbesBooks is the latest brand extension in the quest for ancillary revenue. The post Forbes Launches a Book Imprint appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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European publishers and booksellers have welcomed the decision of the European Commission to allow VAT to be reduced on ebooks, with sales now bound to go up, according to booksellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut thriller The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (Transworld) has been named as W H Smith's Book of the Year for 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan Children's Publishing Group will now offer all frontlist ebooks for library lending on the same day they go on sale in the retail market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Perry's novel The Essex Serpent is named Waterstones Book of the Year ahead of a Beatrix Potter manuscript and a Harry Potter playscript. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ukazoo Books has found a new Towson location.The buyer and seller of new and used books that opened in Dulaney Plaza in 2007 will relocate to Loch Raven Boulevard, south of the intersection with Joppa Road.The bookseller announced the new site, 8641 Loch Raven Blvd., on its Facebook page and said... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailer Foyles has chosen Paul Beaty’s Man Booker Prize-winning The Sellout as its book of the year, so will promote the title heavily online and in-store in the run up to Christmas. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After losing its lease, the Towson, Md. used and new bookstore is downsizing to less than one-third of its original size, or 2,800 sq. ft., and trying to create a workable model to add more stores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online retailer Elefant.ro dominates Romania's online book and ebook sales. Now, the company has plans to expand to other regional markets. The post Romania’s Elefant Aims To Be a ‘Destination for Foreign Books’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chinese publishers are rushing to capitalise on the growth in the country’s children’s books market, with book sales data company Open Book citing a 15% year-on-year rise in value terms in 2016 to date, following double-digit surges in recent years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hurst is set to publish a book about the political and moral values which are “sharply dividing Brexit Britain”, by David Goodhart. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two-thirds of the shortlisted candidates in the UK's Costa Book Awards are women. And three in one category are former winners. The post Women Lead The Five Costa Book Award Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV and radio presenter Kate Garraway is to publish her first book with Blink Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has acquired the debut adult fiction novel from broadcaster and columnist Dawn O’Porter. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Surfing memoir Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by New Yorker journalist William Finnegan (Corsair) has scooped the 28th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A seven-year-old girl who reads "to forget the war" has been sent the Harry Potter books by the author. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Dorset-based publisher Little Toller Books is to open a gallery showcasing the work of its collaborators. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The editorial director of Macmillan Higher Ed sells a debut novel to Kensington, Caitlyn Dlouhy buys a first novel for her imprint at Atheneum, Sourcebooks acquires a German bestseller, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Good Immigrant has been voted as the British public’s favourite book of 2016 at the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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