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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While the five books presented at the BEA Selects: Children's panel session were from small presses, they all made a big impression on the audience. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly 80% of parents say lack of sleep is the hardest part of raising a child, according to BookTrust, which has surveyed a thousand parents as part of its new Bath Book Bed campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers and attendees were pleased with the venue and the programming for BookCon 2016. While attendees were disappointed that the show was for only one day this year, publishers expressed relief. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zed Books’ Facebook page was removed after it became the victim of hacking, the publisher now believes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Love and Loss in Children’s Literature” is a panel featuring authors who will rock it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We know that Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo’s YA novels usually get pigeonholed as fantasy, but that catch-all doesn’t really convey the essence of the fictional worlds they’ve created and filled with males and females who are equally swashbuckling as heroic characters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If there’s one characteristic that fans of Sarah Maas’s Throne of Glass series, Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, and Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone series share, it’s this: they can’t read each installment fast enough. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quadrille has signed a book about the cook's knife from award-winning food writer and broadcaster Tim Hayward. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What would we do without our best friends? How did our first crushes make us feel, and did they meet our expectations? What role do “frenemies” play in our social life? These issues and more will be the focus of this afternoon’s #IReadYA panel “Book Besties." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London-based independent Elliott & Thompson is publishing Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags by Tim Marshall, former diplomatic editor of Sky News. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BEA Children's Book & Authors Breakfast was a moving testament to the power of books, as four children's book authors spoke of the impact of reading books upon their own lives and the importance of books in all children's lives. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"It's a little bit like marrying myself," commented publisher Ursula Doyle [pictured] at the launch party for her new imprint, Fleet, at the Horse Hospital arts venue in The Colonnade, Bloomsbury. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: solving true crime puzzles, plus Siddhartha Mukherjee's history of the gene. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There's something to be said about a printed book. It's easy to read outdoors, you can lend it to a friend and, unlike a top-end Kindle, it doesn't spell disaster if you lose it. E-readers have their place, but today The Publishers Association (PA) h... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland helped revival in traditional publishing last yearSales of printed books have grown for the first time in four years, lifted by the adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, as ebooks suffered... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Regan Arts runs with triathlete James Lawrence’s memoir, Laird Barron sells two noirs to Putnam, and Arcade picks up two titles by South Korean novelest Hey Young Pyun in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Playboy showed off its new, fully-clothed self during its first-ever NewFronts presentation Friday afternoon at New York's Skylight Modern. "This is the most exciting and complex brand transformation of my career," said CEO Scott Flanders kicking off the 30-minute presentation. He added that... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“For many, China is a black box,” said Ruediger Wischenbart, director of international affairs for BookExpo America, as part of his introduction to China By the Numbers, a panel discussion which sought to deliver straightforward data to those interested in the Chinese market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the late Prince represents the Minneapolis sound to millions of adults, two other Twin Cities musicians, the Okee Dokee Brothers, represent its flip side: a more pastoral and family-friendly Minneapolis sound. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There are a lot of heavy hitters at this year's BEA, but four titles consistently came up in conversations with book buyers: Colson Whitehead's 'The Underground Railroad,' 'The Nix' by Nathan Hill, 'Commonwealth' by Ann Patchett, and 'The Girls' by Emma Cline. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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