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 ]
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Louise Kennedy has made the six-strong shortlist for this year's Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for the second year running. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-07 17:27:57 UTC ]
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As thoughtful citizens we are hemmed in now by gigantic problems that appear as insoluble as they are menacing, so how pleasant it is to take an hour or two off to consider only the problem of the body that locked itself in its study and then used the telephone. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-05 01:33:09 UTC ]
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As the sounds of helicopters and the chants of protesters rang in the distance, I couldn’t help but think about how I can make an impact. I was shocked—and frankly saddened—to see very little acknowledgement of the Black Lives Matter movement in the event industry, and even fewer actionable... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-04 20:29:21 UTC ]
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David Walliams and Tony Ross are releasing another collection of stories, The World's Worst Parents, with HarperCollins Children's Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-03 23:12:15 UTC ]
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Children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph has broken the Guinness world record for largest online art class, in collaboration with Entrepreneur First and Art World Records. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-03 13:43:13 UTC ]
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Google’s sunsetting of third-party cookies gives us an opportunity to shape our long-term future. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2020-06-03 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Get to know the fantastic and thrilling world of the DINOSAUR TRAIN series, a shining example of science fiction for early readers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-02 10:35:52 UTC ]
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Black Bear Pictures has optioned Naoise Dolan's debut novel Exciting Times for television. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-28 21:51:46 UTC ]
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It’s the kind of timing a publisher dreams of. Less than one week out from its U.S. release, latest Irish literary phenom Naoise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times (Ecco, June 2) has been optioned for TV. Yes, following a hugely successful release in the UK and Ireland back in April, when it... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-28 18:10:32 UTC ]
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to several industries, and publishing has been no exception. Among those hardest hit have been titles serving local markets. With public spaces temporarily shutting down, regional titles have little leverage to sell advertising, and readers have little... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-28 16:08:28 UTC ]
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Richard Jefferies’s book prefigures J.G. Ballard’s disaster novels like “The Drowned World.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-27 15:57:12 UTC ]
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As soon as people discovered the pleasures of a diverting novel, some starchy scold swooped in to make them feel bad. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The prolific author's latest novel, Black Sun, is an epic fantasy set in pre-Columbian America, Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired Chris Riddell’s new poetry anthology, Poems To Save The World With, including work produced during the pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-22 05:59:03 UTC ]
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Summer reading: Author Walter Thompson-Hernández joins Times readers June 24 to discuss the legacy of "The Compton Cowboys." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-21 14:00:06 UTC ]
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A digital-native brand, a TV trailblazer and an age-old print stalwart broke onto the 2020 shortlist for Digiday Media Awards Europe. The honorees all shared a commitment to embracing new platforms and formats — often with a social-media and video-first mindset. The post The Telegraph, Financial... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-05-21 13:49:23 UTC ]
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Quarantine may be a golden opportunity to finally read "War and Peace" — but it's not an easy time for the book industry. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2020-05-21 09:45:35 UTC ]
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Many months ago, when we all sat in our meeting rooms, sipping coffee and bouncing campaign ideas around, I don’t think any one of us marketing folk could have predicted just how much our plans would be forced to change. The effects of the national lockdown on marketing campaigns and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-20 21:41:29 UTC ]
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Emily St. John Mandel, author of the pandemic bestseller "Station Eleven," discusses her novels with the L.A. Times Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-19 23:03:32 UTC ]
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Cuddly devices known as kentuki are the latest trend, but the fallout from their popularity is hard to predict. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-19 15:58:15 UTC ]
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