One of the most celebrated American novelists best known for his historical fiction whose books Ragtime and Billy Bathgate were turned into filmsAnointed “our pre-eminent lefty” among contemporary American novelists, EL Doctorow, who has died aged 84, was praised as the “epic poet” of the forgotten American left. It was praise that he did not welcome. He proved elusive when dealing with the pigeonholes crafted by reviewers, and not a few readers. In a career spanning five decades, Doctorow feared that tidy labels were a distraction. He lived contentedly within the paradoxes of his career.He did not want to be called a political novelist. “My premise is that the language of politics can’t accommodate the complexity of fiction, which as a mode of thought is intuitive, metaphysical, mythic.” Although he wrote lovingly of the lost world of the Jewish Bronx in the 1930s, where he grew up, he rejected the idea that he was an autobiographical writer. “Every book is an act of composition,” he remarked in 1989, “and if you happen to use memories or materials from your own mind, they are like any other resource; they have to be composed. And the act of composition has no regard where the material comes from. So when it’s all done it’s all autobiographical and none of it is.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Diane Lomonaco, who for decades worked in production positions at a number of publishers, died on October 4 of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. She was 67. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend, Roger Boore, who has died aged 82, was a Welsh-language publisher and author. He will be remembered for his dedication to the Welsh language and its propagation, particularly among children. A chartered accountant, returning to his native Cardiff in the late 1960s, and with a growing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-10 16:09:06 UTC ]
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John Ziccardi, who led national sales efforts at Bantam and Bantam Doubleday Dell, died September 27. He was 78. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Daniel Moses, the longtime editor-in-chief of the San Francisco–based Sierra Club Books, died on September 12 in Ojai, Calif., of complications from three lung conditions caused by end-stage ankylosis spondylitis. He was 85. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Candice Chaplin, v-p and director of backlist sales at Penguin Random House, died of cancer on September 7 in Gladwyne, Pa. She was 53. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Peter Warner, the longtime president of Thames & Hudson, died on September 9 from complications due to myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 79. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Former publisher and bookseller John Hitchin died in August, aged 88. He is remembered by Tim Godfray and Dotti Irving. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-02 19:38:30 UTC ]
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Obituary: Bernette Ford 1950–2021 Boxer Books publisher David Bennett writes: About 30 years ago, while on a sales trip to New York, I met Bernette Ford. I had no idea then that she would become my best buddy and our families would grow so close. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-02 19:34:27 UTC ]
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Erika Seyfried, v-p and director of digital strategy and consumer engagement at Penguin Random House, died after going missing while vacationing in Vermont on August 29. She was 36. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jack Covert, founder of the business book bookseller and distributor Porchlight Book Company (originally known as 800-CEO READ), died on August 13. He was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning author-illustrator Ted Lewin, known for his realistic and richly detailed watercolors, died on July 28 at age 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and journalist Ann Rinaldi, best known for her painstakingly researched YA historical fiction featuring female protagonists, died on July 1 in Branchburg, N.J.; she was 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-07-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author, editor, and publisher Bernette Ford, a champion of children's books by people of color, died of cancer on June 19. She was 70. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children's book author Patricia Reilly Giff died on June 22 at her home in Fairfield, Conn. She was 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children's book author-illustrator and fine artist Robert M. Quackenbush died on May 17; he was 91. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Iconic and groundbreaking author, illustrator, and fine artist Eric Carle died on May 23 in Northampton, Mass. He was 91. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, known for her signature collage artwork featuring bold colors and crisply cut shapes as well as found objects, died on May 25 at age 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Joel Friedlander, the author, blogger, book designer, publisher, and publishing industry consultant, died on May 7 of cancer. He was 73. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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