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 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is opening its first-ever pop-up "book bar" at Waterstones’ new Tottenham Court Road store from Monday 16th May. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster leads the shortlists for the 2016 Cross Sports Book Awards with seven nominations, while footballer Steven Gerrard and champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy battle it out for Best Autobiography of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Goodreads is offering its members a marketing and promotional tool that allows them to giveaway up to a 100 Kindle ebooks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins' bestseller The Girl on the Train (Doubleday) will launch this year's Richard and Judy summer book club, with W H Smith also unveiling the club's "fresh" new look. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The two publishers, based in San Francisco and New York respectively, have launched a co-published list for fall featuring titles by Walter Mosley and Julian Assange. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The editors of the publication’s culture section have selected N.K. Jemisin’s 'The Fifth Season' as the first title to be read in the new group, which will focus on works of science fiction and fantasy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Saturday, the 39th annual TD Canadian Children's Book Week kicks with 29 authors, illustrators, and storytellers participating in more than 400 book-related events across the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since she got in on the adult coloring book craze two years ago, Cheri Brown has spent more than $400 on 50 books holding intricate sketches that she embellishes with Sharpies, colored pencils and gel pens. But in November, Brown shifted spending to digital products. She paid $100 for mobile apps... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Usually, moms only play an ancillary role in comics, however some cartoonists choose to focus on what it means to bring life into this world and nurture it. So in time for Mother's Day, enjoy these 10 mom comics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourteen book awards were handed out at the 2016 James Beard Awards. We list the winners and round up PW's earlier coverage: reviews, interviews, podcasts, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is it time that publishing made authors and consumers the central focus of book fairs and sales conferences? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Mystery Writers of America named Walter Mosley its first African-American grand master and gave out awards to Pulitzer winner Viet Thanh Nguyen and Sisters in Crime, among others, at last night’s event. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson is publishing Syria: Recipes from Home to help support artistic projects with Syrian women refugees. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are experimenting with new forms and formats in the lucrative adult coloring books market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Janetta Otter-Barry, the founder of independent publisher Otter-Barry Books, is hoping to publish new voices in children’s poetry with her new list. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actor Josh Radnor signs up with HarperElixir for a book on answering big spiritual questions, Putnam signs a two-book world-rights deal with T. Jefferson Parker, R.L. Stine collaborates with Mystery Writers of America for a middle grade anthology to be published by HarperCollins Children’s, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dominic Lieven, a senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, has won the fourth annual Pushkin House Russian book prize for his work Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia (Penguin). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A guide to connecting with the spirit world, a memoir on the struggles that come with being a medium, and a book of lessons learned from those on the other side are coming this summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Icon Books has brought forward the publication of 5000-1: The Leicester City Story to Thursday 26th May and will go to print just 48 hours after the last game of the season. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline has acquired world rights in a first book by Spanish football icon Andrés Iniesta. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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