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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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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This is the 40th year of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes (which celebrates excellence in the following twelve categories as well as champions new writers), but it is the first time the winners were announced on Twitter. You can feel like you’re a part of the virtual celebration with this video... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-17 18:00:36 UTC ]
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The 14 Times book prize winners, including Steph Cha, Namwali Serpell, Marlon James and George Packer, were honored in a virtual ceremony on Twitter. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-17 15:53:24 UTC ]
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The author of "The Topeka School," winner of the 2019 Times Book Prize for fiction, speaks on poetry, debate, citizenship and crisis homeschooling. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-17 15:30:20 UTC ]
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As the country shelters in place during the COVID-19 crisis, the Los Angeles Times unveiled the winners of its 40th Annual Book Prizes on Twitter this morning, among them Marlon James, Ilya Kaminsky, and Ben Lerner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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From Turkey, South Africa, Sweden, China, Germany, Israel, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, this year's free books from Amazon Crossing arrive amid frontier-defying contagion. The post Amazon Crossing Rolls Out Its 2020 Free World Book Day Translations appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-17 03:09:44 UTC ]
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Laura Summers, creator of BookMachine, explains how skill swapping can build connections for self-employed publishing people during the lockdown Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-15 13:43:15 UTC ]
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Even when shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic, libraries are coming up with creative ways to serve their communities. On March 16, the El Dorado County Library in California closed its doors to patrons after a state-wide stay-at-home order. But that hasn’t stopped the library, which serves... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-04-15 07:00:32 UTC ]
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‘There was something Shakespearean about imperious men going down on you: the mighty have fallen.’ An extract from Naoise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times. The post Exciting Times appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2020-04-14 08:55:03 UTC ]
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On April 23, the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association expects to stream a busy World Book and Copyright Day program. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson ‘Uniting Our Forces’ n Tbilisi, the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association chair Gvantsa Jobava has... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-14 04:30:28 UTC ]
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San Francisco's City Lights raised nearly half a million dollars on GoFundMe. The money was necessary to cover short term costs and buy time to form a viable strategic and succession plan for the future. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Like every publisher, Hearst Magazines has had to adapt to creating content in an all-remote world, from putting out magazines Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-04-13 16:58:44 UTC ]
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Like every digital publisher, Hearst Magazines has had to adapt to creating content in an all-remote world. "My motto is 'enter smiling,' and I believe there is opportunity in everything," CCO Kate Lewis said on the inaugural episode of The New Normal, a weekly interactive discussion show where... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Winners of the L.A. Times Book Prizes will be announced in a special, virtual Twitter ceremony this year because of the global health crisis. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-09 17:53:22 UTC ]
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Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, appointed a new chief financial officer as Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-04-08 17:34:12 UTC ]
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The Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, among the most esteemed and lucrative literary prizes in the Arab world, recognized winners across seven categories today. This year marks the 14th edition of the awards, each of which comes with a cash prize of $204,000. These awards acknowledge literary and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-08 15:14:35 UTC ]
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A Dominican American woman’s conundrums echo our national conversation about migrant communities. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-08 14:57:00 UTC ]
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The Times Literary Supplement is offering free advertising to independent bookshops in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-08 04:53:42 UTC ]
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