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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Time Inc.'s All You is broadening its distribution, moving beyond the exclusive newsstand deal it had with retail giant, Walmart. The April issue of the smart-shopping magazine will be available at major retailers across the country, including Target, CVS, Walgreens and Barn Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The pressure on newspaper website editors to stay in the top three can be intenseJanuary, the start of a new year in the digital premier league (as recorded by ABC). And it's the big three still on top: Mail Online, with 60 million monthly users in Britain and Ireland, and 130 million abroad, up... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The private investment firm G Asset Management has made a proposal to buy a 51% stake in Barnes & Nobles in a deal valuing the company at $22 per share. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How To Poo On A Date and The Origin of Faeces make the Diagram Prize shortlist for the oddest book title of the year. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A digital publishing house is conducting a semi-legal, large-scale search for the next great incarcerated author. The reaction from authorities isn't what you'd expect.Jack London, Ken Kesey, William Burroughs, Oscar Wilde, Malcolm X, Voltaire, Cervantes, E.E. Cummings, Martin Luther King, Mark... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not only is the memoir by Solomon Northup now an Oscar-nominated film, but director Steve McQueen is encouraging schools to use the book as part of their units on slavery and the Civil War. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pocklington - nicknamed Pock - is a small market town in the Yorkshire Wolds, about 13 miles (or 21 kms) from the city of York.Its population of 8,337 is served by a weekly newspaper, the Pocklington Post, which was chosen by its owner, Johnston Press, to pioneer the publishing of user generated... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer to adapt her new novel, called Tennison, for TV in 2016, the 25th anniversary of the hit ITV drama starring Helen MirrenLynda La Plante is writing a prequel to Prime Suspect which she will adapt for TV in 2016, the 25th anniversary of the hit ITV drama.The prequel will be called Tennison,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chatto & Windus is to publish a memoir about daughterhood by social historian Juliet Nicolson... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s 2014, and for North American manga publishers, the digital revolution is well underway. Where there once were only a handful of publishers offering their titles online or via ebook apps, now almost all of them are offering, or negotiating to offer at least some of their current and backlist... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google’s Android is now the most popular smartphone operating system in the UK – so publishers can no longer just talk about iPhone and iPad apps. But despite its increasing market dominance (on mobile anyway) the Google propo ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft's getting ready to follow Amazon, Apple, and Google into the reading game with an app for Windows to peruse ebooks, magazines, and comics. The new app appears be part of Microsoft's cross-platform Xbox entertainment services, which currently include Xbox Music and Video. Microsoft... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble acknowledged Monday that it has cut jobs throughout the company, but insisted that a report that said it had laid off its entire Nook hardware staff was “incorrect.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big libraries get all the attention. But in late September of 2013, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) issued an interesting report on small and rural libraries in the United States. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Duchess of Cambridge has written the foreword for a book which reveals “what life as an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good Housekeeping is a monster brand for parent company Hearst. The 129-year-old magazine is among its largest in terms of revenue, with more than 4.4 million subscribers. Consumers place enormous trust in the Good Housekeeping Seal. Continue reading at AdAge.com Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“In recent years, new bookstores have virtually mushroomed in the city of Sofia," says Rumyana Tsvetkova, reporting for Radio Bulgaria, Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster's new science fiction imprint, Simon451, has launched a writing contest for college students. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines will roll out its newest title, Dr. Oz, The Good Life, Feb. 4. With 800,000 copies being distributed, including 375,000 copies on newsstands for $3.99 and another 425,000 going to subscribers of other Hearst titles, The Good Life could well be the biggest consumer magazine... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Titan Books's pulp imprint Hard Case Crime will be releasing two new editions of Stephen King's "Joyland," which it originally published in June 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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