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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Jay Keefe wrote a memoir about recovering from alcoholism and realizes, upon publication, that it a huge personal risk it was, albeit one with rewards. The post Exposing Yourself As a First-Time Author appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite being set in the 1980s, David Simon’s new show seems spookily topical. It’s not the only TV series that has turned up in the right place at the right time...David Simon’s new series Show Me a Hero provides everything you might expect from a TV-maker with The Wire, Homicide: Life on the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More details and the book cover for Morrissey’s novel List of the Lost have been revealed, with publisher Penguin Press describing the title as “extraordinary”. The novel will be published in paperback on 24th September with an r.r.p of £7.99. Morrissey has released some cryptic details about... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviews editor Alex Crowley recommends The Invention of Nature, a biography of Alexander von Humboldt one of the most influence naturalists in history. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed, the fast-growing media site, and GroupM, the world's largest buyer of online advertising, announced a partnership Thursday that underscores the rising lure of digital publishing to leading brands. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The sharp rise in mobile readership has forced publishers to ask themselves hard questions about their site performance. Joining the likes of GQ and The Washington Post, Vox Media has taken a hard look at its page load time, cutting it in half to an average of 11.5 seconds. Vox did this by... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paper says use of Mail Online article was ‘at odds’ with its ‘journalistic standards’Mario Vargas Llosa, the Nobel prize-winning author, has slammed the New York Times for publishing what he called “slanderous and perfidious” gossip that, it transpired, was culled from the Daily Mail’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Kushner's 12th book, 'Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life,' he offers reasons to come back to religion for those who have walked away. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors and publishers are increasingly looking to the major streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, as potential platforms to promote their content. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DNA findings give new credibility to 'The President's Daughter,' a controversial 1928 memoir. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Many of the world's biggest and best-known online news publishers saw significant drops in traffic between March and April this year. It appears Facebook might be a culprit in some way, but nobody can agree on a solid theory as to why. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This weekend's damning 'New York Times' article painting Amazon as a "bruising workplace" continues to draw attention, this time from the government. According to the AP, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has assured the public that the company will be complying with various labor standards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, and Yotam Ottolenghi are among the cookbook authors who contributed recipes to 'Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher’s chief executive on taking his titles on to fresh platforms, the future for a free NME – and why he has been poring over vintage comicsMarcus Rich, the chief executive of Marie Claire publisher Time Inc UK, has been spending a lot of time buried in the company’s vast archives... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Never being 'out of print' is not good news You can't self-publish. Because you can't get your rights back. And your book is nowhere to be seen. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This fall, an array of titles highlight traditional specialties, high-end restaurant dishes, and everything in between, from across the U.S. and around the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The New York Times Co. posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates after the publisher cut expenses faster than revenue declined.Earnings excluding some items were 13 cents a share, the New York-based company said in a statement. That compares with the 11-cent average of... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On the surface, Dot sounds like a fairly standard smartwatch: It resembles a Fitbit and features a messaging system, navigation functions, Bluetooth 4.0, an alarm and, of course, a timepiece. Dot is remarkable because it's a braille smartwatch -- t... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Being sold to Nikkei brings a Japanese-style code of behaviourThe FT has not joined the Independent Press Standards Organisation, or its rival Impress project; it is doing its own regulation thing. And it’s worth pausing over that decision as the Pink One becomes a Rising Sun under Nikkei... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In September, Pope Francis will make his first papal visit to the United States, stopping in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Philadelphia. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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