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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Legend Press and Bloomsbury both have two books on the £30,000 University of Wales Dylan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four local online newsrooms have united to broaden New Orleans’ news options. The mission of the newly formed New Orleans Digital News Alliance is to connect independent digital news organizations for the benefit of our readers and to stren ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News updates all day from Fast Company.Amazon is getting ready to introduce new tablets, Staples' president of U.S. retail, Demos Parneros, told Reuters Monday.Parneros said the online retailer will introduce five or six new tablet SKUs, or stock-keeping units, including those for a 10-inch... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookStats, an annual survey that tracks the American publishing industry, finds that, contrary to doomsday predictions, bookstores and paper-and-ink books are still in demand. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chen Guangcheng, whose nighttime escape and conflict with the Chinese government led to a diplomatic crisis for the United States last spring, is writing a memoir to be published next year. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has appointed Kathleen Farrar to the role of Bloomsbury Group sales and marketing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The television star mines childhood fascination in writing 'The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.' When Chris Colfer was just 20, he'd already been named one of GQ magazine's men of the year, having sung and acted his way into the hearts of America as Kurt, the high-pitched, openly gay brunet... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Nobel Prize-winning author's brother says the effects of dementia mean Márquez may be unable to write. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing giants The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal firmed up exclusive deals with Flipboard and Pulse earlier in the week for exclusive content to go out to these third-party mobile apps, but as one Flipboard rival explains, this news c ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HTML5 promises to get publishers closer to digital media’s Promised Land: create once, deliver everywhere. As deployments increase and the standard evolves, media companies are finding it easier to make a business case for HTML5 investment. .. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp has confirmed reports that the company will be split into separate publishing and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher, in conjunction with city libraries and 3M, will make its books available in e-format, though they will not be available immediately after release. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford talks about his new novel "Canada," his memories of the late Raymond Carver, and how art makes life. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Germans, grab your reading glasses, for it's today that Google is announcing the arrival of Play Books -- complete with the ability to purchase native language texts -- in the land of the Kant and Goethe. Yes, those in Deutschland may now buy and read titles from Google Play Books on their... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Though results aren't what they used to be, sales still spiked for the first pick. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new novel by Stephen King, Joyland, is to be published by Titan Books imprint Hard Case Crime... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man' is the first novel from Nick Dybek, son Stuart Dybek, and centers on a threat to a fishing community's way of life.The title of Nick Dybek's debut novel, "When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man," hints at transitions to come, and the phrase "was still"... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hutchinson senior editor Sarah Norman has made her first acquisition since joining the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Huffington Post is expanding the way it works with brands in an effort to cash in on the popular brand-as-publisher trend, Ad Age has learned. The company, part of AOL, has been talking to ad agencies and marketers about helping them build websites for brands and subsequently aiding in... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In "United States of Pie," Adrienne Kane updates a Southern classic, banana cream pie, with a subtly salty crust and a layer of chocolate ganache. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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