A literary talent show is about to be aired in Italy, but is television the right place to nurture literary talent?Jonny Geller, agent and joint CEO, Curtis BrownAn X Factor for books is about to launch on Italian TV – it had to be Italian, didn't it? – and you can imagine the literati running for cover in horror. It's "reducing the craft to a reality freak show", "further degradation of the cultural value of the word" etc. And yes, the programme [Masterpiece, which broadcasts on Italian channel Rai 3 today, billed as "the first talent show for aspiring writers, competing to... publish their novel with Simon & Schuster"] will probably be vulgar, ill-conceived and wrong-footed. But we need it. We need to allow young people into the secret we have held too closely to our hearts for too long – that books can change your life, that what makes us human is books, that reading is not just for nerds. The National Literacy Trust recently surveyed 35,000 children from 188 schools and one in five is embarrassed to be caught with a book in their hands.On British TV at the moment, there is not one single programme about books or for book lovers. We in publishing bemoan how few people buy books and yet we do nothing to make them feel relevant. In a changing publishing scene where most purchases are made online, where independent bookshops are closing every week and where the chains all feature the same books, we desperately need an entertaining format to ignite the imaginations of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A reader who lives in Paris eating too much cheese is keen on the Guardian’s film reviews and fashion – but misses curling up with the Saturday paperI’m one of those stereotypical expat writers: living in Paris, eating too much cheese and enjoying the wine a little too much. I am originally from... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic US has acquired a minority stake in Make Believe Ideas (MBI), a UK-based publisher for children aged 0-5, for an undisclosed sum. The companies will showcase a co-branded series – Early Learners ages 0-5 – at the Bologna Book Fair next week and a global English language release is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic will take minority equity stake in MBI and launch a cobranded line of interactive kids ebooks for early learners. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A reader who likes to sit and read the paper from beginning to end – and finds it great to stuff in her walking boots after a wet day on the fellsI’m 33 and I’m a building surveyor from Yorkshire. I’m currently living in Windermere, which I love as I have great access to the fells. My mum is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to allHelena Coggan’s debut, The Catalyst, is an accomplished... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In popular genres such as sci-fi and fantasy, fan fiction based on the Wattpad model could easily disrupt the publishing industryFor a few years in the mid 2000s, I was the young librarian who got sent to schools to convince kids they really did want to read books. The truth of my experience was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst UK title lifts combined print and digital sales by 1.2% year on year, as its Condé Nast rival falls by 2.5%Good Housekeeping boosted its sales in the second half of last year to remain the most popular women’s monthly lifestyle title.The Hearst UK title overtook long-time leader Glamour... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A mild winter in many parts of the country, combined with the lowest unemployment in six years and significantly reduced gas prices, resulted in a strong holiday season at most independent bookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carol Chittenden is retiring after working at Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Mass., for the past 28 years; read more about her contributions to the community and the larger book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s a long way from inception to completion, unless you’re artist and programmer Cory Arcangel, and your book is made up of other people’s tweets about writing a bookThe Inception Button should be used sparingly but when called for, it can be highly effective. Located at inception.davepedu.com,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's sobering to think of carrying on into next year the weight of all the unread books on one's nightstand. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The sky-high valuations of digital publishers such as BuzzFeed and Vox are fuelled by the idea that the media company of the future also has to be a tech company. Almost every new digital media business from Mashable to Pierre Omidyar's First Loo ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Literacy Trust’s headline-grabbing claim is little more than highly coordinated lobbying based on flimsy evidenceWhen the National Literacy Trust announces that tablet computers help disadvantaged children to read, liberal-minded book lovers like me sit up and listen.The NLT... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By David Saabye Sometimes it's the little ideas that make a big difference. Magazine publishers have focused on many "big" ideas in recent decades, which have manifested in such projects as News Corp.'s The Daily... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Ron Epstein In late 2012, I purchased a small, local publishing company. The marquee property was a magazine called L.A. Parent that distributed approximately 70,000 free copies every month, along with other... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Marcelle Soviero The publishing industry is busting out of business models as quickly as we can devise new ones. I think in 2015 we will see more product differentiation and more product offerings. These... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JetBlue is adding ebooks from HarperCollins to its entertainment mix. Passengers can read excerpts from new titles and then choose to purchase the rest. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When PW began this series in September 2013, the book publishing industry appeared headed to a market where print and digital books would coexist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a rare move for the publishing world, Land Rover has sponsored "An Ice Cream War" novelist William Boyd's new short fiction and turned it in into a gorgeous interactive campaign. The post Land Rover commissions novelist William Boyd’s latest appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the winner of the C$100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize was announced at a gala in Toronto last night, the spotlight was on a new writer, Sean Michaels, and his debut novel 'Us Conductors,' published by Random House Canada. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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