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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Time Inc. has renamed its book and bookazine publishing division, Time Home Entertainment, Inc., as Time Inc. Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heritage only goes so far these days for traditional publishers. That's why Time Inc. is betting big on technology -- and its new CTO Colin Bodell -- to reverse its print woes. Bodell, an Amazon vet, is looking to a mix of paywalls, e-commerce and shared databases to jump-start growth. “If I... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chinese-American author Yiyun Li is the first female winner of the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for her story "A Sheltered Woman". Director Richard Eyre presented Li with her winner's cheque at the Stationers’ Hall this evening (Friday 24th April). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over 7,000 people have volunteered to donate one of a shortlist of 20 books to the 35% of the population who are not regular readersA quarter of a million books are due to find new homes tonight, as thousands of book-lovers hit the streets to give away their favourite titles as part of World... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In honor of World Book Day, the International Publishers Association has an infographic on how much children should read and why literacy is important. The post How Much Should Children Read? World Book Day Infographic appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fans of the classic science fiction novel recently got a look at a section of the book that was taken out before publication. 'Wrinkle' won the Newbery Medal. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 250,000 books are to be handed out for free as part of World Book Night Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Radio Times magazine will host an annual festival celebrating the links between books, radio and television. The inaugural festival will take place at Hampton Court Palace from 24th–27th September. The festival aims to raise awareness of the fact that many TV and radio programmes are based on... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hugo Award clowns aside, there's another literary scandal that we should actually be worried about. The post Hey, Book World: Sexism is Way Bigger Than the Hugos appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Bernardine Evaristo fears ‘return to the literary invisibility of the past’ as research finds attempts to encourage diversity have stalledBlack and Asian authors in the UK say they are being shoehorned by a publishing industry which is almost blindingly white into writing fiction that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The New York Times has kept mum about a March 23 report in its pages that suggested that the Times, among other news organizations, was in talks with Facebook about hosting some of its journalism on the social media platform. "The Tim ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Nobody tells you when you pay six figures for a lion for a couple days that, to perform, they have to eat a lot of meat. The problem is they eat so much they get lazy and stop being scary after a couple days, so then you have to bring in a second lion. Now we have one lion who's great at... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mainstream mags may be shutting down, but specialist publishing has never been in healthier shape. So which magazines should you be subscribing to?While mainstream magazines are seeing sales fall, and long-standing titles such as Loaded are printing their final issues, the world of niche,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Ellen Harvey I t's difficult to discuss the future of the publishing business without at some point mentioning the words "mobile" and "video." Mobile devices have become the medium of choice for consuming... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2015-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guinness World Records (GWR) has appointed journalist Stephen Daultrey as the new editor for its Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition in an effort to create deeper ties with the gaming industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comedian voted on to Prospect magazine’s annual list, topped by economist Thomas Piketty, after year that saw him publish a book advocating the eradication of the nation stateThere are few figures who make the nation’s blood boil – either with sheer frustration or the spirit of revolution –... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print book sales showed "continuing resilience" in 2014, with overall spending on print and digital titles increasing across the year. Meanwhile, online book buying overtook in-store book buying for the first time last year. In 2014, sales of print and ebooks stood at £2.2bn, up 4% from the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last night’s news about news orgs publishing directly to Facebook wasn’t a surprise, exactly — we’ve known this was in the works for months — but it’s been a good excuse to think about the p ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They agree deal to turn an online brand into print format for LondonersJamie Oliver and Time Out have gone into partnership to launch a print version of the chef’s online Food Tube brand.The first issue of the monthly “mini magazine” will be published on 28 April and will be distributed, at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Proposed plan for morning, lunchtime and afternoon editions is part of wider initiative called Project DThe Times is developing a new edition-based digital publishing model that would see its website refreshed at set times throughout the day, rather than updating as news breaks. The proposed new... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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