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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Sales increased to $75.5 billion in the second quarter at Amazon, even as it acknowledged that the surge in demand forced it to prioritize essential items such as household staples and "dampened demand" for non-essential products. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A new report championing working class writers has published today (1st May), recommending better funding for “new collaborations” and the “decentralisation of UK publishing”–including asking more literary agents to move outside the capital–to help promote inclusion. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 13:41:58 UTC ]
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Could the coronavirus crisis and the UK lockdown be offering the publishing industry a glimpse into a world without bookshops? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 02:18:22 UTC ]
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Cobbled-together home recipe collections were once the province of church groups and Scout troops, but now they’re uniting Americans of all stripes. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-28 09:00:19 UTC ]
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In “Camino Winds,” a bookstore owner and two other characters team up to solve a murder and the mystery behind it. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-28 01:32:18 UTC ]
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Here's why this reader thinks you should read historical fiction and some favorite books that aren't about WWII to get you into the genre. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-27 10:39:09 UTC ]
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The SZBA celebrates literary and cultural achievements in the Arab world. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus has acquired Instructions for the British People During the Emergency, authored by Jason Hazeley, who co-wrote the Ladybird Books for Grown-ups series, and comedy writer and actor Nico Tatarowicz. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-27 03:59:00 UTC ]
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Join us online as Books & Books’ Mitchell Kaplan sits down with Julia Alvarez, the internationally bestselling author of In The Time of the Butterflies and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents to discuss her first adult novel in fifteen years, Afterlife. We welcome you to engage and ask... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-26 14:48:32 UTC ]
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Waterstones Children's Book Prize winner Lisa Williamson returns with her fourth novel for teens, centring on three friends- and a kidnapped baby Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-24 08:01:36 UTC ]
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Emily St. John Mandel chronicles a global pandemic and financial crisis in her novels, 'Station Eleven' and 'The Glass Hotel.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-23 22:16:10 UTC ]
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In Malaysia as it launches its World Book Capital year under the restrictions of the pandemic, the city's mayor quotes the Quran and 'Winne the Pooh.' The post Kuala Lumpur Opens its World Book Capital Year appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-23 16:33:24 UTC ]
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International publishing organizations are calling on this unique World Book and Copyright Day for support urgently needed by the books business—in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The post World Book Day Messages: Appeals for the International Industry appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-23 15:50:28 UTC ]
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An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-23 10:30:24 UTC ]
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'Always Home' author Fanny Singer worries more about running out of garlic than toilet paper. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-22 22:32:48 UTC ]
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Sharjah's 2019 World Book Capital concludes in a live stream from the UAE, after announcing grants from its new Access Sharjah incubator. The post Sharjah World Book Capital Holds a Closing Ceremony Online appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-22 13:51:20 UTC ]
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Vintage Books is prioritising different methods of measuring success during the pandemic, its marketing director Chloe Healy has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 20:41:25 UTC ]
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The New York Comic Con has become a certifiable blockbuster show, with more than 200,000 tickets sold. The event is centered in the Javits Center but also includes Madison Square Garden and the... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2020-04-21 18:29:44 UTC ]
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YouTube book recommendation series the National Shelf Service has announced a series of World Book Night broadcasts, to feature a bedtime reading hour with poet and author Joseph Coelho. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 10:36:13 UTC ]
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Hodder has acquired the rights to "a history of time" from watchmaker and historian Rebecca Struthers following a "fiercely fought", seven-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 00:29:45 UTC ]
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