Do celebrity book blurbs 'blackmail' readers?

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 ]
News tagged with: #booker prize #colin thubron #celebrity endorsements #ve failed

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Book Deals: Week of March 21, 2016

Harper lands a Kennedy memoir, Ballantine re-ups historical fiction bestseller C.W. Gortner, SMP buys a recent U.K. bestseller, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roman Krznaric launches book on Unbound

Unbound has launched the new book from cultural thinker and philosopher Roman Krznaric titled Carpe Diem Reclaimed. Krznaric, who is the author of Empathy (Rider) and How to Find Fulfilling Work (Macmillan), turned down an offer from a "major" UK publisher in favour of crowdfunding his new book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Follow-Up: NetGalley Launches at Leipzig Book Fair

Following commentary about its launch in France, NetGalley now confirms its expansion into the German market this week at Leipzig Book Fair. The post Follow-Up: NetGalley Launches at Leipzig Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter's female readers now driving the boom in 'grip lit'

Millennial women who grew up reading JK Rowling’s wizard series are driving sales in other genres as they reach their 20s and 30s, according to recent researchThe women switched on to books by Harry Potter are shaping the literary world, according to new research, boosting the market in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'YA and children's books deserve to be judged separately'

Fiona Noble argues for the introduction of separate YA and Children's Carnegie medals.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apply Now for the 2016 Children’s Book Editor’s Trip to Germany

Children's book editors from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand: apply for the German Book Office New York editor's trip by April 11, 2016. The post Apply Now for the 2016 Children’s Book Editor’s Trip to Germany appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CLC Bookshops buys Tonbridge Christian Book Centre

Independent specialist bookshop Tonbridge Christian Book Centre has been bought by Christian bookshop chain CLC Bookshops for an undisclosed sum. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coloring Books, Children's Boost Quarto 2015 Results

Revenue at Quarto Group rose 6% in 2015, to $182.2 million. Revenue in Quarto's children's division jumped 41%, with sales of adult coloring books particularly strong. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roald Dahl scores first number one in book chart

Roald Dahl has scored his first ever Official Top 50 number one, as World Book Day title The Great Mouse Plot (Puffin) leapfrogged Cavan Scott’s The Escape: Star Wars (Egmont). The Great Mouse Plot, illustrated by Quentin Blake, sold 32,096 copies for £32,096, according to Nielsen BookScan’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books Inc. Named 2016 PW Bookstore of the Year; Solomon Rep

In a California sweep, both 165-year-old Books Inc., the oldest bookstore in the West, and Lise Solomon with the Karel/Dutton Group took this year’s PW Awards, which will be presented at BookExpo America. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish children’s book market grows 16%

Children’s book sales in Ireland increased 16% in 2015, boosted by the popularity of authors such as David Walliams and Jeff Kinney, but booksellers and publishers in the country say strong local publishing is also on the rise. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Opens Mobile News App to All Publishers in Bid for Readers

Apple will make its mobile news app available to publishers of all sizes starting this week, increasing the pool of content as the tech giant competes with rivals Facebook and Google for the attention of smartphone readers.Smaller media companies, even independent bloggers, can obtain editing... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cheung moves to Piatkus in two-book deal

Author and spiritualist Theresa Cheung has found a new publisher in Piatkus, after previously being published by Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New book marks Old Bear’s 30th birthday

Author and illustrator Jane Hissey has created a new Old Bear story, Happy Birthday Old Bear, to mark 30 years since the first book in the series was published. It will be published by in September under the Scribblers imprint of The Salariya Book Company. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Series of Brazil Books Expanded by New London Librarium

With funding from the National Library of Brazil, a small publisher announces more titles in its series of books on Brazilian culture and issues. The post Series of Brazil Books Expanded by New London Librarium appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cuba’s Book Embargo Tackled by Trade With White House Petitions

Key figures in the American publishing community are unified in their call for a lift of the US embargo of Cuba as it pertains to books. The post Cuba’s Book Embargo Tackled by Trade With White House Petitions appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Some people won’t be happy' about my new book, Blackman warns

Malorie Blackman is excited about the publication of her first standalone novel in four years but has warned that “some people won’t be happy” about its frank depiction of sex. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Talulah Riley in two-book deal with Hodder

Hodder & Stoughton has confirmed a two-book deal with actress, director, screenwriter and entrepreneur Talulah Riley. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Montefiore duo pen first children’s book

Simon & Schuster Children’s Books has acquired The Royal Rabbits of London, the first children’s book by Santa and Simon Sebag Montefiore. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book on Leicester City FC’s 'incredible' season to Icon

Icon Books is to publish the first book on the "incredible" story of Leicester City's 2015-16 Premier League season, by Leicester Mercury's chief football writer Rob Tanner. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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