Edward Gorey: cover star of book design

The author and illustrator is much revered for his own weird and wonderful books, yet his 200-plus jacket designs are virtually ignored. Steven Heller celebrates his contribution to a unique era of publishingDeliciously and subversively cryptic, Edward St John Gorey’s books, plays, postcards, toys, stage sets and costumes – indeed an entire lifetime of utterly sublime, mockingly apprehensive artistry and authorship – are celebrated and critically acclaimed by everyone from cultural pundits to goth cultists. The rare front-page New York Times obituary, on 17 April 2000, is testament to Gorey’s eclectic narrative range. “In creating a large body of small work, he made an indelible imprint on noir fiction and on the psyche of his admirers,” Mel Gussow wrote.Yet, understandably, less attention is devoted today to the 200-plus illustrated paperback covers and hardcover jackets that Chicago-born, Harvard-educated Gorey (known to his friends as Ted) created while working as a staff artist, art director, editor and freelance illustrator at various American publishing houses for a large portion of his career. In two brief sentences, his obituary tossed aside this impressive output: “After graduation he remained in Boston, illustrating book jackets. Then he went to New York and worked in the art department at Doubleday, staying late in the office to create his own books.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Allen & Unwin buys Murdoch Books

Australian publisher Allen & Unwin has announced the acquisition of Murdoch Books. The sum... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's boosts book sales by 20%

Sainsbury’s has increased book sales by 20% in its second quarter, considerably above the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matthewson joins Odedina at Hot Key Books

Emma Matthewson is joining Hot Key Books as editor-at-large, moving from her role as editorial... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zarr to star for Usborne

Usborne has acquired a new standalone title by US author Sara Zarr. Fiction director Rebecca... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WHS Children's Christmas Book Club launches

Egmont, Simon & Schuster and Templar Publishing have all landed two titles on the W H Smith... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair: rights previews

Janklow & Nesbit is bringing a thriller, Early Riser, which marks a new direction for writer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bread and Roses Award to host radical book fair

The work of radical authors and publishers will be highlighted at a one-day radical book fair... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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North Atlantic Books Transforms with the Times

Almost four decades after Richard Grossinger and Lindy Hough founded North Atlantic Books in Vermont, the press, which has been in Berkeley, Calif., since 1977, continues to evolve within the body, mind, and spirit segment. From a two-person operation with roots in the poetry journal Io that... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What books to assign to a group of inmate-students?

Dickens or Denisovich? Mailer or Malamud? This professor agonized over the reading list for a class of prison inmates. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador pre-empts US hot book

Picador has pre-empted a debut novel and short story collection by US author Nickolas Butler,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Casual Vacancy 'fastest-selling book' in UK in three years

J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy has become "the fastest-selling book in the UK in three... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Report Sees Gradual Decline in Book Spending

Given the state of flux in the book world, it can be dangerous to predict industry sales trends, but the private investment banking firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson has done just that in its latest annual report, the “VSS Communications Industry Forecast (2012–16).” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Muted enthusiasm for Rowling book

The Casual Vacancy, the first adult novel by Harry Potter creator JK Rowling, receives a mixed response from newspaper critics. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Square Peg to publish Gobstoppers cookery book

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Allen Lane dominates Science Books prize

Allen Lane has dominated the shortlist for this year’s £10,000 Royal Society Winton... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Play Books app arrives in Japan, adds translation, place info, highlighting and more

Not content at stopping with its recent European tour, Google Play Books has made the trip to Japan and brought back a handful of new features. In addition to support for reading Japanese books in a vertical, right-to left layout, Mountain view now lets users tap on names of geographical spots... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Going Beyond E-Books, Barnes & Noble Nook Launches Digital Video Store

Barnes & Noble Nook is ramping up its digital media offerings with a new video-download and rental service. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beijing ban on Japanese books 'may spread'

Books by Japanese authors and titles about Japanese topics have been removed from bookshops in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lewinsky inks $12m book deal

Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose affair with then-President Bill Clinton paralysed the nation, has been shopping a memoir for several weeks, and according to the New York Post, she has apparently sold it for US$12 million (NZ$14.5 million) to an unnamed publisher. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bigger, and Better: Frankfurt Book Fair 2012 Preview

It’s almost here, the publishing industry’s annual literary Oktoberfest: the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year’s edition officially kicks off on October 10, with more than 150,000 professional visitors representing some 7,500 companies and 110 countries expected to gather to trade rights, network,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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