Final chapter for Pears' Cyclopaedia after 125 years in print

The once hugely popular almanac has seen much-diminished sales in the digital era, and editor’s retirement persuades publisher to close itOne hundred-and-twenty years after Pears’ Cyclopaedia made its first appearance, offering “A Mass of Curious and Useful Information about Things that everyone Ought to know in Commerce, History, Science, Religion, Literature and other Topics of Ordinary Conversation” for a shilling, its publisher Penguin has announced that the newest edition of the beloved compendium of facts will be the last.Penguin attributed the decision to discontinue the almanac to the retirement of its long-term editor Dr Chris Cook, as well as “the ready availability of electronic information [that] has made the printed reference book no longer commercially competitive”. According to the Bookseller, sales have sharply declined in recent years, with the 2001/2002 edition selling just under 25,000 copies, while last year’s sold barely 3,000. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When communism crumbled, so did an 11-year-old’s reality

Lea Ypi recalls her childhood in Albania and the nation's swift, disorienting shift away from communism. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-21 13:00:31 UTC ]
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Print Unit Sales Fell 3% in Mid-January

Unit sales of print books dropped 3% in the week ended Jan. 15, 2022, from the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Fell 3% Last Week

Weak nonfiction sales dragged down total unit sales of print books last week, with total sales dropping 3% compared to the week ended January 16, 2021, at outlets that report to BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Creative Access celebrates 10-year anniversary with new website and brand

Creative Access is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a new website and brand identity as industry heads such as Stephen Page and Tom Weldon pay tribute to the social enterprise’s impact.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 22:49:33 UTC ]
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LBF names CLPE as charity of the year

The London Book Fair (LBF) has chosen the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) as its charity of the year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 07:24:01 UTC ]
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New year cheer

Last week the Booksellers Association (BA) reported that the number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland had grown for the fifth consecutive year, with the BA’s figures showing 1,027 shops as active members at the end of 2021, the highest number since 2013. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-15 20:36:31 UTC ]
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Years before Watergate, a young Carl Bernstein fell in love with local journalism

The longtime journalist recounts the oddball characters and vibrant newsroom of the Washington Star. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-14 13:00:26 UTC ]
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59 Years of Book Covers for The Bell Jar from All Over the World

On January 14, 1963, poet Sylvia Plath published her first novel in England under the pseudonym “Victoria Lucas.” The book had a positive but relatively quiet reception; only a few weeks after its publication, on February 11, Plath would die by suicide. It wasn’t published in the US until 1971,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-14 09:50:32 UTC ]
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Faber signs fantasy 'middle-grade debut of the year' from FAB winner McCurdy

Faber has acquired The Umbra Tales, a "magical, bold" new middle-grade fantasy series from debut writer and FAB Prize-winner Janelle McCurdy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-13 09:33:13 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Get a Bad Start in 2022

Facing tough comparisons to 2021, when sales got off to a strong start compared to 2020, unit sales of print books fell 13.9% last week from the first week in 2021 at outlets that report to BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Which Audiobook Should Kick Off Your Reading Year?

Your first audiobook of the year sets the tone for the rest of the reading year. So how do you make sure to pick the right one? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-11 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Wilson pens first new Magic Faraway Tree book for 75 years in HCG deal

Hachette Children’s Group has scooped a brand new Magic Faraway Tree adventure, inspired by Enid Blyton and written by Jacqueline Wilson. It will be the first Magic Faraway Tree book in 75 years and the first in the series by an author other than Blyton.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-10 14:31:13 UTC ]
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Indie bookshop numbers rise for fifth consecutive year, BA figures show

The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth consecutive year despite challenges brought by the pandemic, the Booksellers Association says. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-07 22:34:12 UTC ]
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Print sales in US boom with YA and graphic novels top performers

The sales of print books in the US soared across 2021, boosted by fiction with YA and graphic novels riding high in particular.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-07 18:22:38 UTC ]
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Candlestick Press hails 23% sales rise and prepares for bumper year

Candlestick Press is planning to publish a record 22 titles this year and says sales in 2021 were up 23% on the previous 12 months. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-06 13:52:51 UTC ]
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Sequoia Nagamatsu’s Dystopian Debut Is a Must-Read for the New Year

Sequioa Nagamatsu discusses his much-awaited debut novel about people living in a future beset by the Arctic Plague. The post Sequoia Nagamatsu’s Dystopian Debut Is a Must-Read for the New Year appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-01-04 21:00:24 UTC ]
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Year-End Russian Book Publishing Industry Assessment: ‘Seriously Difficult’

The downturn in print book sales in Russia may have been as deep as between 50 and 70 percent, according to editor Svetlana Zorin. The post Year-End Russian Book Publishing Industry Assessment: ‘Seriously Difficult’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-04 14:35:09 UTC ]
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Tech that can help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions

Regardless of how 2021 went for you, 2022 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than those that came before it. We set New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions, but it’s no wonder that so many people fail after just a few weeks – old habits die hard. Just as it’s... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-01-01 14:34:42 UTC ]
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‘The Latinist’ is the perfect suspense novel to kick off your reading year

Set in the claustrophobic world of academia, this twisty tale by Mark Prins will remind you of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’ Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-31 23:16:02 UTC ]
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Usborne, Parks and Raúf awarded with New Year's Honours

Publisher Peter Usborne, novelist Anthony Horowitz and cookery writer Claudia Roden have all been awarded the CBE in the New Year's Honours list, while there are also awards for authors including Adele Parks, Onjali Q Raúf and Ann Cleeves. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-31 16:08:34 UTC ]
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