Faber & Faber: by Toby Faber review – the untold story of a publishing giant

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 ]
News tagged with: #ted hughes #philip larkin #seamus heaney #bodley head #anthology #publishing houses

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Faber & Faber: by Toby Faber review – the untold story of a publishing giant'


Frankfurt Book Fair Show Dailies: Call for Stories

Publishing Perspectives will again publish full-color, tabloid-format print editions during the Frankfurt Book Fair. Got a story to tell? Let us know. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon and Hachette feud could rewrite the book on publishing

The Ebook price row has the potential to create irreversible changes to the literary world and its business modelsThe battle between Amazon and the French publisher Hachette is not just a spat about the price of books. Their row over ebook prices, which led to the online retailer freezing out... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook prices #donna tartt #biggest publishers


Publishers: Ditch your apps; focus on mobile Web

New research shows how hard it is to drive app downloads and why news publishers should be focusing more on their mobile websites and social distribution. The post Publishers: Ditch your apps; focus on mobile Web appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news publishers #post publishers #mobile web #research shows #mobile websites #social distribution


What you need to know about Amazon's fight with ebook publishers

Unless you've been living in a book-free cave, you may have heard that retail giant Amazon and book publisher Hachette are having a little tiff. It's all about digital versions of books -- so-called ebooks -- and it boils down to this: Amazon wants... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook publishers #digital versions


Parragon Publishing Restructures

In a move meant to reflect its broadening business interests, Parragon Publishing has restructured its operations into two divisions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #move meant #parragon publishing


Samsung Galaxy S4 Nook Review

The Galaxy S4 Nook is a full-functioning Android tablet with a handful of extra Nook software to enhance the book reading (and, even more so, book buying) experience. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book reading


New Seamus Heaney collection to be published

An anthology of later work by the Nobel laureate will feature a last poem, In Time, written for his granddaughter SíofraSeamus Heaney obituary by Neil CorcoranA poem written for his granddaughter and never published before in the UK will form part of a new collection of selected poems by the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel laureate #form part #publisher announced


Latest Conde Shakeup: Vanity Fair Publisher Takes Over Corporate Media Group

Conde Nast has promoted Vanity Fair VP-Publisher Edward Menicheschi to CMO-president of the Conde Nast Media Group, which sells ad programs spanning the company's brands, effective immediately. Mr. Menicheschi succeeds Lou Cona, who is leaving the company.Mr. Menicheschi was named publisher of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #effective immediately #named publisher #vanity fair #wear daily #statement thursday


Vanity Fair Publisher Moves to Condé Nast Media Group President

The seemingly endless summer of Condé Nast corporate and executive activity continued on Aug. 21 with the announcement by four-year president Bob Sauerberg that Edward Menicheschi (pictured) was ending eight years as Vanity Fair VP and publisher to become president and chief marketing officer of... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Waterstones stocks Amazon Publishing's Sherratt

Paperback editions of books by Amazon Publishing UK author Mel Sherratt are being stocked locally... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paperback editions


The Changing Book and Its Publishing Model

With previously monolithic books now (mostly) digitized and disaggregated into chapters, objectives, tests, case studies and various metatagged bits, a different publishing model is emerging. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing model #case studies


Mobile traffic surpasses desktop for top UK publishers

The top newspaper and magazine publishers in the U.K. have now crossed the mobile-desktop audience threshold, with many reporting that over half their audience now views their content on mobile and tablet devices. The post Mobile traffic surpasses desktop for top UK publishers appeared first on... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine publishers #tablet devices


Sand Named Adult Trade Publisher at Abrams

Michael Sand, executive editor at Little, Brown, has been appointed v-p, publisher, adult trade at Abrams, effective September 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #appointed v- #adult trade


When publishers’ platform dreams become nightmares

Publishers are discovering that giving contributors the keys to their publishing platforms often opens up a host of new issues. The post When publishers’ platform dreams become nightmares appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing platforms


Suchomel Returning to Legato Publishers Group

Almost two weeks after the planned acquisition of Perseus Books Group by Hachette and Ingram fell apart, Perseus CEO David Steinberger has announced that Mark Suchomel will officially resume his position at the helm of the boutique distribution company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #suchomel returning #planned acquisition #ingram fell #mark suchomel


Publishing’s Civil War of Words

Hachette was smart to take its dispute with Amazon public, turning it into a war of words and choosing the battlefield where they have the natural advantage. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #civil war #natural advantage


National Geographic Ranked No. 1 in Social Media Among Publishers

National Geographic is the king of the social media jungle, according to a top 10 list released by Shareablee. The New York-based digital data company has ranked NatGeo as the most effective publisher in the social space for the month of July, with 46.4 million engagements on Facebook, Twitter... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #photo gallery #huffington post


Survey on Programmatic Says Publishers Are Behind

  A recent survey of senior executive AOL Platform clients from leading US advertisers, agencies and publishers revealed how and why programmatic buying is being utilized in the industry. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recent survey #publishers revealed #programmatic buying


Mapping Bookshops and Publishers in Confusing Cairo

A new web project, CairoBookStop, aims to cull and map information about publishers and bookshops in Cairo that focus on contemporary Arabic literature. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Virtual Book Festivals Run By Major Publishers Take Off in UK

HarperCollins UK's June virtual Romance Festival was a success; this week SF publisher Gollancz is hosting a festival combining online Q&As with real life events. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins uk #major publishers