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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New appointments at the Penguin Publishing Group include Lauren Monaco as v-p, director of sales, paperback and Berkley/NAL. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Love it or hate it, you can't deny that Apple is a phenomenally successful company. But how has it managed to achieve this from a business that started in a garage? Mostly it hasn’t been by innovation but by taking technology that already existed and turning it into the devices that people want... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the early 90s people balked at the idea of reading the news on a computer, yet if you looked at online services of the day (Compuserve and AOL), user demand would say otherwise. News was consistently among the top activity. Eventually that same demand drove Web 1.0 and by the time Web 2.0... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pistorius's manager and agent Peet van Zyl says his client will write a book, but the law may not let him. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Group representing Donna Tartt, Stephen King and others says Amazon tactics have driven sales down by at least 50%Some of the worlds most famous authors escalated their heated dispute with Amazon on Monday, publishing a letter to retailers board warning of the ugly history of blocking book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What do most people think of when they think of analytics? Metrics and measurement, mostly. Limiting analytics to just metrics and measurement limits what you can do. How does a publisher make the leap from metrics to action? Sponsor content by Parse.ly. The post You’re using analytics wrong:... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In addition to the American contenders Karen Joy Fowler for 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' and Joshua Ferris of 'To Rise Again at a Decent Hour,' other nominees include Richard Flanagan for 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' and Ali Smith for 'How to Be Both.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Start with One Direction and see where they take you your daydreams could snare you a book dealHow to write a bestselling novelHow to write a killer scriptShare pictures of where you writeThis article is a preview from the September issue of the Guardians monthly activities magazine, Do... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist for the 2014 Man Booker Prize has been announced, and includes, for the first time in the prize's history, writers from outside the U.K and Commonwealth. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist says it is 'delicious' to be first contributor to the Future Library, which will compile 100 texts for publication in 2114Depending on perspective, it is an author's dream or nightmare: Margaret Atwood will never know what readers think of the piece of fiction she is currently working... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than half the Quercus staff have left the company following its buyout by Hodder &... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comics can wed different parts of a story together and really show things in ways prose can’t,” said Riva Hocherman, an editor at Metropolitan Books (an imprint of Holt), about "Verax," a forthcoming work of graphic nonfiction that tackles the history of the National Security Agency’s electronic... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apparently all customers believe the book they're looking for has a blue cover and some will tell you that if you haven't read every book in the store, 'you're not very good at your job.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It doesn’t hurt to be endorsed by Oprah: After she smiled on him, inspirational philosopher and poet Mark Nepo’s 2000 book hit #1 on the 'Times' list. Nepo talked with PW about his newest, 'The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be,' before joining Oprah’s The Life You Want tour... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It doesn’t hurt to be endorsed by Oprah: After she smiled on him, inspirational philosopher and poet Mark Nepo’s 2000 book hit #1 on the 'Times' list. Nepo talked with PW about his newest, 'The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be,' before joining Oprah’s The Life You Want tour... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since launching a major revamp of their line more than two years ago, Marvel has had mixed success with their Marvel NOW! titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gregory's book will be released sometime in 2015, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Playboy has a new website that the publisher hopes you might even share with your mom on Facebook.Next Monday, the 60-year-old men's magazine will "officially" revamp its 20-year-old website to put a heightened focus on serving up grown-up entertainment that's not overly "adult." The new... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baking experts fortunes on the rise thanks to BBC series, plus lucrative live tours and book deals Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The owners of the World's Only Curious George Store are opening a second picture-book concept store, the Make Way for Ducklings Store in Boston, Mass. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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