Last week, Ruth Rendell claimed that reading novels is a dying art. Sadly, she might have a pointNo one can say precisely why John Williams's novel Stoner has become a bestseller almost 50 years after its first publication. After all, plenty of books, "forgotten" or otherwise, are recommended by word of mouth and yet most will not go on to sell more than a few hundred copies. And it's hard to know in what ways, if any, its story – a young man falls in love with literature and thus a new world is revealed to him – might have touched people. Many of those who rushed to buy it will not yet have got around to opening it and some will never read it. Stoner will languish on their shelves, its spine unbroken, just like Jung Chang's Wild Swans, the non-fiction hit of 1992.But still, it has given us something to think about, this dusting down of so plangent and substantial a novel. On Radio 4 last week, Ruth Rendell, the novelist and Labour peer, suggested that Stoner is a book for our times, her argument being that we live in an age when reading is for most an alien pastime, just as it is to William Stoner until he has an epiphany. (Asked to elucidate a poem by a professor, he is unable to say anything except: "It means... it means..." and yet, in this moment, everything changes; the verse, whether he understands it or not, has touched him on some powerfully deep level.) "We are told that it isn't happening," said Rendell. "But it is. Reading is no longer something that everybody... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
Alvin Zhou is not your typical video producer. On a recent fall afternoon, he's hovering over a table in a test kitchen cutting and prepping vegetables and meat that he'll later whip into an ersatz "fried rice" dish made with cauliflower. As I watch, I'm offered a hot chocolate chip cookie... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2016-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Doris Kearns Goodwin, left, and Rachel Maddow talked about presidents past and future over lunch in the Gotham Lounge at the Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2016-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has snapped up world English rights to M., the "extraordinary" debut from Peng Shepherd. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reform of the migration system to enable easy access to critical skills and talent from both EU and non–EU countries is a key recommendation of a new report on Brexit from the Creative Industries Federation. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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She's a USA Today bestselling author who sells up to 300 books a day and has droves of fans in America â but you won't find Kiwi Leeanna Morgan's name in New Zealand's literary annals. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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POP's Joe McCambley on what publishers large and small are missing. The post Making Content Marketing Work For You appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tool has signed Director and Photographer Danielle Levitt to the integrated production company's live-action roster. She has worked with Marc Jacobs, Reebok, Nike, Sprite and Old Spice. She has also photographed celebrity portraits for Jenna Lyons, Rick Owens and the cast of Broadway's... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt Books Publishing has acquired Elliot Ackerman’s "timely" new novel Dark at the Crossing – a "gripping" contemporary love story set on the Turkish/Syrian border. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers and publishers alike were inspired by the number of younger booksellers who attended the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association fall conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are accelerating the development cycle for licensed tie-ins to satisfy consumer demand. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Between client meetings, brainstorm sessions and pitch preparations, time is sparse for chief creative officers, but that doesn't mean they're too busy to energize their creative juices by squeezing in reading time. Check out what books (or audiobooks), in genres from mystery and thriller to... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's been a disruptive decade for the book business, but Pew's latest research suggests that Americans' reading habits have remained relatively stable. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jacob Dalborg, CEO of Bonnier, was the featured speaker during the CEO panel where he talked about the plans the Swedish publisher has for the future. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft founder Bill Gates were both on a list of potential vice presidential candidates for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a leaked email published on Tuesday by Wikileaks. The email, apparently sent by campaign chairman John Podesta on March 17, named the two... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2016-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beren and Lúthien, a story of the perilous romance between a man and an elf, is one of a number of texts by the author brought ‘together for the first time’JRR Tolkien’s legend of the mortal man Beren and the immortal elf Lúthien – a story that meant so much to the Lord of the Rings author that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[Sponsored] Between the sheer volume of digital advertisers in 2016, renewal rates, and cross-platform trends — digital isn’t going away. The post Brave New World for B2B Publishers appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Interactive entertainment company To Play For has acquired virtual reality (VR) rights to the Fallow Trilogy by Amy Lankester-Owen, in the first deal for the books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children’s has pre-empted the world rights to Twelve Nights, the debut children’s book by Andrew Zurcher, director of studies in English at Queen’s College Cambridge. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chatto & Windus is to publish Gun Love, a "powerful and heartbreaking" story of a mother and daughter by novelist and PEN International president Jennifer Clement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get in the Halloween spirit this year with tales of supernatural encounters, an illustrated history of witchcraft and the occult, plus more in books slated to publish in October. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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