A new book celebrating the best writing of the past century follows a well-worn script when it comes to equalityI’ve been dipping in and out of DJ Taylor’s fat new book, The Prose Factory, a pleasingly gossipy history of literary life in England since 1918, and so far as it goes, it’s very enjoyable: the bits about money certainly put the writers-must-be-paid-to-appear-at-festivals debate in some perspective. But still, I have to ask: where are all the women?Taylor gives Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch quite a lot of attention. Also, for reasons that are perhaps less clear, AS Byatt, Margaret Drabble and Brigid Brophy. Edith Sitwell, Penelope Fitzgerald and Lorna Sage are treated sympathetically, and merit several paragraphs, as do a few others. But it’s the omissions that strike you, the many excellent and important female writers who are referred to only in passing, or not at all. Doris Lessing is mentioned just four times, and Muriel Spark and Angela Carter only twice; ditto Elizabeth Taylor. Among those left out entirely are: Sybille Bedford, Anita Brookner, Barbara Comyns, Olivia Manning, Antonia White and – this last truly amazes me – Stevie Smith. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children’s has pre-empted the world rights to Twelve Nights, the debut children’s book by Andrew Zurcher, director of studies in English at Queen’s College Cambridge. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital-only publisher Bahati Books will release an anthology showcasing the “best in contemporary African writing” to mark Black History Month at the end of the month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors including Alex Bellos, Frances Hardinge and Nikesh Shukla will take part in this year’s International Literature Showcase. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Songwriter and lyricist Bob Dylan was named the 109th laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature on October 13, for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Thursday morning, the National Book Foundation narrowed its longlist down to five finalists for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Story of Sex, a witty account that embraces everything from the earliest humans to the age of cybersex, has already been a hit in FranceRanging from Cleopatra’s invention of the vibrator to a Dutch shopkeeper’s accidental discovery of the existence of sperm, a comic book detailing the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The man who ushered classics like Catch-22 into the world, Gottlieb has reason to brag. But in his new memoir Avid Reader he prefers to downplay the editor’s role Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22, once gave an interview where he credited his editor with kicking his work into shape. After... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Proving that everything good and pure in this world will one day be snatched from us, the news broke this week that Mary Berry, the improbably named, immaculately coiffed cookbook author who has served as a judge on “The Great British Baking Show” since its inception in 2010, will be leaving the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An evident labor of love that could have benefited from a sharper thematic focus, “Never Surrender: The Ed Ramsey Story” pays tribute to the late WWII hero who earned a place in military lore for having led the last cavalry charge in U.S. military history. Illinois-born Ramsey, who died in 2013... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The country’s innovative publishing industry celebrates its unique cultural identity. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Athens learns it's UNESCO's World Book Capital 2018 and that its largest bookstore, the 118-year-old Eleftheroudakis, is going under. The post Athens Named World Book Capital as 118-Year-Old Bookstore Closes appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Critics have branded 2016's Man Booker shortlist "determinedly unstarry", as one of the few household names on the longlist, JM Coetzee, was ejected from the running, with all eyes on Graeme Macrae Burnet from "tiny" publisher Contraband. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Athens has been named World Book Capital 2018 by the director general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay and Madeleine Thien have been shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get a taster of this year's Man Booker Prize shortlist with extracts from each of the six books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The much-talked about issue of diversity in the selection process for this year's Man Booker Prize was described as "a slightly academic premise" by the prize's literary director during this morning's press conference, as its judges unveiled a shortlist comprising British, American and Canadian... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the award aims for ever greater inclusivity, one of the newer rules closes the competition to some of the very best writing in EnglishMan Booker 2016 shortlist announced: UK, Canadian and US authors dominateIn 2013, back when I was working for independent Dublin publisher The Lilliput... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker Prize shortlist of six titles is out today (September 13). In October, Frankfurt Book Fair will have three events in recognition of the prize's international influence. The post UK’s Man Booker Prize Shortlist of Six Titles Is Announced appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay, and Madeleine Thien have been named to the shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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