They turned down Ulysses and Animal Farm, but still shaped 20th‑century literatureAll publishing houses have archives, but for anyone interested in 20th-century literature the archive of Faber & Faber is a fabled treasure house. This is the firm that was, as Toby Faber puts it, “midwife at the birth of modernism”. In 1924 Faber’s grandfather, Geoffrey Faber, aspiring poet and fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, had been installed as chairman of the Scientific Press, recently inherited by another All Souls fellow, Maurice Gwyer. It published mostly books and journals for nurses. Geoffrey Faber renamed it and started making it into a literary publisher. Within his first year he had installed TS Eliot as a fellow director and acquired his backlist.The firm would go on to publish Ezra Pound, WH Auden and James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Then Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney: a poetry list to beat all others. Academics have always itched to get into the Faber archive, to get at the letters and memos that record how this 20th-century canon was made. Toby Faber has rights of entry. He has given us a highly selective anthology rather than a narrative: his book is made up of extracts from original documents (mostly letters, but also memos, board minutes and blurbs), with spare comments from himself.Faber & Faber allowed The Bodley Head to get Ulysses; “Feebler and Fumbler”, Joyce called the firm Related: Lord of the Flies? ‘Rubbish’.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-06-20 11:00:08 UTC ]
Memoirs by the musician and the artist were among the forthcoming books causing excitement at the industry’s international trade eventA memoir from Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, a “devastating” critique of austerity from former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and a “warts and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An unauthorised biography of Ted Hughes is attacked by the English poet's widow just days after being shortlisted for a prestigious literary prize. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, will publish And the Weak Suffer What They Must? in April 2016. It is described as “a devastating and comprehensive critique of the economics and politics of austerity”. Will Hammond, editorial director at The Bodley Head, acquired UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head is to publish a “sweeping memoir” by artist and political activist Ai Weiwei. As yet untitled, the book will be simultaneously published in the UK and in the US by Crown in spring 2017. Stuart Williams, publishing director at The Bodley Head, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The goal of the survey, which publisher Lee & Low created and is overseeing, is to gather statistics about the staff makeup of both publishing houses and review journals based on gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perle, who served as publisher of William Morrow, among other top level positions across publishing houses, died August 20 at the age of 59, after living with breast cancer for more than eight years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head has acquired a biography of spy Donald Maclean, written by John Murray publisher Roland Philipps. Publishing director Stuart Williams bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to A Spy Named Orphan: The Lives of Donald Maclean, from Natasha Fairweather at United... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster imprint Touchstone has created Glommable, a site that will curate content from Internet personalities and authors from across publishing houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House Germany will have to pay the family of Joseph Goebbels [pictured], Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister, royalties for extracts from his diaries that are published in a new biography. The biography Goebbels, published in Germany in 2010 under the Siedler imprint and by Penguin Random... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The changing nature of the worldwide book industry is sharply demonstrated in the upper echelons of the 2015 edition of the Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry: for the first time, publishing houses from outside Europe and North America have cracked the top 10. Both the groups—Phoenix... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US tech sector’s problems with Brussels deepen as competition chief focuses on allegedly restrictive contract clausesThe European commission has launched a competition inquiry into Amazon’s dominant market position in ebooks, as Brussels steps up its scrutiny of US tech groups. The EU’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones has passionate booksellers who are “handselling again”, breaking début novelists and “building careers”, according to publishers. Chief executives and sales directors of publishing houses have spoken to The Bookseller following the release of the chain retailer’s annual results (to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers believe that the publishing industry still views them largely through a prism of ethnicity, but industry insiders say that there is no pigeonholing based on race. Authors told The Bookseller they are still defined by their racial identity for marketing purposes and receive more success... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Let's say you can't get enough of it'sGrace (above) on YouTube but you're taking a week-long no-tech camping trip soon and aren't excited about missing her wit and charm. Well, host Grace Helbig's book Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher Johnny Temple might be Brooklyn's biggest cheerleader. In addition to overseeing one of Brooklyn's best known publishing houses, Temple is also the host of the borough's flourishing book festival. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two titles from The Bodley Head and a book by Stephen Hawking are on the longlist for the Royal... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You could have heard about the “poor man’s copyright” anywhere: from an older relative, from a friend, from a high school English teacher. They find out that you’ve been working on a novel and they want to help, so they tell you to mail it to yourself once it’s done. That way, even if you don’t... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head will publish a book by Mark Thompson, c.e.o. of the New York Times. Publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ted Hughes' widow Carol has withdrawn her co-operation on a biography of the poet by academic... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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