In the age of Corbyn, is the time right for another Road to Wigan Pier?

It’s no surprise that the Left Book Club is being relaunched now, with the imprimatur of the Labour leader and Ken Livingstone. It began in the anxious 1930s, a decade that has all too many parallels with the current oneAiming to “set the agenda for a new age of political debate”, the Left Book Club was re-launched this week at a meeting at the Conway Hall in London. The Left Book Club last published a book in 1948. Jeremy Corbyn had yet to be born. Nevertheless the Labour leader has generously endorsed the revival as “a terrific and timely idea” that will give “intellectual ballast to the wave of political change sweeping Britain and beyond, encouraging informed and compassionate debate”. He added that he had a large collection of Left Book Club titles, some bought new by his parents and others that he acquired second hand. I speculate that the memory of these books in their plain red or orange covers – their flash upon his inward eye – must have provided Corbyn with a rare pleasurable moment in the past few weeks: the thought of them on his shelves having same kind of heart-filling effect that the daffodils had on Wordsworth.My own collection isn’t so large. In fact, it runs to just one book, Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier, and I didn’t inherit it. I bought it 20 or 30 years ago because I liked the idea of having such a fine book in its cheap and original form – seeing the words and photographs as its first readers must have seen them. Published in 1937, the year after... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Friedman steps down as c.e.o of Open Road

Jane Friedman will move to become chairman of Open Road Integrated Media, while Paul Slavin has been named the new c.e.o. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers’ Facebook videos are shared 7 times more than links

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[ Digiday | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Slavin Named CEO of Open Road; Friedman Becomes Chairman

Effective immediately, Paul Slavin has been promoted to CEO of Open Road Integrated Media, while company cofounder and CEO Jane Friedman has been named chairman and executive publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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L.A. billionaire becomes the 2nd-largest shareholder of L.A. Times' parent company

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc.’s Jen Wong: ‘We have a ways to go to get to the bleeding edge’

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[ Digiday | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eric Danetz Wants to Help Time Inc. Take Over the World

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[ Folio Magazine | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book sales in the UK decline for the first time

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[ Engadget | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales rise for first time in four years as ebooks decline

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[ The Guardian | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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California regulators approve Charter's takeover of Time Warner Cable

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: It’s Show Time! Kids’ Events on Author Stages: Act II

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK ebook sales drop for the first time

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[ Betanews | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Brit Bennett: A Coming-of-Age Debut

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job in 5; Alba Adriana Proko, Digital Assistant, Kings Road Publishing

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Karen Alpert: A Time Out for Mom

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc. Reveals Branded OTT Video Channels, VR Programming at NewFronts

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[ Folio Magazine | 2016-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Solutions in India 2016: Publishing in the Post-PDF Age (or Single URL Publishing)

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Louisiana Judge Blocks Online Age-Verification Law

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes and Noble Founder Len Riggio Finds the Time to Retire

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Out plans £200m stock market flotation

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[ The Guardian | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Classic George Plimpton Titles Reissued, Go Digital For First Time

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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