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 ]
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Indies are leading the shortlist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, with five of the six books vying for the £5,000 prize hailing from independent presses. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jo, Julia, Joe, Jason-and-Joel (and David) all sold more than £10m worth of print books in 2016, as the big names just kept on getting bigger. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literature Wales is currently reviewing the Wales Book of the Year awards, with a statement on its future expected before the end of the week, the BBC has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A second year of growth through the TCM saw the print market end 2016 in its best shape since 2010. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From politics to Potter, we take a look at some of the biggest stories in UK publishing in 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From awards to birthday parties, here are the pictures that sum up the year in publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling and Beatrix Potter are among the six authors shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2016, chosen by Waterstones booksellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent is the only novel on the six-book shortlist, up against JK Rowling’s play script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and a long-lost Beatrix Potter storySarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent might have missed out on the big literary prizes this year, but her... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crime writers Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, alongside Doug Johnstone and E S Thomson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The director of comic book film Suicide Squad shrugs off its bad reviews, saying he made the supervillain ensemble movie "for the fans". Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Widespread library closures across the UK have resulted in the loss of almost 8,000 jobs in the last six years, according to a report by the BBC. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A record year for submissions has led to the highest ever number of regional shortlisted entries in this year’s British Book Industry Awards Independent Bookshop of the Year category, sponsored by Gardners Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A quirk in the data cannot detract from a buoyant print return, with 2015 recording the first rise in sales for the print market for seven years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In our final review of the year, we look at the big stories from September to December. See our reviews for January to March, April to June, and July to December. October Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the third part of our review of the year, we look at the big stories from July to September. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the second part of our review of the year, we take a look at the big stories from April to June. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books by Bill Bryson, Paula Hawkins and John Green are among the shortlist for Sainsbury’s ebook of the year 2015 award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2015 has been revealed, featuring a list that would "not have been produced by an algorithm,” the chain's m.d. James Daunt has said. The eight-strong selection nominated by Waterstones booksellers across the UK encompasses four novels, three... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2015 Saltire Publisher of the Year shortlist has been revealed, featuring two past winners and three Edinburgh-based publishing houses. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An exploration of the landscape around a remote Cornish farmhouse, a study of the role of lemons in the Italian cultural landscape, and an account of life below deck on giant container ships are among the books shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year shortlist. Stanfords... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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