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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The 12-strong shortlist for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2016 has been unveiled, with a strong presence from larger publishers Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Penguin Random House. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zed Books has launched a new website promoting short form content, to respond to the increase in people reading on their mobile phones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books continue to buck the national retail trend, with sales up 8.9% year-on-year in volume in August in comparison to the year before, where total UK retail sales were down 0.9% in the same period. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A profile of Marlon James by Alan Yentob, Michael Palin on travel writer Jan Morris, a night-long celebration of poetry, and a programme about getting reluctant teenagers to read at a Lancashire school, will all be among the highlights of BBC2's coverage of books and reading this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The international news magazine Newsweek—which publishes in six languages—will host several events and exhibit at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. The post Newsweek Makes Its Frankfurt Book Fair Debut in October appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has racked up five weeks as the Official UK Top 50 number one—but the gap is closing. According to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, the playscript sold 36,485 copies for £455,824, just 7,503 units above runner-up The Girl on the Train... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of print books took a beating at John Wiley in the first quarter ended July 31. The biggest decline was in the higher education segment, where sales of printed textbooks dropped 31%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of German publisher dtv's latest initiatives is an information portal aimed at marketing their titles to the numerous book clubs around the country. The post German Publisher dtv Launches New Service for Book Clubs appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Titles published by Barrington Stoke, Hot Key Books and Birlinn are on the shortlist for the first Scottish Teenage Book Prize, organised by Scottish Book Trust. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former justice secretary Michael Gove is set to return to the Times newspaper as a book reviewer and columnist. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Praising David Hockney's 'openness to new media and his application of digital techniques,' Frankfurt's Juergen Boos announces Hockney's keynote comments on October 18. The post David Hockney To Give Keynote at Frankfurt Book Fair’s Opening News Conference appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former justice secretary and Leave campaigner left newspaper to become Surrey Heath MP in 2005Michael Gove, the former justice secretary and Leave campaigner, is set to return to the Times as a columnist and book reviewer.Gove, who was sacked by prime minister Theresa May after making an... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in July. He could earn as much as $30 million with a two- or three-book contract once his second term ends, said Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A quarter of Caroline Sheldon's clients at The Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency have been with her ever since she set the agency up, it was revealed last night at a party at The Art Workers' Guild in Queen Square, London, to celebrate the agency's 30th birthday. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Silvertail Books is to bring four classic military thrillers by Mike Lunnon-Wood back into print. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London is to be commemorated with a set of six new stamps. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: a grind house horror shoot gone wrong in the Colombian rain forest, plus Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel in over a decade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Katherine Tegen Welcomes Cole’s ‘Daughter’; Klam Offers Her ‘Sisters’ to Riverhead; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crime writers Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, alongside Doug Johnstone and E S Thomson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born. Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born.Do you ever feel like your book... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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