Professor Selina Todd argues that you can be taught to write well, as demonstrated by American and Australian university students. Plus letters from Christopher Dodd and Anthony OrmsonIan Jack’s wariness towards writing manuals and classes is a peculiarly British response to teaching this craft (So you want to write better sentences than Jane Austen?, 27 May. While visiting Australian universities a few years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the fluency and clarity of the (history) students’ prose. It turned out they were taught to write – not by rote learning grammar, which is the only form of pedagogy recognised by the current British government, but in lively writing workshops that encouraged them to believe that anyone, given time and hard work, could write well. Conversations with American colleagues revealed a similar mindset and introduced me to the American writer William Zinsser, whose book On Writing Well I recommend to all my students. Zinsser’s democratic premise is that good writing is the result of hard work, not innate “talent”. That’s a radical realisation for many British students, brought up with the gentlemanly myth that talent is hereditary, effortless and looks a lot like a public schoolboy.It is no coincidence that Zinsser spent part of his career at the New School in New York, the self-declared “comprehensive university”. In Britain, the adult education movement, including the Workers’ Educational Association, and the Open University, has... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jon Krakauer's upcoming book 'Missoula' will center on stories he was told by those who said they experienced sexual assault at the University of Montana. Krakauer is also the author of 'Into Thin Air.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst UK title lifts combined print and digital sales by 1.2% year on year, as its Condé Nast rival falls by 2.5%Good Housekeeping boosted its sales in the second half of last year to remain the most popular women’s monthly lifestyle title.The Hearst UK title overtook long-time leader Glamour... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline has signed The Letter, a debut novel by Kathryn Hughes which hit number one on the Amazon Kindle chart as a self-published ebook. The Letter, which tells the story of two women whose lives become entwined when one discovers a letter that was written in 1939 but never sent, was... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Killer Reads, HarperFiction’s new digital-first crime and thriller list, has made its first acquisitions through an open submission process it held last summer. Sarah Hodgson, deputy publishing director and Kate Stephenson, editor, have acquired three new titles from the hundreds of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent booksellers have long had an outsized impact on books from indie publishers and university presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Anderson family, which controls 58% of the stock of Books-A-Million, is offering $2.75 a share to acquire all the shares of the bookstore chain that it does not already own. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If we're honest, there isn't enough money in monochrome erotica and Benedict Cumberbatch GIFs to sustain a billion-dollar website. That's why Tumblr is doing its very best to become more of a publishing platform that can attract the sort of writing (... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook isn't sharing native-video revenue with publishers yet. But when it does, Vox Media plans to be ready, with content that’s designed to live only on social platforms. The post Why Vox Media makes content just for social media appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week on the Digiday Podcast we give the digital media world a reality check. The post Digiday Podcast Ep 2. Make or break time for VC-backed publishers appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Has the editor of The Bookseller compared the fall of print sales of adult fiction since 2009 by more than £150m with the massively declined budgets of public libraries over the same five-year period (The writing’s on the wall for adult fiction in print, 14 January). This is also conditioned by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carol Evans is leaving Working Mother Media after helping to lead the company for more than 35 years. Evans grew WMM from a single magazine—Working Mother, launched in 1978—into a magazine, website, events producer and research institute, along with two companion associations. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A mild winter in many parts of the country, combined with the lowest unemployment in six years and significantly reduced gas prices, resulted in a strong holiday season at most independent bookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although the pace of acquisitions slowed in the second half of the year, 2014 proved to be very active for industry mergers and acquisitions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carol Chittenden is retiring after working at Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Mass., for the past 28 years; read more about her contributions to the community and the larger book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I’m worried it will cost too much and don’t know what cover price to chargeEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's sobering to think of carrying on into next year the weight of all the unread books on one's nightstand. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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