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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Faceless net giants writing own rule books

Businesses have little recourse - or human contact - when resolving disputes with Google or Facebook, write Julian Lee and Ben Grubb. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder Blog: A New Children's Book Parodies a Beloved Classic

"Goodnight iPad" is a bedtime tour of our electronic lives, mimicking the tone of the classic "Goodnight Moon." Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock

Cheap new e-readers are expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. But new owners of Kindles and Nooks may be in for sticker shock on Christmas morning: The price gap between the print and e-versions of some top sellers has now narrowed to within a few dollars -- and in some... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US World Book Night titles revealed

World Book Night in the US has appointed Pulitzer Prize-wining journalist Anna Quindlen as its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French book trade protests at VAT hike

French booksellers have called it a "catastrophe" that VAT rates will go up to 7% in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales soar week on week, remain down on 2010

Printed book sales soared by £8.6m week on week last week, but spending remains down on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night 2012 to target prisons and hospitals

Half of the one million books to be given away on the next World Book Night on April 23rd 2012... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com buys children's books list from Marshall Cavendish

Amazon.com has acquired 450 titles from publisher Marshall Cavendish, marking the retailer's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales continue to climb ahead of Christmas

Printed book sales soared by £8.8m week-on-week last week, with the latest edition of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, Book Publishers Face European Antitrust Probe

Apple's entry into the ebook business hasn't been a huge success, but it has still registered with European antitrust regulators. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder Blog: Many Online Book Buyers First Shop Around in Stores

According to a survey, 24 percent of people who said they had bought books from an online retailer in the last month also said they had seen the book in a brick-and-mortar bookstore first. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mukherjee scoops £10,000 Guardian First Book Award

The only non-fiction title shortlisted for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award has taken home the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish Sports Book of the Year shortlist revealed

Titles on rugby, cycling, horse racing and Gaelic games have been shortlisted for this year... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Kerouac's 'lost' book published

American author Jack Kerouac's first ever novel, which was thought to be lost, has been published 40 years after his death. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Book Census shows rates creep up

Digital royalty rates paid to authors by publishers are increasing, though there remains... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Traverse City Is for Book Lovers

Megan Raphael, executive director of the National Writers Series, a literary nonprofit organization, in Traverse City, Mich., insists that local government leaders should declare it a “book city.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Pulls E-Books from Libraries, Including Kindle Versions

They publisher may want to make sure that library ebooks can't be easily stripped of DRM and kept by a borrower without penalty. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Cuban Takes Shot at Writing an E-Book

Mark Cuban has 335,000 friends on Facebook and 760,000 followers on Twitter. Monday, the Internet billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team will test just how friendly those fans really are. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Full Circle to publish UEA famous graduates book

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 17/11/2011 - 06:45 Full Circle Editions is to publish Body of Work, celebrating 40 years of the University of East Anglia writing course, associated with authors such as Rose Tremain and Ian McEwan, on 1st December. Edited by Giles Foden, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian First Book shortlist heads Down the Rabbit Hole

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:12 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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