Hatchet Job of the Year shortlist - 2013's most negative reviews in quotes

Tasters of the reviews competing for the annual prize that recognises 'the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past 12 months'News: Hatchet Job of the Year award draws and quarters shortlistCraig Brown on Distant Intimacy: A Friendship in the Age of the Internet by Frederic Raphael and Joseph Epstein in the Daily Mail"A few years ago Raphael emailed Epstein with the suggestion that 'there might be some fun, not to mention $$$' in emailing each other for a year, then publishing the results. And so they get going, each of them dutifully delivering between 1,500 to 1,800 words a week, every week for a year. The first thing to be said about their exchanges is how extraordinarily unpleasant they are [...] Anyone unfamiliar with the literary world will, I think, be astonished at the ease with which these grand old men of letters turn into queeny old hairdressers, furiously bitching about their younger, prettier or more highly regarded rivals.Rachel Cooke on Strictly Ann: The Autobiography by Ann Widdecombe in the Observer"When Ann Widdecombe appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, the judges were not complimentary, describing her variously as "a dancing hippo", "a Dalek in drag" and "the Ark Royal". [...] Is Widdecombe's writing any better than her dancing? No. About the best you can say for her prose is that it is accurate. Her grammar is fine – Ann is a stickler for grammar – and her anecdotes make sense in that they have a beginning, a middle and an end.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #paul theroux

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'Find Waldo Local' to Return in 2013

Candlewick's Find Waldo Local promotion, which the publisher produced last month in conjunction with the American Booksellers Association, was such a resounding success that Candlewick announced that it will sponsor it again next summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC, Riot and Viking on PR Week award shortlists

Books and publishing have a strong representation in this year's PR Week awards,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author acknowledges fake Dylan quotes, resigns

A staff writer for The New Yorker has resigned and his latest book has been halted after he acknowledged inventing quotes by Bob Dylan. Jonah Lehrer released a statement Monday through his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, saying that some Mr. Dylan quotes appearing in his book "Imagine: How... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Jonah Lehrer was caught inventing Bob Dylan quotes

Jonah Lehrer resigned from The New Yorker after Tablet Magazine discovered Lehrer had fabricated quotes by Bob Dylan in Lehrer's latest book "Imagine: How Creativity Works." Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Denise Mina wins Crime Novel of the Year

Glaswegian writer Denise Mina has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After Great Year, Scholastic Tries For Encore

Fiscal 2012 was a good year made great by The Hunger Games,” Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson told analysts in a conference call last Thursday to discuss results in the year ended May 31, in which sales rose 14%, to $2.15 billion, and net income jumped from $39.4 million to $102.4 million. The... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nominations open for World Book Night 2013

Nominations for books to be given out for free at next year's World Book Night will begin on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brain Quest Celebrates 20 Years of Challenging Kids

For two decades, Brain Quest’s curriculum-based question-and-answer game has entertained kids – lots of them. Workman, which launched the line in 1992, reports sales of close to 37 million copies of Brain Quest editions for children at the pre-K through seventh grade levels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hill on Forward Best Collection shortlist

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vaizey to announce e-lending review

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is poised to announce an independent cross-trade... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Kate Atkinson for spring 2013

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: Kobo Touch eReader

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[ Stuff | 2012-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eason to launch e-reader 'this year'

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Much Does the Times Book Review Matter?

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Judicial review on cards in Doncaster libraries row

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book price fixing trial set for 2013: Apple, Macmillan and Penguin prepare for courtroom brawl

The Justice Department meant business when it accused Apple and five other publishers of price-rigging ebooks, and are officially taking Cupertino and two publishers to court. In a hearing on Friday, Judge Denise Cote set a bench trial for June 3, 2012, putting Apple, Macmillan and Penguin Group... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cambridge University Press ends printing after 400 years

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mail commercial chief John Teal to leave after 25 years

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[ Media Week | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fairfax to Cut 1,900 Jobs in Restructuring of Media Operations

The struggling conglomerate, which has a 30 percent market share in Australia, publishes The Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review and The Age in Melbourne. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Engage wins sports book of the year

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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