How Julia Donaldson conquered the world, one rhyme at a time

She published her first book in her 40s and became the biggest selling author of the past decade in any genre – The Gruffalo alone has sold 13m copies. How did this former busker make it so big?The room where the children’s author Julia Donaldson writes – the heart of her vast picture book empire – is down a winding staircase, in the cellar of her grand white house in Steyning, West Sussex. Her desk looks out on the street at knee height. “I’m thinking of writing a book about legs,” Donaldson said, as she showed me around the house this summer. Children from the nearby school often wave in at her as they pass. Donaldson is well known in Steyning, due to her frequent signings at the local bookshop. She and her husband, Malcolm, a retired paediatrician, recently bought the local post office to save it from closure. But elsewhere she can walk the pavement without being recognised. “I got a letter the other day for Jacqueline Wilson,” Donaldson told me. “It said: ‘You’re my favourite author!’”If you are not someone who spends much time with young children, you may only be dimly aware of Donaldson’s work – although you will probably be familiar with her most famous creation, the Gruffalo. If you have children, however, you will know her as a cultural juggernaut whose influence among children is perhaps only surpassed by the works of Disney and CBeebies. Donaldson, who is 72, has written more than 210 books: chiefly picture books, but also poetry, plays, a 60-part phonics... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 06:00:31 UTC ]
News tagged with: #local bookshop #recently bought #jacqueline wilson #favourite author #famous creation #ladybird heard #picture book

Other Publishing stories related to: 'How Julia Donaldson conquered the world, one rhyme at a time'


Panel Mania: 'Aama The Invisible Throng' Journeys Through Space And Time

Swiss cartoonist Frederik Peeters' sci-fi series, Aama continues Verloc Nim's reluctant space journey with his brother Conrad and the android chimpanzee, Churchill, as they search to uncover any material relating to the mysterious experiment known as Aama. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sci-fi series #material relating


New Faces in Frankfurt: Publisher Snapshots from Around the World

What are publishers doing in Namibia, Jordan, Senegal and Indonesia? We interview four publishers at the Frankfurt Book Fair to find out. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Digital Newsstand Preps Makeover with Former Time Inc. CTO

Time Inc.’s former CTO, Abe Cytryn, is joining Magzter in the same role as the digital newsstand company preps a series of new features for both publishers and consumers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Time Inc UK almost doubles pre-tax profits

Marie Claire and NME publisher, formerly known as IPC Media, reports £21.5m profit as revenues fall 7% year on year Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marie claire #ipc media


Photos of Grandmas Around the World, With Their Signature Dishes

A look inside Gabriele Galimberti's 'In Her Kitchen,' portraits of grandmothers from all over the world, who posed with their favorite dishes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #signature dishes


Honoring Women’s Books in Translation: It’s Time

Writing on the blog Love German Books, translator Katy Derbyshire makes the call for a prize honoring women authors in translation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Publishing Vet Builds His Own Cathedral, One Rock at a Time: Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson, founder of Pushcart Press and recipient of the National Book Critics Circle’s Lifetime Achievement Award, tells the story of “an aging man who builds a holy place in his backyard” in his new book. The memoir features bugs, cancer, spiritual wavering, and rocks. Lots of rocks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bill henderson #pushcart press


Time Inc. Seeks Power to Ship Edit Jobs Abroad, Newspaper Guild Alleges

Time Inc. wants the ability to outsource nearly 200 editorial jobs overseas, according to the Newspaper Guild of New York, which has been locked in an 18-month-long contract negotiation with the nation's largest magazine publisher, owner of People, Sports Illustrated and InStyle, among... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #newspaper guild #sports illustrated #statement friday


Time Inc. done talking with Newspaper Guild

Time Inc.'s transformation from Time Warner division to stand-alone publicly traded company has taken a new turn with a breakdown in talks between the publisher and the Newspaper Guild, which... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #newspaper guild


Tampa Bay Times Cuts Employee Pay 5 Percent, Reduces Severance Payments

Paul Tash, CEO and chairman of the Times, announced the cuts in a memo to employees Thursday, citing a difficult summer that resulted in lower than expected revenue. "Newspaper publishing remains a tough business," he wrote. Anticipating jo ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #expected revenue


Time Inc., Newspaper Guild at ‘Impasse’ on Talks

Newspaper Guild negotiators on Friday rejected the latest offer from Time Inc., prompting the nation’s No. 1 magazine publisher to declare an impasse in its labor negotiations. The biggest stumbling block appears to be the publisher&r ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #newspaper guild


Time Inc. to Take Page From National Geographic Playbook

Time Inc. will borrow a page from the National Geographic playbook to revive its declining print empire. Joe Ripp, the chief executive of Time Inc., who has unnerved old timers at America’s largest magazine publisher with ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joe ripp


Guinness World Records celebrates its 60th

Guinness World Records (GWR) will unveil a special 60th anniversary edition in a global press... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


IPC name to disappear as Time Inc rebrands magazine publisher

Home of Marie Claire, NME and Whats on TV to become Time Inc UK to provide strategic clarity Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marie claire


Time Inc. Names New Editors, Including a Former Hill Holliday and JWT Exec

Time Inc., the nation's largest magazine publisher and owner of titles like People and Time, announced another editorial shakeup Wednesday, marking its second masthead move in a week.Hunter Lewis, the executive editor at Time Inc.'s Southern Living magazine, was named editor of Cooking Light on... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #named editor #cooking light #verified circulation #audited media


The World’s Most Expensive Superman Comic Just Sold for $3.2 Million on eBay

Continuing the trend of iconic comic books selling for house-in-the-Hamptons levels of cash, a nearly perfect copy of Action Comics No. 1 (aka the first appearance of Superman) sold for a record-breaking $3.2 million last night on eBay. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #action comics


Net Pricing: Is It Time to Take Prices off Book Covers?

Pointing to the need for pricing flexibility at a time when bookstores face a growing number of economic challenges, some booksellers question whether it’s time for publishers to stop printing suggested retail prices on book covers and dust jackets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book covers #growing number #economic challenges #dust jackets


Limited uptake for Amazon's Kindle Worlds

“Serious content restrictions” at Amazon’s fan fiction platform Kindle Worlds... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle worlds #content restrictions


Ice Bucket Challenge comes to the literary world

The Ice Bucket Challenge, created to raise awareness of ALS, was taken by such book world figures as author Stephen King, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and author and indie bookstore supporter Stephen Colbert. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary world #raise awareness


Hard books for hard times: literary experimentation gains popularity

For some authors, a demanding era for publishing calls for complicated stories not cautious and conservative ones and they're finding readersBetween the decline of the traditional bookshop and the internet wrecking our concentration, many thought the novel was on its last legs. With all the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary fiction