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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'From Mama's Table to Mine,' by Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark includes this delightful dessert with Deen's mother, Paula, in mind. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After announcing in early February that it had discontinued sourcing paper from threatened Indonesian rainforests, a representative of Singapore-based Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) was at the International Toy Fair Show in New York last week to explain the policy to toy companies and children’s... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Literary Platform and Bath Spa University have partnered on a new bursary for partnering... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin is raising awareness of a forthcoming fiction launch today (14th February), encouraging... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jennifer 8 Lee needed programming help to launch her publishing startup Plympton, but she didn’t have the cash. So what did she do? She got creative. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Condé Nast's Glamour and Hearst's Good Housekeeping the inaugural rankings of the combined print and digital magazine circulations, compiled by the Professional Publishers Association today. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House c.e.o. Gail Rebuck and author J K Rowling are both among the top 20 most powerful... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Foyles is to make up to eight employees redundant as it seeks to "counter the downturn in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One key to selling more books is to produce great books, and people will recommend and buy them. Don't be satisfied with the merely good. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It is no surprise to see aphorism alive and thriving in our current celebrity climate. The forgotten, it may be assumed, never said anything interesting, whereas choice words of the famous live forever at cocktail parties and in book reviews. To carry a portfolio of pithy quotations is to... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After creating a pop culture phenomenon with a profane children’s book, Go The F*ck To Sleep, Adam Mansbach is back with Rage is Back. Here, he talks about using the momentum of success while writing a brand new chapter. How do you follow up a giant fucking phenomenon? If you’re Adam... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin has benefited from a "good" fourth-quarter publishing performance and has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An award-winning ballet dancer and a French opera director are among the debut authors tipped for success in 2013 by book chain Waterstones. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Another year of "breakneck" digital growth, a resurgence on the high street, further... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Works achieved its “highest ever” monthly sales figure in December 2012 as it saw... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist for the Man Asian Literary Prize was announced today (9th January) with two books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There has lately been a rising backlash against the ubiquity of personal writing. Hamilton Nolan’s anti-confessional diatribe in Gawker claims that journalism students are now taught only to write about themselves, which I can say as a full-time faculty member at a journalism school is patently... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eoin Colfer has been named as the author of the first of Puffin's eleven Dr Who short stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Harry Potter' cast members are reportedly filming a short movie that will be screened at the franchise's theme parks. What will the new film show? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Partnership with Flingo ports video content to more than 15 million devices. With the rise of internet-connected televisions, the big screen is becoming another place for publishers to get their content in front of viewers. One recent example of this is a partnership between Bonnier and smart TV... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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