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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Print Unit Sales Dipped 2% in Mid-December

Unit sales of print books fell 2% in the week ended Dec. 18, 2021, from the comparable week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-31 05:00:00 UTC ]
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12 books I should have reviewed this year: A critic’s lament

There were too many worthy books, but I had too little time — and, alas, too many excuses. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-28 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Dip During the Week Before Christmas

For the second consecutive week, unit sales of print books last week fell compared to 2020. Sales dropped 2% compared to the week ended December 19, 2020, after declining 12.2% in the prior week at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones buyers herald 'bumper year' and look forward to healthy 2022

Waterstones buyers have heralded 2021 as a "bumper year" for publishing and are looking forward a "healthy 2022". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-23 01:27:33 UTC ]
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A Year in Reading the Backlist: Larissa Pham

Lately, I’ve tried to read books published more than five years ago, and this year, I found a lot of pleasure in dwelling in the backlist—though I made time for a few new books. The post A Year in Reading the Backlist: Larissa Pham appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2021-12-22 20:00:42 UTC ]
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Eddie Redmayne voices Burton-Hill’s Another Year of Wonder

Clemency Burton-Hill’s audiobook of Another Year of Wonder (Headline Home) will be narrated by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne, with an introduction from Elizabeth Day. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 14:20:56 UTC ]
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Waterstones partners with Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award

Waterstones is partnering with the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award to celebrate the best emerging talent in the UK and Ireland, hosting exclusive accompanying content across all its channels.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 08:28:44 UTC ]
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Goldsmiths winner Harrison moves to Serpent's Tail from Gollancz after 40 years

Serpent's Tail has bagged a post-apocalyptic novel and a memoir from 2020 Goldsmiths Prize winner M John Harrison, who is leaving his long-term publisher Gollancz after 40 years.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-19 23:45:16 UTC ]
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A Sweet First Year for Sweet Pickle Books

Leigh Altshuler is one of a number of booksellers to open up shop during the pandemic, though her store in Manhattan's Lower East Side is, to put it mildly, is unique: it's also a pickle shop. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Unit Sales Fell 12.2% in Early December

With only the adult fiction category posting an increase, unit sales of print books fell 12.2% in the week ended Dec. 11, 2021, from the comparable week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A Year in Reading 2021

For the 'Millions,' 12 authors look back at 2021 and the books they read along the way. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Unit Sales Fell 12.2% Last Week

With only the adult fiction segment posting an increase, unit sales of print books fell 12.2% last week compared to the week ended December 12, 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The year of the short story

In 2021, Fly on the Wall Press set out to celebrate the short story form. We published three short story collections and seven limited-edition short story pamphlets, marketed and sold both separately and as part of a political season subscription with cohesive and colourful cover art. We also... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-14 08:56:39 UTC ]
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NPD Projects US Print Book Unit Sales 17 Percent Above 2019

Year-to-date performance in the American book market is looking likely to converge with that of 202 at 8 percent, NPD Books reports. The post NPD Projects US Print Book Unit Sales 17 Percent Above 2019 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-12-14 02:53:50 UTC ]
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Sphere snaps up Felton's review of the year in audio-only first

Sphere has snapped-up an audio-only comedic annual review by James Felton, narrated by Russell Kane, marking a first for the publisher.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-09 10:58:58 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Slipped Last Week

Unit sales of print books dipped 0.2% last week compared to the week ended December 5, 2020, ending a long string of weekly sales growth. Only adult fiction and young adult fiction had sales increases over last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: newspapers reveal their best books of the year

In the lead up to Christmas, many publications, including the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Financial Times, New York Times and iNews, have released their best book of the year articles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-07 01:26:05 UTC ]
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Announcing the Winner of Electric Lit’s 2021 Book Cover of the Year Tournament

Last week, the Electric Lit team stayed glued to our phone screens as we tasked our social media followers with anointing the best book cover of 2021. The tournament was full of close calls determined by razor-thin margins (Mona at Sea prevailed over Black Girl Call Home by just five votes in... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-12-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2021 Stocking Stuffer of the Year Award (shelftalker)

What are this year’s top stocking stuffers and can this year’s judge play fair? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-06 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Oasis Acquires Enclave Publishing, Expands into Print

Oasis Family Media, which houses Oasis Audio, is expanding into print publishing with the acquisition of Enclave Publishing—an independent press focused on Christian fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
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